Tashina Red Hawk crowned Miss Indian World 2022

Tashina Red Hawk was crowned Miss Indian World 2022 at the end of thethe Gathering of Nations powwow, held on April 30, 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 18-year-old Sicangu Lakota woman competed with 23 contestants for the title and succeeded Miss Indian World 2019-2021, Cheyenne Kippenberger. With the exception of the last two years, when COVID forced it to be put on hold, the Miss Indian World pageant has been held annually since 1984 – one year after the first Gathering of Nations was held. The pageant gives young Native American women an opportunity to showcase their tribes and cultures, while representing all Native women and serving as a cultural ambassador for all Native Americans. For her traditional talent, Red Hawk sang a Lakota song, discussed bead work and horse culture, and put on a bow-and-arrow demonstration. She also won awards for best essay and best personal interview. Miss Indian World 2022 will serve as an ambassador for Indigenous nations throughout the USA and Canada.

Also an avid learner in academics, Tashina was student at White River High School. Sheplays 12 different instruments between band and choir, and plans to minor in music and attend veterinary school at the South Dakota State University.

This newly crowned Miss Indian World is not a newbie to pageantry. As the 2019 South Dakota High School Rodeo Queen, Tashina Red Hawk represented the next generation of rodeo. It is a tradition which goes back in her own family to her grandpa, a team roping heeler named Sidney Reddest. The native of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in Rosebud, South Dakota, has held all of the Miss Rosebud Rodeo titles—part of the tribal fair that is 143 years strong—since she was a young girl. Tashina has been raised in, including traditional dancing and beading, and she is the first of her family to represent rodeo as a queen.