Making Our People Proud 

Dancing takes a lot of skill and practice, especially the kind of moves that Mateo does. Mateo is a hoop dancer. He uses his hands and feet to spin as many as six hoops at a time, weaving them together to form shapes like a butterfly, a basket, and his favorite, an eagle.

“When you do that formation, you make it look like you’re flying,” Mateo explains.

Hoop dancing has been performed by Native peoples for centuries, as a form of prayer and storytelling. Sometimes, a hoop dance is performed by people who use traditional health and healing practices.

Modern hoop dancing is believed to have originated in the Native villages of New Mexico, not far from where Mateo lives. He is from the Pueblo of Pojoaque (poh-WAH-kay). He shows off his skills in competitions. But for Mateo, hoop dancing is about much more than winning contests.

“It’s important to keep passing on this tradition,” Mateo says. “If it’s not passed on, it’s forgotten, and you lose part of your culture.”

Dancing takes a lot of skill and practice, especially the kind of moves that Mateo does. Mateo is a hoop dancer. He uses his hands and feet to spin as many as six hoops. He forms shapes like a butterfly, a basket, and his favorite, an eagle.

“When you do that formation, you make it look like you are flying,” Mateo explains.

Native peoples have used hoop dancing for hundreds of years to pray and to tell stories. Sometimes, people who use traditional healing practices also perform a hoop dance.

It is believed that modern hoop dancing started in the Native villages of New Mexico, not far from where Mateo lives. He is from the Pueblo of Pojoaque (poh-WAH-kay). He shows off his skills in competitions. But for Mateo, hoop dancing is about more than winning contests.

“It’s important to keep passing on this tradition,” Mateo says. “If it is not passed on, it is forgotten, and you lose part of your culture.”

For Azalea, lacrosse is more than just a sport. It’s an important part of her culture. Azalea is a member of the Mohawk Nation. That’s one of the six Native nations in the Haudenosaunee (hoh-dee-noh-SHOH-nee) Confederacy. All modern versions of lacrosse are based on stick and ball games that the Haudenosaunee invented more than 900 years ago. They call it the Creator’s Game and play as a way to honor their Creator.

“When I play, I have a connection with people who played before me, like my ancestors,” Azalea explains.

But for hundreds of years, women weren’t allowed to play the game. It wasn’t until recently that the community began to see the sport as a way to empower young girls too.

“When my mom was young, she wasn’t allowed to play,” Azalea says. “It’s cool that I was born at the right time and am able to play lacrosse, because I really love it.”

Lacrosse is more than a sport for Azalea. It’s a part of her culture. Azalea is a member of the Mohawk Nation. That is one of the six Native nations in the Haudenosaunee (hoh-dee-noh-SHOH-nee) Confederacy. All the kinds of lacrosse played today are based on ball and stick games that they invented more than 900 years ago. They call it the Creator’s Game. They play as a way to honor their Creator.

“When I play, I have a connection with people who played before me like my ancestors,” Azalea explains.

But women could not play the game for many years. It was only recently that the community saw the sport as a way to empower young girls.

“When my mom was young she wasn’t allowed to play,” Azalea says. “It‘s cool that I was born at the right time and am able to play lacrosse because I really love it.”

If you wanted to learn a new language, you’d download an app or read a book. But it’s not so easy for Leeann. A member of the Yuchi (YOO-chee) and Creek Nations, Leeann is learning to speak Yuchi. There are no books printed in the language. It’s so rare that only a few people speak it.

“Because there aren’t a lot of people who speak Yuchi, it’s important that we learn so we can pass it down,” Leeann says.

There was a time when all Yuchi people spoke the language. But in the late 19th century, the U.S. government forced Native American kids to speak only English. As years passed, many Native languages disappeared. Leeann and the other kids learning the language don’t want that to happen to Yuchi.

Learning the language can be challenging because it has its own alphabet. For example, Leeann’s Yuchi name is ts’ônta (tz-OWN-tah), which means “turtle.” But Leeann is getting help from Yuchi elders and a group called the Yuchi Language Project.

“We’re all family,” Leeann says.

To learn a new language, you could download an app or read a book. But it’s not so easy for Leeann. Leeann is a member of the Yuchi (YOO-chee) and Creek Nations. She is learning to speak Yuchi. There are no books printed in the language and only a few people speak it.

“Because there are not a lot of people who speak Yuchi, it is important that we learn so we can pass it down,” Leeann says.

There was a time when all Yuchi people spoke the language. But in the 19th century Native American kids were forced to speak only English. Many Native languages disappeared over time. Leeann and the other kids learning the language do not want that to happen to Yuchi.

Learning the language can be difficult because it has its own alphabet. For example, Leeann’s Yuchi name is ts’ônta, which means “turtle.” But Leeann is getting help from elders and a group called the Yuchi Language Project.

“We are all family,” Leeann says.