Staff Reports | Community Updates
At the Heard Museum’s 36th annual World Hoop Dance Championship Contest, Josiah Enriquez won the championship title for the third consecutive year with a total score of 214 points out of 225.
Judged on precision, timing, showmanship, creativity and speed, 128 Indigenous hoop dancers competed for titles and a share of $25,000 in prizes across multiple age divisions, according to a press release.
“My gratitude to everyone involved, from the staff and judges at the Heard, to my friends, students at fellow teachers at The Lightning Boy Foundation, and all the contestants who come to this amazing Contest from all over the US and Canada,” Mr. Enriquez said. “I also want to thank the incredible crowd that comes out to support this event.”
Mr. Enriquez, 23, is Navajo and from the Pueblos of Pojoaque and Isleta in New Mexico. He began participating in traditional ceremonies at age 3 and started hoop dancing at age 8, inspired by his teacher Nakotah LaRance, dancer Valentino Rivera, his grandmother and students from the Lightning Boy Foundation. Teaching, he said, has deepened his understanding of the art form.
2026 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Championship:
First place: Josiah Enriquez (Pueblo of Pojoaque, Navajo, Isleta)
First runner‑up: Scott Sixkiller Sinquah (Gila River Pima)
Second runner‑up: Tony Duncan (Apache, Arikara, Hidasta)
Third runner‑up: Talon Duncan (Arikara, Hidasta, Mandan, Apache)
Fourth runner‑up: Kailayne Jensen (Navajo/Maricopa)
Fifth runner‑up: Tyrese Jensen (Navajo)
2026 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Senior Champion
First place: Terry Goedel (Yakama/Tulalip)
First runner‑up: Moontee Sinquah (Hopi‑Tewa, Choctaw)
Second runner‑up: Lane Jensen (Navajo/Maricopa)
2026 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Teen Champion
First place: Mateo Ulibarri (Pueblos of Pojoaque and Santa Clara)
First runner‑up: JaiPo Jarvier (Pueblo of Pojoaque, Santa Clara Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, Tohono O’odham Nation)
Second runner‑up: Shikeyah Torres (Navajo and Mexican)
2026 Heard Hoop Dance Contest Youth Champion
First place: Victor Duncan (Plains Cree, Taino, Apache, Arikara, Hidasta, Mandan)
First runner‑up: Cooper Nez (Navajo)
Second runner‑up: Leo Brady (Lakota, Navajo, Sac and Fox, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Kiowa Apache)
