{"id":41836,"date":"2024-10-11T12:33:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=41836"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:30:33","slug":"cronkite-news-native-rodeo-a-tradition-at-arizona-state-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/10\/11\/cronkite-news-native-rodeo-a-tradition-at-arizona-state-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Native rodeo a tradition at Arizona State Fair"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Montana<\/a>
Montana Barlow competes in saddle bronc riding at the Arizona State Fair Native American Rodeo on October 4, 2024, in Phoenix. Photo by Spencer Barnes \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
After 2022, tribal involvement in the Arizona\u2019s State Fair\u2019s Native American Rodeo waned<\/div>\r\n
Friday, October 11, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Marshall Baker<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

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PHOENIX — The Arizona State Fair is one of Arizona\u2019s longest-standing traditions, dating back almost 30 years before statehood. Starting all the way back in 1884, it\u2019s one of the largest fairs in the United States, bringing in over 1.4 million visitors in 2023.<\/p>\r\n

The Native American Rodeo is part of the rich tradition of the fair, with spectators and competitors from tribal nations across the country. It celebrates the Indigenous peoples who heavily influenced the history of Arizona. It is one of the most popular events among Indigenous communities at the fair, but there are questions surrounding their involvement with all aspects of the rodeo.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cI think to bring back some of the Native culture that we don\u2019t have like we used to, I think that would be good,\u201d said Jerry Honeycutt of Honeycutt Rodeo Company. He is a third-generation stock contractor, and his family has been working with the State Fair as long as he can remember. \u201cMy grandpa, Walt Alsbaugh, was at this rodeo many, many years ago. He started in the \u201940s, and I think his first Arizona State Fair was in the late \u201950s. And our family has been here this long, providing the livestock for the rodeo.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Honeycutt Rodeo, based in Alamosa, Colorado, is the sole stock contractor for the Native American Rodeo and is in charge of the production of the entire event \u2013 laying the dirt, bringing in the calves and bulls, even bringing in the rodeo clowns. However, it is not an Indigenous-led company.<\/p>\r\n

In 2022, the Native American Rodeo was held with consultation from the Arizona Native American Rodeo Committee (AZNAR), an organization that was formed to work with State Fair officials.<\/p>\r\n

A bill was introduced in the Arizona Senate by Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, D-Tuba City, in February 2023 that would\u2019ve solidified the committee of five tribal members appointed by the governor to oversee and facilitate the rodeo. In addition to the committee, the bill would have established the Native American Rodeo Fund of $300,000 annually from the state general fund. The bill died in the Senate that year.<\/p>\r\n

The AZNAR is no longer assisting in the rodeo, and not much is known about why the organization ended its involvement.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe used to have all kinds of Native dancers and stuff, and that was pretty cool. \u2026 But that\u2019s when the committee was there doing that, but I\u2019m not sure what happened with the committee,\u201d Honeycutt said. \u201cAnd so that kind of went away, and then the fair just went back to the way it always is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The Arizona State Fair, AZNAR officials and Hatathlie did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n \"Arizona<\/a>

A competitor sits and waits with her horse at the Arizona State Fair Native American Rodeo on October 4, 2024, in Phoenix. Photo by Spencer Barnes \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

In addition to the Indigenous dancers and singers, the rodeo also showcased Indigenous rodeo pageantry, a staple in Indigenous rodeos all across the country.<\/p>\r\n

Rodeo pageantry blends traditional beauty pageants with rodeo competition. Contestants are judged on appearance, character and horsemanship skills. Winners earn the title of rodeo queen or princess and represent that rodeo as they travel throughout the country.<\/p>\r\n

Indigenous rodeo pageantry operates similarly, but with many queens and princesses representing different tribal nations across the U.S. and Canada. Pageant contestants are also judged on elements different from regular pageantry competitions: language, traditional knowledge and traditional Indigenous skills. The Native American Rodeo has not held its own pageant but brought in Indigenous rodeo queens and princesses from across the country in the past.<\/p>\r\n

Destinee Bigman is from the Phoenix area, and her family has been participating in the Native American Rodeo for years in calf roping and other events. \u201cMy family, we all do rodeo, so it’s a good, it’s an open rodeo, so we all can get in with each other,\u201d Bigman said. \u201cIt’s more family-oriented, especially for team roping. I could rope with my brother. I can rope with my sister. My brothers can rope with my dad.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Bigman said she thinks more could be done to include Indigenous people in all aspects of the rodeo. \u201c’It\u2019s something that we should push towards because I know a lot of Native American or Indigenous people that do a lot of stock contracting, and it’d be nice for them to come out here, too,\u201d Bigman said.<\/p>\r\n

The rodeo features eight events, including bareback riding, bull riding, team roping and ladies barrel racing, among others. The State Fair divides $16,000 among winners in each category, with additional prizes added. The open rodeo does not have any implications with the professional rodeo circuit or the Indian National Finals Rodeo.<\/p>\r\n

The Indian National Finals Rodeo is the premier organization among tribal nations, with the INFR sanctioning nearly 700 events across the country. The finals for INFR are held in Las Vegas annually and is the single largest Indigenous rodeo in the U.S.<\/p>\r\n

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A post shared by \ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde5\ud835\udddc\ud835\udded\ud835\udde2\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddd4 \ud835\udde6\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd8 \ud835\uddd9\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde5 (@arizonastatefair)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\r\n