10/12/2026
In celebration of Indigenous People Day, we will be sharing information on Maria Tallchief today. An important figure in American Ballet History.
**We are open for classes today.
Maria Tallchief, the first Native American to become a prima ballerina, was one of the most acclaimed ballerinas of the 20th century. Tallchief grew up on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma and, as noted in a NY Times tribute to her, "at a time when many American dancers adopted Russian stage names, Ms. Tallchief, proud of her Indian heritage, refused to do so, even though friends told her that it would be easy to transform Tallchief into Tallchieva."
Tallchief kept her name and made her mark throughout the dance world, dancing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1942 to 1947 and the New York City Ballet from its founding in 1947 through 1965. She is pictured here in the title role of George Balanchine's ballet "Firebird." This dance legend passed away in 2013 at the age of 88.
To introduce this pioneering dancer to children, we highly recommend the picture book "Tallchief: American's Prima Ballerina" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/tallchief-america-s-prima-ballerina), the chapter book "She Persisted: Maria Tallchief" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/she-persisted-tallchief), and the illustrated biography "Who Is Maria Tallchief" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-maria-tallchief)
She is also among the women featured in "This Little Trailblazer" for ages 1 to 4 (https://www.amightygirl.com/this-little-trailblazer) and "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World," for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/she-persisted)
For a lovely picture book about a Native American girl who loves to dance at powwows, we recommend "Jingle Dancer" for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/jingle-dancer
To discover our favorite fictional picture books about Mighty Girl dancers, visit our blog post, "Dancing Her Heart Out: 20 Picture Books About Mighty Girls Who Love to Dance," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12378
For more books about Native American and Indigenous girls and women, visit our blog post, "50 Children's Books Celebrating Native American and Indigenous Mighty Girls" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10365
