Otoe-Missouria News Archive

by Heather Sarles

For more than a century the Otoe-Missouria people have been gathering the third week of July to dance, laugh, sing, cook, eat, pray, remember and celebrate their Otoe-Missouria ways. For many tribal members, the gathering held July 15-18 calls them home to Red Rock to catch up with old friends and distant family. Encampment Committee Chairman Hank Childs says that the most important part of the four day event is the people. “I was told years ago that this encampment is the one time when the most Otoe people are located in one place,” Childs says. “It’s the time when we get together to enjoy the fellowship of each other. People plan their vacations to come home that weekend to be with family—to meet new nieces and nephews. I want to invite everyone to come home, dance and enjoy themselves.”

» Read the complete article on NativeTimes.com.

» UPDATE: See photos from the Ponca City News published July 16 and more on July 18.

The Otoe-Missouria Tribe has announced it will host the inaugural Kathage Akiwena Jiwere 5K Run on Saturday, July 17 on the traditional tribal encampment grounds. The 5,000 meter (3.1 mile) event is the brainchild of the tribe’s fitness coordinator, Donnie Childs, who created the run to tie in with both the annual encampment and the tribe’s push toward improving the health of its members.

“Many of our tribal members are obese and struggling with diabetes,” Childs says. “The encampment is the biggest gathering that the tribe hosts. There will be more Otoe people together than at any other time of the year. This run is a great way to get some of those people motivated to start moving.” Childs says that the while the event is a run, participants do not need to run the entire course. “There are people who plan to walk the entire race,” Childs says. “That’s fine with me, as long as they are moving. Getting people up off of the couch is the main goal of this race and the biggest focus for me. I want to see as many people out there as possible.”

The race begins at 8 a.m. at the 7 Clans Paradise Casino located east off of Highway 177 north of Red Rock. The race route leads through the traditional campgrounds of the Otoe-Missouria people. First place winners in the men’s and women’s category will receive a handmade hand drum. The top finishers in each category will receive awards and all participants will receive a T-shirt.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.

» UPDATE: RESULTS posted July 17, 2010

by Brandy McDonnell

Despite the oppressive heat, hundreds of spectators crowded outside the Cox Convention Center to watch the 24th annual Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival open with its annual parade. Viewers clapped, cheered and bobbed to the patriotic music as the National Guard band made its first Red Earth parade appearance. The festival’s first grand entry Friday ended with veterans among the dancers and from the audience taking the Cox arena floor to accompany the three color guards in a special victory dance.

“I’m glad they’ve done that this year. … I think it’s the greatest thing they could do,” said Darrell Moore, a Pawnee native who now lives in Dallas. “If it wasn’t for the veterans, they wouldn’t be able to have this.” The Army veteran, who is of Pawnee and Otoe-Missouria descent, wears a red, white and blue ribbon on his black and green regalia when he competes in the golden age men division of the Southern Straight Dance.

» Read the complete article on NewsOK.com.

by James S. Tyree

Tracey Moore is a member of the Osage, Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee and Sac & Fox tribes who aims to help keep their disappearing languages alive by learning, speaking and teaching them. She learned how recently during the Breath of Life workshop at the University of Oklahoma’s Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

The May 24-28 program taught participants how to conduct linguistic research on tribal languages, starting with archival materials at the museum. The program is designed for people from tribes that lack fluent speakers of their language who want to help preserve the language for future generations. Moore was eager to return home to Fairfax, where she would study even further and share that knowledge with her students in the Osage Nation’s Language Program. “It’s just inspiring; I can’t wait to go back and dig in,” she said. “With the linguistics part, I will have the ability to learn all my languages.”

» Read the complete article on NewsOK.com.

by Jerry Pittman

Work continued Wednesday on repairs to 7 Clans Paradise Casino, which was damaged Monday by fierce winds spawned by one of the numerous tornadoes that hit the state. The casino, which employs 250 people, was evacuated Monday after the storm hit and was closed until a portion of it reopened at mid-day Wednesday. Heather Sarles, public information officer for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe that owns the casino, said the 40,000-square-feet facility sustained wind damage to the front and back of the building. “Everyone who was in the casino and the village (the tribal housing complex) was evacuated safely and no one was injured,” Sarles said Wednesday.

» Read the complete article on NewsOK.com.

Geary L. Watson, Ponca City resident, passed away on Thursday, April, 22, 2010 at his home. He was 57. Geary was born the son of Owen and Iva Watson on March 27, 1953, in Oklahoma City. Geary was an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and was a fluent speaker of his native language. He grew up in the Oklahoma City area and graduated from Mid-West City High School and later attended Rose State College. Geary and Mildred L. DeRoin were united in marriage on January 17, 1975, and made their home in Red Rock. Geary was an active member of the Ponca Chapter Native American Church. He was a big sports fan and loved watching OU and OSU football. Geary enjoyed going to local tribal dances, events and playing golf, but his greatest enjoyment was spending time with his beloved grandchildren.

Geary is survived by his father, Owen Watson of Oklahoma City; sister, Lori Anderson of Oklahoma City; son, Norman Bernal of Taos, N.M.; daughter, Antoinette Hopper of Ponca City; adopted son, Oliver Littlecook, Sr. of Ponca City; sister-in-law, Rosella DeRoin of Red Rock; in-laws Doris Hunter of Shawnee and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stoneroad of Oklahoma City; eight grandchildren – Little Bear Littlecook, Tara Littlecook, Ophelia Botone, Angela Botone, Cleve Botone, Ava Botone, Rebecca Botone, Kirsten Thompson; one great-grandson, AJ Aguilar, and numerous nieces and nephews. Geary is preceded in death by his mother, Iva Watson; wife, Mildred Watson; daughter, Ophelia Bernal and son, Perry Botone, Jr.

Casket Bearers will be Little Bear Littlecook, Cleve Botone, Brian Harragarra, Quinn Harragarra, Paul White and Steven Littlecook. Honorary casket bearers will be Dwight Buffalohead, Don Patterson, Oliver Littlecook Sr., Edwin Littlecook, Norman Bernal and Preston Walkingsky. The traditional meal to be held at noon on Sunday, April 25 at the Oliver Littlecook Sr. residence, with burial services to follow at 2 p.m. at the Otoe-Missouria Tribal Cemetery with Oliver Littlecook, Sr. officiating.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.

by Leeann Root

The Central New York offices of Indian Country Today are typically rather quiet. But the sound of drums April 8 sparked the worker’s attention. A multicultural group of about 20 began a 700-mile “Walk for a Nuclear Free Future” March 7 in Salamanca, New York, to call attention to the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, which is scheduled for May 3, 2010.

According to an event announcement the treaty’s objective is “to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.”

Larry Bringing Good, a Cheyenne Arapahoe and Otoe-Missouria from Troy, New York, said the walk began at the West Valley Nuclear Waste Site in Salamanca, “where erosion is going to cause nuclear waste to leak into the Great Lakes and contaminate the water.” He said waste “they say is lower hazard” has been stored there for years.

» Read the complete article on Indian Country Today.

After nearly a year without a Web presence, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe launched its new official Web site www.omtribe.org. The new site provides information about the tribe, its businesses, tribal departments and services offered to tribal citizens.

“With members living all over the world, the internet is a great tool to help keep everyone informed,” Tribal Chairman John R. Shotton says. “And it is important that the website be as comprehensive as possible so that tribal members have access to the information they need.” The new site is divided into four main areas: government, tribal enterprises, departments and culture. The tribe’s Public Information Officer Heather Sarles says that the site was designed this way for ease of navigation.

» Read the complete article on NativeTimes.com.

by Will Chavez

Robert Murray is a traditional dancer and has been headman dancer for two of the tribes he belongs to – Otoe-Missouri and Iowa. He is also half Ponca, and is proud of all three tribes and celebrates and shares the culture of each one. He hoop dances and performs the Eagle dance, and at 51 years old, still “fancy dances every once in a while.” This dance is usually reserved for younger powwow dancers.

He first danced in a powwow arena when he was 19 months old at a Ponca powwow. He said he has danced every year since then except for a total of three years, when he stopped dancing to observe deaths in his family. “I’ve been in that arena for a long time,” he said. He also has been singing with the powwow drum group Yellowhammer for nearly 17 years. The group travels to powwows throughout the country, he said. He also finds time to sing with the Zotigh drum group.

» Read the complete article on NativeTimes.com.

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.