Celebrating Women’s History Month A tribute to Maria Tallchief By: Ayelen Pinotti

Lets Look at Maria Tallchief:

How she got started:  Maria was born in  Her father was an Osage Indian and her mother was Irish.  Her parents always taught her about her ancestors.  Her ancestors dealt with a lot of music and art.  She became very involved with music and art.

 She started to show great dance techniques when she was three.  At age four she could play the piano.  When she was eight her family moved to California because they wanted Maria to go to the enterteinment industry.  She studied ballet for many, many, years.  In 1942 she graduated from Beverly Hills High School and she moved to New York to become a professional bellerina.

After Being in New York: AAAAfter studing very hard and for a long time Maria became the first Professional Osage Indian Ballerina ever. HHHHer parents were very proud of this accomplishment. SSSShe was one of the greatest ballerina ever. SSSShe did many challenging ballets.

 In 1946 Maria married her dance teacher.  His name was George Balanchie.  After she married George Balanchie, she did some of the most challenging ballets ever.

At the End:  In 1965 she is 41 years old and she retires from ballet.  She is still one of the greatest ballet dancers ever.

More Information About the Osage Indians:

Basic Information:  The Wazhazhe Indians were one of the most important tribes’.  They had two main groups, the Grand and the Osage.  The Osage are the Indians who lived very close to the Missouri river.

The Male Indians:  The men shaved their heads, leaving only a scalplock extending from the forehead to the back of the neck.  The pattern of a man’s scalplock indicated the clan he belonged to.  Men wore deerskin loincloths, leggings, and moccasins, and bearskin or buffalo robes when it was cold.  Beaded ear ornaments and armbands were worn, and warriors tattooed their chests and arms.

The Female Indians:  Women kept their hair long.  They wore deerskin dresses, woven belts, leggings, and moccasins.  Clothing was perfumed with chewed columbine seed and ceremonial garments were decorated with the furs of ermine and puma.  Earrings, pendants, and bracelets were worn.  women decorated their bodies with tattoos also.

The community:  The men hunted bison, deer, elk, bear, and smaller game.  The women butchered the animals and dried or smoked the meat and prepared the hides.  The women also gathered wild plant food and the summer villages tended gardens of corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins.

Continuation:  The horse was used mostly for hunting because the Osage went to war on foot.  The Osage obtained their horses by stealing, trading, and capturing, wild horses in the plains.  However, a stolen horse was considered to be a honor.

Ceremonies:  Ceremonies were performed for important events and activities.  This includes hunting, war, peace, curing illness, marriage, and mourning the dead. Participants wear special clothing and ornaments or paint elaborate designs on their bodies.