News Release
Heard Museum
WHAT:PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 28, 2022) – The Heard Museum is pleased to announce the World Champions of the Hoop Dance Contest:
2022 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Adult World Champion – Sampson Sixkiller Sinquah (Gila River Pima/ Hopi-Tewa/ Cherokee)
Adult Division First Runner Up – Beany John (Plains Cree and Taino)
Adult Division Second Runner Up – Talon Duncan (San Carlos Apache, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation)
Adult Division Third Runner Up – Tony Duncan (San Carlos Apache, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation)
Adult Division Fourth Runner Up – Scott Sixkiller Sinquah (Gila River Pima/ Hopi-Tewa/ Cherokee/ Choctaw)
Adult Division Fifth Runner Up – Joseph Secody (Diné)
2022 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Senior Champion – Derrick Suwaima Davis (Hopi/Choctaw)
Senior Division First Runner Up – Terry Goedel (Yakama/Tulalip)
Senior Division Second Runner Up – Dallas Arcand (Cree, Nakota Sioux, Metis)
2022 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Teen Champion – Shadé Phea Young (Hopi, Tewa, Navajo, Assiniboine)
Teen Division First Runner Up – Mitchell Shonkwaiataroroks Gray (Mohawk)
Teen Division Second Runner Up – Joseph Romero (Pueblo of Pojoaque/Nambe Pueblo)
2022 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Youth Champion – Jai’po Harvier (Pueblo of Pojaoque, Santa Clara Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, Tohono O’odham Nation)
Youth Division First Runner Up – Mateo Ulibarri (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Youth Division Second Runner Up – Naiche Duncan (San Carlos Apache, MHA Nations, Plains Cree, Taino)
The Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dance Contest, on March 26 and 27, announced Sampson Sixkiller Sinquah (Gila River Pima/ Hopi-Tewa/ Cherokee) as Hoop Dance World Champion and during the award ceremony where prizes totaling $25,000 were awarded across multiple age divisions. The World Championship Hoop Dance Contest is generously sponsored by Arizona Public Service, Union Pacific Foundation, the Richard O. Kern Fund, the Jay Kahn Memorial Fund, Mary Jo and Ted Shen, Albertsons and Safeway Foundation, Renewal by Andersen of Arizona, and an anonymous supporter.
The art of hoop dance honors cultural practices shared by multiple Indigenous communities. With roots in healing ceremonies, traditions and practices, today’s hoop dance is shared as an artistic expression to celebrate and honor Indigenous traditions throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dance Contest combines artistry, athleticism, tradition, and suspense each year for an unforgettable weekend of fellowship and competition.
About the Heard Museum
Since its founding in 1929, the Heard Museum, a private nonprofit organization, has grown in size and stature to become recognized internationally for the quality of its collections, world-class exhibitions, educational programming, and unmatched festivals. Dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art, the Heard successfully presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective and exhibitions that showcase the beauty and vitality of traditional and contemporary art. In part, the Heard Museum is supported by the generosity of Heard Museum members and donors, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. In association with the Smithsonian, the Heard Museum is part of a select group of museums and cultural, educational, and arts organizations that share the Smithsonian’s resources with the nation.
