Navajo student Kayden Denny made history in representing the top of her class for Highland High this year. At her graduation, she celebrated that milestone with a special hoop dance in place of a speech.
Kayden Denny with her sister Jace and mother Tanya after performing a Native American hoop dance at Highland High School's graduation in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 9, 2023.Kayden Denny figured there probably hadn’t been a lot of past valedictorians at her school who looked like her.
As valedictorian, Denny felt that performing — instead of giving the traditional speech — was more true to herself and her family, a way to take pride in her culture and to show what being the first Indigenous student with that honor meant. She wanted her classmates to see it.Denny was one of 17 students named valedictorians this year at Highland High, all of whom had a 4.0 or higher GPA . Denny jokes and thanks her parents for pushing her — “They wouldn’t let me get anything less than a 4.
The colors of the dress were a little surprise for her extended family, who didn’t know she’d been accepted at The dance, Denny said, has no boundaries. Some performers envision flowers, eagles, bears and monsters into it. And with each hoop added, it becomes more complex, more of a balance. “It was tinier than a shed,” Denny said. “And they would just stay in there for hours. They had to do a lot of hiding to avoid going into boarding schools.”
In the dance, Denny also represents her late grandpa, who spoke to her of the importance of the number four in their culture: four stages of life , four directions , four elements . Denny also has four clans: Sleeping Rock, Edge Water, Bitter Water and Towering House. Denny smiled throughout the dance as the crowded cheered her on — her favorite part is hearing that reaction. And by the end, everyone in the arena was standing in ovation. Their applause lasted almost as long as her four-minute performance. And it was so loud that it drowned out the pomp and circumstance music that had been turned on in the background.
Denny said she’s heard people say throughout her life that they didn’t know Indigenous people still existed, suggesting they’d gone extinct. It’s hurtful, she noted, and wrong.
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