Post by Okwes on Jul 7, 2007 10:55:19 GMT -5
Chilocco comes back to life
By FOSS FARRAR
Staff Writer
The former Chilocco Indian School came to life again Sunday as about 300 alumni, former employees, tribal leaders and Oklahoma state officials gathered to celebrate its recent listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The ceremony brought people from throughout Oklahoma and Kansas to the historic campus where generations of Native Americans were educated from 1884, when the school opened until 1980, when it closed.
Kinsel Lieb served as master of ceremonies and recognized dignitaries including leaders of all five of the Council of Confederated Chilocco Tribes, two Oklahoma legislators, Deputy Director Melvena Heisch, of the Oklahoma State Historical Preservation Office, and Mayor Homer Nicholson, of Ponca City.
"We want to thank all those who worked on this project," Lieb said. "It didn't happen overnight. It started years ago; some people who are no longer here today were involved."
Lieb noted the large crowd and said it came as no surprise.
"Attracting large crowds is nothing new for Chilocco," he said. "It's a tradition: Registration day, pow-wows, fights at girls games."
A group of Native American singers and drummers performed several traditional songs during the ceremony.
NInety-five-year-old Josephine Wapp, a former arts and crafts teacher at the boarding school, traveled from Lawton, Okla., to attend the ceremony. She is the mother of Barbara Lambert, of Arkansas City.
Wapp had a bittersweet reaction to being back on campus. She said she is happy that Native American groups plan to renovate the campus, but added she was sad to see buildings on the 10,000-acre site to be in such disrepair.
"It's sad to see everything so run-down," Wapp said. "It's going to need a lot of work to fix it all up."
She remembered first arriving at Chilocco in 1934 and teaching there for all but a few years until she left in 1963. There were 1,100 to 1,200 students on campus when she arrived in 1934, she said.
"We did a lot of things here when I first came," she said. "We went to Chilocco Creek and got natural material for making pottery and baskets."
She also helped students tan hides to make leather.
"They put us in the sheep barn because of the strong smell," she said.
Tribal leaders at the ceremony referred to several other elders who had taught at or attended the school.
"Chilocco was ahead of its time," said Dr. Jim Baker, president of the Chilocco Alumni Association. "The school helped students develop academically and helped them learn work skills, sporting skills; learn to be independent and how to respect others and earn respect for themselves."
Baker said there are negative stories about Chilocco that have been passed down from elders but "we've made progress and it has helped shape many of the Indian nations of today."
He added that Chilocco produced three Congressional Medal of Honor winners from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in two wars.
"We've heard this campus referred to as 'the jewel,'" he said. "In our minds and hearts, it's a diamond forever."
The alliance that has been formed between the Confederated Chilocco tribes and the Chilocco Alumni Association to renovate Chilocco presents a unique opportunity, said Ron Rice, president of the Pawnee Nation.
"We will forge our future here," he said. It is exciting to work with these chairmen in developing, planning and creating a future for ourselves."
Chairman Michael Harwell, of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, said the effort to renovate Chilocco will be truly a national one, not just a regional effort.
"Indians in the business world are being accepted," he said. "The time for us to take our place is right now.
"The national historical designation does something for us. It's a tool to make this place into something like what we remember it used to be. To make the physical place back to match the memories we have. But it also is a chance to make it into a place that is a national draw for the American Indian. We want people to come from all over -- not just the United States but the world."
By FOSS FARRAR
Staff Writer
The former Chilocco Indian School came to life again Sunday as about 300 alumni, former employees, tribal leaders and Oklahoma state officials gathered to celebrate its recent listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The ceremony brought people from throughout Oklahoma and Kansas to the historic campus where generations of Native Americans were educated from 1884, when the school opened until 1980, when it closed.
Kinsel Lieb served as master of ceremonies and recognized dignitaries including leaders of all five of the Council of Confederated Chilocco Tribes, two Oklahoma legislators, Deputy Director Melvena Heisch, of the Oklahoma State Historical Preservation Office, and Mayor Homer Nicholson, of Ponca City.
"We want to thank all those who worked on this project," Lieb said. "It didn't happen overnight. It started years ago; some people who are no longer here today were involved."
Lieb noted the large crowd and said it came as no surprise.
"Attracting large crowds is nothing new for Chilocco," he said. "It's a tradition: Registration day, pow-wows, fights at girls games."
A group of Native American singers and drummers performed several traditional songs during the ceremony.
NInety-five-year-old Josephine Wapp, a former arts and crafts teacher at the boarding school, traveled from Lawton, Okla., to attend the ceremony. She is the mother of Barbara Lambert, of Arkansas City.
Wapp had a bittersweet reaction to being back on campus. She said she is happy that Native American groups plan to renovate the campus, but added she was sad to see buildings on the 10,000-acre site to be in such disrepair.
"It's sad to see everything so run-down," Wapp said. "It's going to need a lot of work to fix it all up."
She remembered first arriving at Chilocco in 1934 and teaching there for all but a few years until she left in 1963. There were 1,100 to 1,200 students on campus when she arrived in 1934, she said.
"We did a lot of things here when I first came," she said. "We went to Chilocco Creek and got natural material for making pottery and baskets."
She also helped students tan hides to make leather.
"They put us in the sheep barn because of the strong smell," she said.
Tribal leaders at the ceremony referred to several other elders who had taught at or attended the school.
"Chilocco was ahead of its time," said Dr. Jim Baker, president of the Chilocco Alumni Association. "The school helped students develop academically and helped them learn work skills, sporting skills; learn to be independent and how to respect others and earn respect for themselves."
Baker said there are negative stories about Chilocco that have been passed down from elders but "we've made progress and it has helped shape many of the Indian nations of today."
He added that Chilocco produced three Congressional Medal of Honor winners from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in two wars.
"We've heard this campus referred to as 'the jewel,'" he said. "In our minds and hearts, it's a diamond forever."
The alliance that has been formed between the Confederated Chilocco tribes and the Chilocco Alumni Association to renovate Chilocco presents a unique opportunity, said Ron Rice, president of the Pawnee Nation.
"We will forge our future here," he said. It is exciting to work with these chairmen in developing, planning and creating a future for ourselves."
Chairman Michael Harwell, of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, said the effort to renovate Chilocco will be truly a national one, not just a regional effort.
"Indians in the business world are being accepted," he said. "The time for us to take our place is right now.
"The national historical designation does something for us. It's a tool to make this place into something like what we remember it used to be. To make the physical place back to match the memories we have. But it also is a chance to make it into a place that is a national draw for the American Indian. We want people to come from all over -- not just the United States but the world."