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August 8, 2019The American Indian Catholic Outreach Office for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City named its inaugural princess during the archdiocese’s first-ever Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Honor Dance on July 6 at Saint John Nepomuk in Yukon.
Arlene Linda Jimenez Schonchin, 10, will serve as AICO Princess until July. During that time, she will travel the state to talk about her Catholic faith and American Indian culture. Her appearances include powwows, archdiocesan events and classroom visits.
Schonchin is an active altar server at Blessed Sacrament in Lawton and regularly attends the Catholic Daughters of the Americas (Saint Jude Chapter).
She 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.
Her 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 a faithful parishioner with her family at Blessed Sacrament in Lawton,” said Father Brian Buettner, pastor at Blessed Sacrament. “She has great pride in her Native American roots and actively shares her knowledge with her community through dancing and singing. I am proud of her and am excited to see how she will continue to evangelize the truth of Jesus Christ through her tribe and the wider community.”
Schonchin 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, she 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.
Schonchin sings hymns in the Comanche language, and can speak some words and sentences in Comanche.
“I wanted 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!” Schonchin said.
Schonchin will represent the AICO at the 84th annual American Indian Exposition Aug. 14-17 in Anadarko. She will participate in the parade and the powwow.
For more information on qualifications for AICO Princess or to apply, go online to archokc.org/honordance.
Save the Date
The next St. Kateri Tekakwitha Honor Dance
July 11, 2020
Catholic Pastoral Center
American Indian Catholic Outreach
Dcn. Roy Callison, coordinator
(918) 822-3255
rcallison@archokc.org
archokc.org/aico
Photo: Archbishop Coakley congratulates Arlene Schonchin on becoming the first princess for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s American Indian Catholic Outreach. Schonchin was joined by her parents, Jolene and Lynn, and she introduced herself in Comanche and English. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.
