Mayqkh Pinonuuchiu Puan, 

My English name is Leandra Litz and my Ute name is Thunder Cloud young lady given to me by my aunty Hilda Burch.  

My bands are Moache and Caputa. I’m half Dine, my clans are Mexican clan and Zuni edge water clan. My parents are Alyssa Nez and Leandro Litz. I have three little brothers, Dwight, Jr and Tavach. My maternal grandparents are Fannie Yazzie and Darrell Nez. My paternal grandparents are Nicole Lansing and the late Randall Litz (Spaceman). My paternal great-grandparents are Judy Burch Lansing, the late Dwight Lansing, Alethea Gunn and the late Gilbert Litz.  

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summer. I completed my sophomore year at Ignacio High School. During this quarter I have attended many events near and far. Some of our events happened to be back-to-back and it was tiring but I learned time management. 

While traveling, I made a lot of new friends and met great people along the way. My favorite event this quarter was the Southern Ute Bear Dance Powwow where I was able to shadow people during the powwow. I was able to learn more about how and why certain things are done. I would like to express my gratitude to Rochelle Aguilar.  

I truly enjoy representing our people and learning. I hope you all get to spend some time out in nature to rejuvenate. Take care of one another and see you all at the Southern Ute Tribal Fair& Rodeo. 

Here are the events I attended this quarter. 

 

MARCH 

• March 21-23 – Denver March Powwow. Denver, Colo. 

• March 25 – Hozhoni Ambassador Exhibition. Durango, Colo. 

• March 28-29 – Hozhoni Days Powwow. Durango, Colo. I placed 2nd in Teen Girls Northern Traditional. 

 

APRIL 

• April 3 – Ute day at the Capitol. Denver, Colo. 

• April 9 – Golden High School Senior Seminar. Ignacio, Colo. 

• April 12-13 – UNLV Powwow for the Planet. Las Vegas, Nev. My fellow Royalty’s, SCSYAC and I traveled to this powwow to support Edward Box III as he was the head man for the UNLV powwow. It was great sharing our Ute culture with people. I placed 3rd in Teen Girls Northern Traditional. 

• April 22 – Earth Day Celebration at the Ignacio Library. Ignacio, Colo. 

• April 24 – Miss Indian World Pageant. Albuquerque, N.M. 

• April 25-26 – Gathering of Nations Powwow. Albuquerque, N.M. 

 

MAY 

• May 9 – SUIMA Field Day. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 10 – STEM Day at the Powerhouse. Durango, Colo. 

• May 10 – Ft. Duchesne Bear Dance. Fort Duchesne, Utah 

• May 12 – Oath of Office Ceremony. Fort Duchesne, Utah. I was honored to witness this historical event, to see all three Ute Tribes together as one in support of one another. 

• May 12 – Ft. Duchesne Bear Dance and Feast. Fort Duchesne, Utah. Miss Southern Ute and I helped serve during the feast. It was a great weekend meeting new people and relatives. 

• May 13 – Bear Dance Workshop. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 13 – Ute Mountain Royalty Pageant. Towaoc, Colo. 

• May 16 – Elbert J. Floyd Award Ceremony. Ignacio, Colo. I was excited to see my fellow Royalty Olyvia Watts receive this award. 

• May 16 – Sip, Chat & Chew. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 17 – Recovery Retreat at Sky Ute Casino. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 17 – Durango Native Graduation Banquet. Durango, Colo. 

• May 20 – Native American Mining & Energy Sovereignty Symposium. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 22 – SUCCM Royalty Exhibit Reception. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 23 – SUIMA Transition Ceremony. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 23 – Southern Ute Bear Dance Kick off meal. Ignacio, Colo. 

• May 23-24 – Southern Ute Bear Dance Powwow. Ignacio, Colo. I was Head Girl for the 1 O’ Clock portion.  

• May 26 – Southern Ute Bear Dance Feast and Day of Remembrance. Ignacio, Colo. 

 

JUNE 

• June 4 – Inaugural Tero-Worker Trainee Recognition luncheon. Ignacio, Colo. 

• June 4 – Jicarilla’s Royalty Pageant. This pageant was three days long. I attended on the last day, which was the traditional portion. I was asked to be a judge for the ribbon skirt contest. An elder also took me to visit with the Jicarilla Language class, there I was able to share about our Ute language and encourage the youth to keep practicing their language. 

• June 5 – Ute Mountain Bear Dance & Powwow. Towaoc, Colo. 

• June 6 – Ute Mountain Bear Dance Parade & Powwow. Towaoc, Colo. Southern Ute Brave Theoden Greany and I took 1st place at the parade. I also placed 1st in Teen Girls Northern Traditional.  

• June 13 – BGC Summer kick off meal. Ignacio, Colo. 

• June 13 – Sip, Chat & Chew. Ignacio, Colo. 

• June 14 – Jicarilla Apache DOY Powwow. Dulce, N.M. I placed 2nd in Teen Girls Northern Traditional 

 

Tog’oiak’ 

Leandra Litz 

Jr. Miss Southern Ute 

2024-2025