Maria Tallchief was not only the first American major prima ballerina, but also the first Native American one.
She was born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief (Ki He Kah Stah Tsa, in Osage), in Oklahoma in 1925, a member of the Osage Indian Nation, to an Osage father and an Irish mother. She started dancing at the age of 3, and in her late teens she moved to New York, and danced for several years with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She met and married none other than ballet choreographer George Balanchine; they were married for six years. Tallchief received a Kennedy Honor for lifetime achievement, and other awards for her talent. She was director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and founded the Chicago City Ballet. Standing a regal 5’9”, she gracefully paved the way in ballet for many women of color.
Maria Tallchief died in 2013, at the age of 88.
