“We’re not dancing for ourselves. We’re dancing for all of our ancestors who kept this knowledge alive.”

The hoop dance began as a healing ceremony. The story is told of a little boy whose grandfather sang for him. With each pass of the boy’s body through the hoop, another day, month, or year was added to the life of someone who was sick. The children of the nation watched, learned the movements, and added more hoops, forming the flower, the butterfly, the eagle, and the ladder of life.

Scott Sixkiller-Sinquah, Hopi-Tewa, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Gila River Pima, has been dancing since he was three or four years old, taught by former World Hoop Dance Champion Quentin Pipestem. His father, Moontee Sinquah, is a three-time World Champion in his own right. Now his young son Sonny is pulling out the hoops every morning and asking for songs.

This story shares an intergenerational story of dance, healing, and the inter-tribal community that carries the hoops forward.