1/4 Dollar 'Washington Quarter' Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief, an Osage Nation member from Oklahoma, became the first Native American to serve as prima ballerina of a major American company — the New York City Ballet — under George Balanchine, whom she married in 1946. Her inclusion in the American Women Quarters Program reflects a broader Congressional mandate, passed in 2020, to feature women whose contributions had been systematically overlooked on circulating coinage. The Osage Nation formally celebrated the announcement of her selection.

Tallchief died in 2013, a decade before this coin entered circulation.