The 60th annual Miss ANB pageant took place Tuesday night at Nome's Mini Convention Center. A mountain landscape banner hung behind the stage, and soft-toned tapestries framed the podium and lined the walls.
Marsha Tobuk has coordinated the event for 25 years. It's a family tradition passed down from her grandmother to her and her mother.
“I used to come and watch my grandma when she used to do it, and it was much grander,” Tobuk said. “They focus more now on traditional questions and lifestyles. They try to do less of the decorations, and more just keeping it plain and focusing on the ladies.”
This year's contestants were Maggie Miller of Nome, whose family has roots in Shishmaref and White Mountain, and Jessica LeClair, who was born in Anchorage and raised in Nome, Dillingham, Barrow and Soldotna.
As the audience settled into their seats, the contestants stepped onto the stage for the kuspuk and interview portion of the competition.
The emcee asked them questions about subsistence practices, cultural values, and the people who shaped their connection to tradition.
Later, the contestants returned in full regalia.
Miller walked onstage first. She wore a parka sewn by her grandmother, along with sealskin slippers, beaver and sealskin mittens, and handmade jewelry. As she walked down the aisle through the audience, Tobuk read her biography.
"From an early age, her [Miller's] grandparents taught her to appreciate all aspects of their culture, values and land," Tobuk read. "Her parents share the same appreciation for the outdoors, and she has grown to appreciate access to a subsistence lifestyle and the true blessings across our community."
LeClair followed, wearing a parka made by her great-grandmother, last worn in 1991 for the King Island Wolf Dance. It features a polar bear ruff, beaver trim and 65 squirrel skins. Her mukluks were made for her high school graduation, and her sealskin mittens, trimmed with sea otter, were a gift from her great-aunt.
“Growing up in Nome, she enjoyed the nice long days to go berry picking,” Tobuk read. “In Barrow, she would wait impatiently for the men to go whaling and come together as a community in dancing and passing around chunks of muktuk.”
Three judges sat at a table near the front of the room. One of them, Ashley Payenna, is a former Miss Arctic Circle and the 2006 Miss World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, or WEIO, from Kotzebue. She said Miss ANB is about having confidence in who you are and where you're from.
"It's a platform for these girls to shine, share and educate others outside our culture about who we are, and that we're still here today," Payenna said. "It's a beautiful thing, and being able to gather and witness these girls take a chance and get on stage is an honor."
After the contestants showed their regalia, they stood side by side on stage to hear the judges' decision. Maggie Miller was crowned Miss ANB 2026.
Outgoing Miss ANB Brooke Anungazuk stepped forward, removed the beaded sealskin Miss ANB sash and crown, and placed them on Miller.
After the ceremony, the crowd gathered for photos before slowly filing out.
Miller said the pageant had been on her mind for years, but summer subsistence and other commitments kept her from competing until now.
"It's a big accomplishment for me," Miller said. "Like I said during the pageant, my Aaki Mary was Miss ANB, and I grew up looking at pictures of her as Miss ANB and Miss WEIO."
Miller said the title gives her the opportunity to serve the community, and she is considering how to give back in a meaningful way.
"One of the values I think of is sharing—not only in subsistence but just by being part of the community," Miller said. "Potlucks are a good example; you share what you have, and we all come together and benefit from that."
Miller said she hopes to use her title to bring people together and foster community, something she feels has been missing.
"I feel like we've been separated for so long, especially looking back at photos with elders and seeing how everyone used to come together," Miller said. "Not only with family, not only at basketball games. It was a big part of our way of life."
Miller will appear as Miss ANB in the Midnight Sun Festival Parade this weekend. She will also represent Nome at this year's Miss WEIO pageant in Fairbanks, July 15-18.
