Tribal Member Sings at OKC Thunder Native American Heritage Night

Comanche Nation Tribal Member Sarah Pohawpatchoko sang the national anthem on Wednesday, November 20, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for OKC Thunder’s Native American Heritage Night during the pre-game ceremony.

She said she’s been singing at her school, and her coach would get her a gig at the Oklahoma State Basketball Tournament.

“And they asked me to come sing over there, and I guess somebody from the city may have seen one of my videos going around, and I got a call, my dad got a call actually, and they asked me to come perform here, and ever since, I've kind of just been coming whenever they call me,” Pohawpatchoko said.

She said she’s been singing since she was a little girl and began with cover songs. She would later on sing in front of Carrie Underwood at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

“I started off singing Comanche hymns, going to church and all that, and I kind of grew from my dad,” Pohawpatchoko said. “He kind of just, not forced me, but he always put the microphone in front of me, always put the piano in front of me, so I just learned to love it and grow into it as I grew older.”

She said her favorite part of the day was meeting all the great people.

“I want to start going around places and start traveling a lot more, and kind of being a representative for our tribe, and trying to make something of myself, just so I can be an example for my tribal members,” Pohawpatchoko said.

She said it’s important for her to represent her heritage.

“I feel like the Comanche Nation as a whole, we're kind of dying out a little bit, not many people talk about it, our language is dying, and our traditions are kind of getting placed out everywhere, and I kind of want to bring back the traditional ways, the right traditional ways, the real traditional ways,” Pohawpatchoko said.

She said she wants to be a light and help maintain traditional aspects of her culture. Pohawpatchoko also wants to be a representation of a good person.

There were several activities, including a stickball demonstration and dancers before the game. It’s the 5th annual Native American Student Day the organization has hosted.