Otoe-Missouria News Archive

Tony Arkeketa, Ponca City resident, died Sunday, March 21, 2010, at his home. He was 67.

The Traditional Indian Feast will be held at 12 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at Ponca Indian Tribal Cultural Center followed by a service at 2 p.m. with Mr. Tony Killscrow officiating. Burial will be at Ponca Indian Tribal Cemetery under the direction of Trout Funeral Home and Crematory.

Tony was born on March 7, 1943, in Pawnee to Freeman and Myrtle Roy Arkeketa. His grandparents were Charles and Ella Arkeketa and Ed and Beulah Roy. Tony was a member of the Buffalo Clan of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. Tony was raised on the Ponca Indian Reservation were he had a deep knowledge and abiding respect for Ponca traditions and customs, including dance and song. He has sung the sacred songs of his people for 55 years.

He completed his education in Lithography at OSU-Okmulgee in 1962 and retired from that profession in 1982. He drafted the first tax code for the Ponca and spearheaded litigation efforts to defend the code, which was ultimately successful in the 10th Circuit Federal Court. He devoted his energy to preserving tribal languages; recognizing that one of the most important elements of Indian heritage is language. Tony is considered an expert in the field of Ponca customs and traditions, providing compelling testimony in the Ponca Tribe vs. Continental Carbon Company case filed in federal court.

Tony is an enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma and has participated as a dancer from his earliest recollection and became a champion dancer, winning many competitions across Indian country. In his years as a teenager, he became a singer of the “Ponca Drum,” his place being acknowledged by elders in previous years.

He is survived by his wife, Laura Arkeketa of the home; daughters, Toria Arkeketa of the home, Deliah Moses and her husband Berwyn of Pawnee, Tonette Ponkilla and her husband Gordon of Stroud, Sylvestine Franklin and her husband Steven of Stroud; son, Charles Eddy Arkeketa and his wife Sheila of Okmulgee; adopted children, Rita Poorbuffalo, Thomas Franklin, Michelle Franklin, Lisa Franklin, Steven Franklin, Shannon Franklin, and the late Jaime Franklin; 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His siblings include Peggy Harris, Marcella Morgan, Melissa Cornell, Freeman Arkeketa, Tony Killscrow and the late Fred Arkeketa.

Casket bearers will be Berwyn Moses Jr., Anderson Watashe, Pete Coser, Jr., Bobby Howe, John Arkeketa, Houston Primeaux, Oliver Franklin and Berwyn Moses, Sr. Honorary Casket bearers will be George Coser, Pete Coser, Wayne Coser, Dean Welch, Ira “Poncho” Fields, Ron Cotner, John Sellers, Steven Franklin and Gordon Ponkilla.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.