FORT HALL — After showing off talents in everything from traditional dances to roasting a rock chuck, Miss Shoshone-Bannock candidate Taylor Thomas beat out fellow contestant, Niavitsi Yabeney by just three points to take the crown Friday evening.

    Thomas became the 50th young woman to earn the honor.

    The 20-year-old winner is the daughter of Wendy Farmer and Jason Thomas and lives in the Fort Hall District of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Her Shoshone name is Padeheya tsa ba'aigi dategide/Onsoquah, which means “How the Elks Walks – Elks Stepping Lightly.”

    Thomas' talent in the contest was telling a story and sharing a song she learned from her grandfather. She also roasted a rock chuck in a fire pit to show off her cooking skills using a family recipe shared by her uncle, Zia Osborne. Tribal council chairman and her uncle, Nathan Small was her escort during the final phase of Friday's competition.

    Thomas graduated from Pocatello High School and will be starting her fourth year at Idaho State University this fall to complete a bachelor's degree in political science. Her goal is go to law school at the Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law at the University of Arizona and eventually become a judge advocate in the U.S. Navy.

    Runner-up Yabeney, 19, is the daughter of Georgette Running Eagle and fathers, Ernest Running Eagle and Nathaniel Yabeney. Her Shoshone name is Si'Vappe Waipe, which means Sweet Grass Woman.

    Yabeney will start her freshman year at ISU this fall and after completing her bachelor's degree, she intends to enroll in law school and eventually become an attorney.

    Before the three judges announced Friday's winner, both young women performed two dances in the dance arbor at the Fort Hall Fairgrounds.