Microkhan by Brendan I. Koerner

The Maya Moore of Fish Cutting

August 9th, 2011 · No Comments

I’m rarely impressed by the talent portions of beauty pageants. Yes, I realize that baton twirling went out with leaded gasoline, but the mediocre singing and dancing that are now commonplace in such contests have done nothing to convince me that budding artists eschew the pageant circuit.

But just when I’m nearly secure in my bias, along comes Marjorie Tahbone to destroy my preconceptions. The reigning Miss Indian World wowed the judges at this spring’s contest by demonstrating the entire range of Eskimo-Indian Olympic games—a far, far cooler talent than reeling off yet another sappy rendition of “The Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Yet Tahbone wasn’t just doing a demo—she is a tremendously badass athlete, something she proved at last month’s annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Fairbanks, Alaska. Tahbone took gold in four separate events, totally annihilating the field in both fish cutting and the greased pole walk. She thus earned the title of Howard Rock Outstanding Athlete, which I consider a much greater achievement than her beauty pageant crown.

A photographic tour of this year’s WEIO Games here. And more shots of Tahbone here.

Previously from Microkhan’s WEIO coverage: the agonizing secrets of Drop the Bomb.

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