Four generations of Sicangu family perform at 67th Annual World Hoop Dance Championship

PHOENIX, AZ – For the last 35 years, the Heard Museum has drawn talented hoop dancers from the U.S. and Canada, building community while launching professional careers for many world-class dancers. Held each February at the prestigious Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, the “World Championship Hoop Dance Contest” is one of the institution’s signature events and draws talent and crowds from all over the world. For at least 8 hours a day, downtown Phoenix is roaring with the sounds of powwow singing, and the applause of thousands of spectators.

This year, 130 dancers contested in front of a curated group of judges for two days to the live singing of Cozad Singers from Carnegie, Oklahoma and Thunder Boy Singers from the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. Divisions in the contest are organized by age group: youth (6-12 years old), teen (13-17 years old), adult (18-39 years) and senior (40+) and judged in five separate elements of the hoop dance: precision, rhythm, showmanship, creativity, and speed.

Not just anyone can enter to compete in the competition, either. Being affiliated with a Tribal Nation, or First Nation in Canada, is a must. The contest challenges dancers to adhere to new dance rules they may not follow for cultural, or personal reasons. Dancers that come from different tribes, have different traditions.

“Having to wear bells, tinkers, or deer hooves during our performance surprised me,” said Delacina Chief Eagle in an interview with Native Sun News Today. Chief Eagle, 25, traveled to Phoenix with four generations of her family from South Dakota to compete in the annual competition.

“My hoop dance attire originates from my woman’s fancy dance regalia,” Chief Eagle said. “Typically, female dancers do not wear bells of any sort other than jingle dress dancers.”

“Competing in the world hoop dance contest again after not being there since I was a kid was such a surreal, awe-inspiring experience,” said Delacina. “The energy around me was powerful, and I could feel how happy and free everyone’s spirits were.”

It was Delacina’s first time competing in the adult category, but she remembers going to the competition every year growing up. “My family used to go annually when I was a kid, but this year we decided we would all go together again in honor our mom who passed away in May of 2024,” she said. “It was an incredible experience to now have a family member of each generation competing in every category from the Tiny Tots all the way to the Senior Division.”

Dallas Chief Eagle, Delacina’s father, has been hoop dancing at festivals, in schools, and at camps throughout the country for decades, and raising his children to do the same along the way. Chief Eagle is originally Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud Indian Reservation and now lives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

“Our Lakota people have a long history and tradition of the hoop dance,” Dallas Chief Eagle said in an interview with Native Sun News Today. “There are pictographs of hoop dancers on the cave walls in the Black Hills and there’s quite a few hoop dancers that come from our area such as the late Kevin Locke, Scoot Janis, Little Beaver, and Crow Dog.”

At 74, Dallas Chief Eagle was the oldest competitor in the contest and advanced to the final round on Sunday, but did not place. Time limit set for the senior division was 7 minutes, and he went beyond 9 minutes. “What I enjoyed the most about my experience at the hoop dance competition was the lessons I learned such as better preparation and the inspiration to get in better shape,” he said. “I also enjoyed the unity of all people, especially our family coming back together again.”

“Competing in the world hoop dance contest again after not being there since I was a kid was such a surreal, awe-inspiring experience,” said Delacina. “The energy around me was powerful, and I could feel how happy and free everyone’s spirits were.”

Delacina is one of several from the Chief Eagle family that participated in this year’s competition. The others were her sisters Jasmine Pickner-Bell and her daughter Aloysia Hooks Wincincala Bell, 10, as well as Starr Chief Eagle and Starr’s new one-year-old, Zen Chief Eagle McMurray, who celebrated his first birthday on Feb. 25, 2025. Pickner-Bell did not compete in this year’s event, though, as she served the competition as a judge. All of them perform professionally, for audiences all over the world in the Black Hills and beyond.

“Having the amazing opportunity to be a part of the ‘World Championship Hoop Dance contest’ this year, was a vital moment for my healing journey” said Jasmine Pickner-Bell in an interview with Native Sun News Today. “Being on the other side of it, definitely opened my eyes to see the important role I play as the older generation and female representation.”

The competition has grown since Pickner-Bell last attended the event in 2016, which was the year she advanced to compete in the final round in the adult division only to find out moments before her routine that the judges made an error in tabulating and she was disqualified from advancing. Since 2016, there hasn’t been a female that has advanced to the final round in the adult division.

“It was beautiful to see how much it has grown with female dancers,” Pickner-Bell said. “I accepted this role as a judge to fully be a honest advocate for all of the dancers. If there’s something that needs to be fixed, I want to help make it as fair across the board as possible. I know changes take time, I have the next four years to work together with all my fellow staff and dancers to continue to make that hoop stronger.”

Winners in the 35th annual World Championship Hoop Dance Competition in the Adult Division are: 1st Place, Josiah Enriquez, Pueblo of Pojoaque/Isleta/Diné; 2nd Place, Talon Duncan, Three Affiliated Tribes; 3rd Place, Tony Duncan, Apache/Arikara /Hidasta; 4th Place, Scott Sinquah, Akimel O’odham/Hopi/Tewa/Cherokee/Choctaw; 5th Place, Joseph Secody, Diné; 6th Place, Sky Duncan, San Carlos Apache/Three Affiliated Tribes. The Senior Division winners are: 1st Place, Dallas Arcand, Cree/Nakota Sioux/Metis; 2nd Place, Terry Goedel, Yakama/Tulalip, and 3rd Place, Moontee Sinquah, Hopi/Tewa/Choctaw.

For more information on the Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dance Competition, including the full list of winners, please go to their website at https://heard.org/event/world-championshiphoop-dance-contest/.

The 36th Annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest will take place on February 14 – 15, 2026.

Darren Thompson is the Director of Media Relations for the Sacred Defense Fund and covers Indigenous art, fashion, music, politics, breaking news, and more. He can be reached at darren@sacreddefense.org.

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