Notable American Indians 

The Ballerina

Maria Tallchief (b. January 24, 1925)

Maria Tallchief was the lead female dancer, or prima ballerina, of the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1960. She was born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief in Fairfax, Okalahoma. Her father was a chief of the Osage Nation, and her mother was Scots-Irish.

As a girl, Tallchief loved to dance. She studied ballet until she graduated high school, when she moved to New York City to become an apprentice with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. When she became a member of the ballet company, representatives asked her to change her name to Maria Tallchieva. She refused because she was proud of her Osage heritage, but she decided to change her name to Maria Tallchief.

Tallchief married the choreographer George Balanchine, who cast her in some of his most well-known ballets. Her performance in “The Firebird” made her world famous.

In 1953, the Osage Nation named her Wa-Xthe-Thomba, or Woman of Two Worlds, for her American Indian heritage and her achievements as a prima ballerina.

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