American Indian Catholic Outreach Princess

Miss Arlene Linda Jimenez Schonchin, 10, is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation and is from the Klamath, Modoc and Piute tribes. She is a direct descendant of Comanche Chief Wildhorse and Chief Whitewolf (Esa Rosa), and Modoc leader Schonchin John.
 
Arlene’s parents are Lynn and Jolene Schonchin. Her maternal grandparents are Joe and Arlene Jimenez and paternal grandparents are Lynn and Linda Schonchin. Her mother Jolene was the 1988 Comanche Princess and maternal grandmother Arlene Wockmetooah Jimenez was the 1945 Comanche Princess. Her paternal grandmother Linda Lotches Schonchin was the 1960 Klamath Princess.
 
Arlene is an active alter server at Blessed Sacrament in Lawton and regularly attends the Catholic Daughters of the Americas (Saint Jude Chapter).
 
She has been dancing since age 1. She attends numerous powwows, has been the Head Little Girl Dancer for several powwows and has won multiple powwow dance contests in her division. She also is a member of the Blessed Sacrament Mexican Youth Group.
 
In 2014, Arlene performed the Lord's Prayer in Native American Sign Language to an audience of more than 1,000 people, and demonstrated several powwow dances with the Comanche Nation at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
 
She is a member of the Comanche Youth Dancers, which performs at various schools, organizations and events. She has demonstrated powwow dances at several schools and international events, including Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, the International Festival in Lawton, the Apache Rattlesnake Festival in Apache, and Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo.
 
Arlene sings church songs in the Comanche language, and can speak some words and sentences in Comanche. She is a straight A student and participates in advanced classes in her grade. In her free time, she plays soccer, likes to read and writes fictional short stories.
 
Arlene said, “I want to be the American Indian Catholic Outreach Princess because we are supposed to spread God’s teaching to everyone. I will tell other Indians about AICO at powwows and everywhere I go!”

Top: Arlene Schonchin at Blessed Sacrament in Lawton. Photo Dana Attocknie/Sooner Catholic.

Below: Archbishop Coakley with Arlene  Schonchin and her parents Jolene and Lynn Schonchin at the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Honor Dance July 6, 2019 at St. John Nepomuk in Yukon. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.