Jada Silverhorn
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BACONIAN
AMERICAN INDIAN, AMERICAN BAPTIST
Fulfilling the dream and vision of Almon C. Bacone
Its first mission more than 135 years ago was to educate
and minister to Native Americans. Today, Bacone College’s mission has become so much more. Life on its historical campus is a celebration of the legacy and culture of
Native Americans, but also a celebration of other cultures
from around the world.
Yet Bacone College is still a place where a young Native
American woman, raised in the loving embrace of a Native
family, steeped in the culture and Christian faith of her ancestors, feels like she’s at home.
Jada Silverhorn, 20, is a junior at Bacone College. She is
majoring in radiology, and is a part of the Christian ministry program through her work with the Praise Team and
the Native American Learning Work Community, in which
she receives 100 percent tuition, room and board.
Silverhorn is the epitome of Bacone College’s mission both proudly native and Christian - literally the fulfilment
of Almon C. Bacone’s dream to plant a Christian school in
the midst of native people more than 135 years ago.
Silverhorn is Kiowa and Comanche, born in Lawton,
Okla. She spent the majority of her life at Army bases
around the United States, including Washington, Hawaii
and Kentucky.
activities and culture, with stick ball tournaments, pow
wows and other functions, which students of all nationalities experience and enjoy.”
But the school also focuses on different ethnic groups,
something she said has made living and going to school at
Bacone an enriching experience, too.
“They showcase that through a lot of things, especially
during Bacone Hour,” she said, talking about the weekly
worship service led by students in Bacone’s Memorial
Chapel. “In the Christian ministry program especially, we
have international students who talk about their culture,
share their testimonies and teach us their songs, too.”
Bacone also has children visit from Uganda to sing during Bacone Hour once a year, and other international visitors at times.
“Bacone keeps it culturally diverse at all times, with students from different backgrounds,” Silverhorn said. “Bacone feels like a big melting pot. And there are many opportunities for students to participate in and experience,
not just the Native American culture, but many others.
Silverhorn said she chose the school because of her
close-knit family and their history and ties to the historical college.
She had only spent a total of about four years living in
Oklahoma before she came to Bacone College in 2013,
but her close-knit family has kept her culture alive for
her as she’s grown, and given her a Christian faith which
serves her well as a student today.
“My family and my church have been involved with Bacone for many years,” she said. “My dad’s mother grew up
in the Murrow home, and my great-grandfather went to
school at Bacone for the Christian ministry program”.
“Our home church, the one I go home to every summer, and which my family has long been a part of, is an Indian church,” Silverhorn said. “It’s where I learned to be
a Christian, learned about God, and also where I learned
about my culture.”
Her mother helped her find her scholarship, her grandparents and father talked about Bacone College, and,
because her parents were moving back to Oklahoma, Silverhorn decided an Oklahoma college close to her family
was the place she wanted to be – and now it feels like her
second home.
She grew up with her grandfather’s stories, and learned
her first Comanche hymn as a young girl there – something she has shared with the Praise Team at Bacone.
And sharing culture and the love of Christ is a big part
of life for Bacone students. Bacone’s campus, activities
and worship include much of the Native American culture
Silverhorn is familiar with, but with many international
students attending Bacone today, it also embraces many
other cultures.
“During Bacone Hour we celebrate the Native American
heritage with performances, guest speakers and music,”
Silverhorn said. “Across campus I see Native American
“I love how you can meet someone new every day, but
it’s not so big that it’s overwhelming,” she said. “I have a
good set of friends, and even though I’ve only been here
two years, Bacone does feel like home.”
Silverhorn said her friends, her job working in the school
library where she enjoys learning so much about the college’s history, and the faculty who look out for her at Bacone make it a special place.
“Bacone, I don’t know how else to describe it, but it feels
like home,” she said. “It feels like it was God’s plan for me
to be at Bacone.”
BACONIAN
11