Kyle Sumatzkuku Speaks

Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! This episode is about Kyle Sumatzkuku, a Hopi runner from Mishongnovi. ALCC intern, Meranden, talks with Kyle about his running journey and what it was like to qualify and run in the Boston Marathon. He also talks about his experiences becoming a cross-country coach and mentoring youth through Wings of America.

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TRANSCRIPT:

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Kyle Sumatzkuku: It pretty much opened my eyes and it gave me a perspective about how truly Hopi running is not only just about this physical capability, but pretty much just running with your heart.

Ranger Grace: Welcome back to season three of Grand Canyon Speaks. This is Ranger Grace.

Ranger Dan: And this is Ranger Dan.

Ranger Grace: In this episode, Meranden sat down with Kyle Sumatzkuku to discuss his career as a runner.

Ranger Dan: He shared Hopi's connections to running and how it's a significant aspect of Hopi culture.

Ranger Grace: Kyle grew up running at the Moenkopi Day School and is now competing in races like the Boston Marathon.

Ranger Dan: Take a listen as Kyle reflects on his journey and we hope you enjoy.

Meranden: Kyle, would you like to go ahead and introduce yourself?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: [Speaks Hopi] Hello, good evening, everyone. My name is Kyle Sumatzkuku. My Hopi name is Leetayo. It means Fox or Running Fox. That name was given to me when I was initiated. And that name was given by the Coyote clan, who are my ceremonial parents. I am of the Corn clan. I am from the village of Mishongnovi, generally known as Second Mesa. But I do live in the village of Moenkopi, generally known as Third Mesa.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: And pretty much, we are matriarchal and matrilineal tribe. So we always follow our mom's side of the family. So I am born from the Corn clan. And for my father's side is Sun clan, who is from the village of Moenkopi. Yeah, so it's a great honor and a good pleasure to be here to share our evening with you all. So I am 29 years old. I don't look like it. So yeah.

Meranden: Awesome. So I'm really happy to have you here, Kyle. Just really off the bat, have you been to the Grand Canyon before?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: Yes, I have been here since when I was going to school at the Moenkopi Day School. We used to come here for field trips and get on the train and just visit these sites here, especially the Watchtower. And it was, all in all, like a really good childhood memory of mine, even though it's just in our backyards of Hopi land and Diné land. So it's always a pleasure to come back. But then again, we just have to be careful when we visit this place, because it's just a very sacred place to us. We kind of treat this place very gentle and a gentle spirit that lies here. So it's always good to come back and be here near the canyon, near the sun and the skies. So yeah.

Meranden: Awesome. Yeah. And I know, like you mentioned, it's really, really sacred. And I mentioned in the beginning, it has a lot of different perspectives through these different tribes. They're not all the same. They all have different meanings, different stories, things like that.

Meranden: So we always mention to our guests, our visitors here, that you treat it as a living landscape. You treat it as your own home. You don't leave trash here. You take care of it just like anything else. So like I mentioned, it's very sacred to everybody here. A lot of tribes call the canyon home.

Meranden: So right off the bat, like I mentioned, this season for season three, we talked about it having a theme of Indigenous athletes. Something that you do is running. And that's something I would really, really like to highlight today. So how did you get started with your running?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: I started running when I was a little kid. Just running in the village at recess at the Moenkopi Day School. And, you know, just doing it during our free time and downtime. And just having fun with our childhood friends at the Moenkopi Day School. Because the Moenkopi Day School had like a big giant compound. And you can just absolutely just run a lot of miles on it.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: And, you know, it was definitely a childhood core to me. Because the Moenkopi Day School is literally in our backyard. And we can always just visit that little recess compound. And just be active and have fun with our friends. And, you know, yeah.

Meranden: Yeah, I remember that too. Because, I mean, we grew up in the same area. And we used to go there with my siblings too. And play in that same place. And, you know, like everywhere back home, there's a lot of different places you can go running. And we were always told not to be lazy. So we always went out and went running and things like that. So, you know, like I mentioned, running is very, very important. Not just for your health, much like the canyon as well. It's super important to the tribes here. But what importance does running have to Hopi?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: Ever since I started running as a kid. And just pretty much going through the journey as being born. And getting initiated. And getting older. And becoming more mature. I didn't start to take running seriously when I was between 6th to 7th grade.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: By that time frame, I was already pretty much being shared the knowledge of. That there was a ceremonial races going on at my home village. And it pretty much opened my eyes. It gave me a perspective about how truly Hopi running is not only just about this physical capability. But it has its spiritual, mental. And pretty much just running with your heart.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: And I have uncles who pretty much took me in. And showed me the whole Hopi art of running. And especially with my dad. My dad shared a lot of stories about why we do these ceremonial races. And these various races that we have on Hopi, it takes a lot of maturity. And to understand why we do it. And we have these various races. That we have snake dance race. We have the flute dance race. And we have the basket dance race. And we have clan races in our home village. And pretty much it represents all of walk of life.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: And it makes the connection back here to the canyon. So I didn't start doing those races when I started to understand and get much more older. Yeah, so it just took a lot of maturity. And clearly, what's the more important reason to carry on with those races until this day.

Meranden: Yeah, and when you run these races, are there a lot of other individuals who run with you as well?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: Yeah, so we have pretty much good runners back at home. But all throughout Hopi. So it's always good to see their faces again. And they're always eager to like pretty much show up. And just have a grand old time. And just place down some prayers for not only for ourselves. Not only for our families and our loved ones. But pretty much for all living things out there. And having it connect with the ceremony itself too as well. Because it brings the might of the earth not only to our earth. But to people's hearts too as well.

Meranden: Yeah, we've talked about how running is not just for your health. But it's also a form of prayer. We do it for moisture. We do it for a lot of cultural reasons. So that running aspect is very important to Hopi. You know, you mentioned these races. And you didn't really start getting serious with it at a younger age. Until, you know, you start going to school. What was running like for you as a student growing up? Like middle school or high school? What was that running experience like?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: Ever since I started running at the Moenkopi Day School, I didn't really take running that serious. Matter of fact, a true story here. When I started running at the Moenkopi Day School, I would always start leading out the runners. I would lead the runners. And then by then, probably halfway, I would see like one of my teammates or my good friends. My good buddies who are like hunched over or hurt.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: Or you know, my empathy. Me, I'm showing compassion to my fellow running mates. I would stop and I would go back and check on them while the other runners would pass. And I didn't know anything about competition back then. You know, I was just there just hanging out, having a good time with my friends and running with them. Because we always ran with each other during recess, clan runs, and even our training.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: So when it came to races, I was so compassionate to my fellow teammates. Even when they have a side ache or they're about to puke or anything. And I would stay behind and check up on them. And then by the time when the race is just about over, we'll still be in the back of the pack. And we'll still be like lollygagging, having a chat or just talking to each other. And while we just see the other runners by us, just past us.

Kyle Sumatzkuku: And then once we cross the finish line, my parents, my mom and dad will ask me like, hey, how come you weren't in front of the other runners? I was like, oh, I was just waiting for my friend.

Meranden: We talked about the races that you did growing up, or just running in general and being careful with the teammates that you had. I know you also did other kind of running such as community stuff, maybe like Just Move It, your own kind of races. What was that experience like doing those kind of bigger races rather than running for school?

Kyle Sumatzkuku: It was definitely like another realm for me to step in. Just maturing from elementary to junior high to high school races, running against schools, but stepping into bigger races, going to Australia Down Under to race an international race when I was a junior in high scho