CELEBRATIONS
Mateo Ulibarri, 11, a member of the Pueblo of Pojoaque, was featured on the cover of the November edition of Scholastic Magazine, which is distributed to schools all over the world.
Mateo, a Native American hoop dancer with the local Lightning Boy Foundation, was the youth division winner of the 2021 World Championship Hoop Dance Contest at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
But, he told the magazine, he believes the traditional dance form is about more than winning competitions.
“It’s important to keep passing on this tradition,” he said. “If it’s not passed on, it’s forgotten, and you can lose part of your culture.” The November edition of Scholastic celebrates Native American Heritage Month.
“We at Lightning Boy Foundation Inc. are proud that one of our dancers is not only featured in this month’s issue but was also given the cover,” Steve LaRance, co-chairman of the foundation, wrote in an email.
AARP New Mexico has named Othiamba Umi of Albuquerque its new associate state director for advocacy.
Umi is a lifelong New Mexican who grew up in Hobbs, Santa Fe and Cerrillos. He graduated from Santa Fe Preparatory School.
He earned dual bachelor degrees in psychology and Spanish at the University of New Mexico and holds a Juris Doctorate from the UNM School of Law. Umi has several years of advocacy and government relations experience. Before his advocacy work, he was an assistant trial attorney with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He also serves on the New Mexico Lottery Authority Board.