New Quarter Features Osage Nation's Maria Tallchief; The First Native American Prima Ballerina

The US Mint has started shipping out quarters with the likeness of a famous Osage nation woman.

Maria Tallchief was America's first major prima ballerina and broke barriers as a Native American ballet dancer. Her Osage name translates to "Two Standards", which reflects her life as an accomplished dancer and Osage member.

The Maria Tallchief Quarter is the 10th coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. The program is a four-year series that celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women in the United States.

Tallchief also appeared on a $1 coin earlier this year.

Who Was Maria Tallchief?

Maria Tallchief is the first American prima ballerina and the first Native American artist to achieve the rank.

Tallchief was born on January 24, 1925, in Fairfax, Oklahoma on the Osage reservation. She began dance lessons as a young girl and excelled at dance and playing the piano. She moved to New York City at age 17, in the hope of becoming a ballerina. She was selected as an apprentice in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the premier Russian ballet company in the United States. 

Critics and peers both applauded her skill and strength on and off the stage.

According to the National Women's History Museum, as her career began to take off, many tried to persuade Tallchief to change her last name so that dance companies would not discriminate against her. She refused and continued to perform as Maria Tallchief.

In 1960, Tallchief performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow making her the first American to do so.

Image Provided By: US Mint

Tallchief married her second husband Henry “Buzz” Paschen in 1956 and gave birth to their daughter Elise in 1959. She retired as a performer in the late 1960s and founded the ballet school of the Lyric Opera. She also served as artistic director at the Chicago City Ballet.

Maria Tallchief died on April 11, 2013. Her legacy includes numerous honors, such as being named Woman of the Year by the National Women’s Press Club and receiving the National Medal of the Arts Award. She was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

According to the US Mint, The Osage Tribal Council gave Maria Tallchief a name selected by her grandmother, “Wa-Xthe-Thoṉba,” which translates to “Two Standards.” It reflects Tallchief’s life in two worlds – as an accomplished dance professional, and as a member of the Osage Nation, two identities that she proudly represented throughout her life.