"Maria Tallchief"

She was born on this day, January 24, 1925, 

and as a young girl growing up on the Osage reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma, 

she started formal dance lessons at age 3. 

By age 12, she had already decided she wanted to become a ballerina, 

and she wanted to be the best. 

With much hard work and long hours, 

she was finally being recognized for her talent and her grace. 

Before she became more known, 

an adviser told her that to be able to reach the top, 

she would have to change her surname to a Russian-sounding name, 

a practice common among ballet dancers at the time. 

She refused, saying she was proud of her Native American and Osage heritage: 

"Tallchief is my name, and I am proud of it." 

Maria Tallchief eventually became America's first major prima ballerina, 

the first Native American to hold the rank.

When recently-defected Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev 

and debuted on American television, 

he didn't choose a ballerina with a Russian-sounding name as his partner, 

he chose Maria Tallchief.

She was honored in her home state 

and is among four Indian ballerinas depicted in "Flight of Spirit," 

a mural in the Oklahoma Capitol building. 

An inductee of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, 

she also received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievements, 

describing her as "both the inspiration and the living expression of the best 

[the United States] has given the world. 

Her individualism and her genius came together 

to create one of the most vital and beautiful 

chapters in the history of American dance."