1 Dollar 'Native American Dollar' Mohawk Ironworkers

The 2015 Native American Dollar honors the Mohawk ironworkers whose involvement in high-steel construction shaped the skylines of New York and other major American cities. Kahnawake Mohawk men began working structural steel in 1886 during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge over the St. Lawrence — a connection documented by anthropologist David Ryves — and by the early twentieth century their presence on Manhattan skyscraper frames was well established, including during the construction of Rockefeller Center.

Congress mandated annual design changes for this series beginning in 2009 under the Native American $1 Coin Act, with themes selected in consultation with the National Congress of American Indians.