The Maria Tallchief Inspiring Women Barbie doll honors 𐓏𐓘𐓸𐓧𐓟-𐓍𐓪͘𐓬𐓘, “Two Standards,” America’s first prima ballerina, or the Osage dancer who believed in giving ultimate, single-minded focus to her art. As her daughter the poet Dr. Elise Paschen attests, it was with this spirit of total, passionate dedication that the ballerina danced a legendary career, leaving a legacy of excellence that continues to inspire.
The Osage Nation hosted a celebration of the Maria Tallchief Barbie at The Constantine Theatre in Pawhuska, Okla., on the Osage reservation, where the famed ballerina has her origins in Fairfax. Her relatives joined the Osage community, youth and tribal leaders to celebrate the release of the Maria Tallchief Barbie doll.
Immortalized as a doll, Tallchief’s Barbie wears a fiery red costume inspired by her debut in the New York City Ballet production of The Firebird.
“The outfit captures the essence of her role in the Firebird, which she premiered on November 27th, 1949,” said Paschen, who noted that the doll’s release was during Native American Heritage Month, but “also the month when she premiered this role that launched her into her amazing career as a prima ballerina.”
Tallchief was known for “lightning speed and the precision of her dancing,” as a framed photo and passage read in the vestibule of the theatre. Osages gathered across from the image and a pair of Tallchief’s pointe shoes, taking pictures in front of a Barbie backdrop while celebrating the recognition of the icon.
On a projected video recorded for the community, the doll’s designer, Carlyle Nuestra, shared that when he got the assignment to design the Maria Tallchief Barbie, he wanted to find a nugget of inspiration. “Something to inspire me to design the entire doll,” he said.
“Maria Tallchief, of the Osage Nation, is the first prima ballerina in America, of any cultural background. She is also … the originator of the Firebird role,” said Nuestra. “All of that information would inspire me to design the Maria Tallchief Barbie.”
To represent Tallchief authentically, “with nuance and care,” Nuestra worked closely with Paschen over a period of 18 months, sending skin tone samples to accurately depict the coloring the ballerina referred to as “her olive skin,” said the poet.
“We sent her sketches,” said Nuestra, “and we finally came to a design that really represented Maria Tallchief.” Paschen also recalled being somewhat humorously alarmed and disturbed when she received a shipment of multiple Barbie heads.
In her finished version, the Maria Tallchief Barbie wears a costume of red satin, sparkling scarlet, and crimson shades of tulle. Poised in pointe shoes, the ballet Barbie has flexible joints that reflect Tallchief’s athleticism and her dancer’s silhouette.
On the side of the box, a photo of the Osage ballerina shows her face wreathed in feathers. Beside the photo, the doll wears diamond earrings and a red crown. Paschen said in the past she has had to educate teams who worked to honor her mother, but Mattel’s team shone brightly across the board from design to writing copy.
With the doll’s release, Mattel also donated to the Center for Native American Youth, according to Tahnee Poafpybitty, a Comanche tribal member and senior program associate at the Aspen Institute, which hosts the center.
Poafpybitty’s daughter was at the celebration with her, alongside other Native American youths inspired by Tallchief. They were all joyful to see themselves reflected in the Maria Tallchief Barbie doll.
As the back of the Barbie box reads, “Maria broke through barriers as a Native American ballerina. She is an inductee in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, one of the first inductees in the National Native American Hall of Fame and was awarded the National Medal of Arts.”
Written by Russ Tallchief, the box highlights that the Osage ballerina “became the first Native American woman to rise through the ranks and become prima ballerina with the New York City Ballet.”
To the crowd of celebrants, Paschen said, “My mother was an inspiration for me growing up and I hope she will serve as an inspiration for all of you.”
Russ Tallchief reflected on the ways the ballerina was ”a warrior.”
“Maria changed ballet by her very presence as a Wahzhazhe woman, with the strength of the buffalo that grazed the tallgrass once again and the grace of the swan on the waters in Missouri. The ferocity of a people — the remaining warriors, but who fight battles on different fronts. Maria was a warrior in her own way,” Tallchief said.
“This is not just a doll,” he asserted. “This is a symbol of perseverance against great odds. It’s a symbol asking, ‘What if you dare to be different? What’s the best thing that could happen?’”
“All that mattered was that she pursued her dream to dance,” Paschen also said. “It is vital to honor your own heritage while also breaking down barriers through the power of artistic self-expression, whether it’s ballet, poetry or another discipline. I hope my mother’s doll instills that power in everyone.”
In front of rows of curtains, as lights framed the stage, young dancers of Dance Maker Academy followed in Tallchief’s footsteps as they danced a variation of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Russ Tallchief said of the dancers, “They are Maria’s legacy personified.”
Following their pas de deux, the Osage Singers sang the Henry Tallchief song. Grayhorse Tail Dancers Dillon Moore, Xavier Toehay, Jaydin Shaw and Joe Ellis (filling in for Jacob Lux who couldn’t be there) danced. For these performances, the crowd lulu’d.
“Maria loved watching us dance … she loved watching the tail dancers, in particular,” said Russ Tallchief, and he recalled tail dancing and finding his style while getting in sync with the music.
Paschen was beaming after the performances. She said she was not only a fan girl of the Osage Singers, but that it was deeply satisfying to remember her mother in this way.
“To see her in all of her glory and beauty and elegance,“ she said and remembered the trauma of losing her mother to dementia. “I almost couldn’t remember what my mom was like … [With] the Mattel Barbie, I suddenly get to re-embrace this amazing mother that I had,” she said.
The poet also remembered her mother transforming into “magical beings” with her balletic performances – and the impact was profound. “She would get on stage and then perform, and then she’d come off stage and I would just see how much work she put into it. I mean, she was just completely transformed into these magical beings … And then, backstage, I could just see all the sweat and how hard it was,” she said. “It was intense.”
Both Tallchief and Paschen spoke about Maria’s perfectionism and her high standards. “Whatever she did, she did as an Osage woman,” said Paschen.
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear called the state of arts among the Osage “a dream come true” and said he was continuing to look for artistic gifts in Osage youth. “I’m that grandfather, I’m that father, I’m that brother who’s always looking for that ‘where’s that gift?’”
The youths of Dance Maker, Josee Lane and Waylon Malone, said they were nervous to honor Maria with their performance, but it was deeply meaningful as Native Americans.
Of Tallchief, Lane said, “She performed this part in New York City [ballet], which is a big company and I just wanted to show everybody the legacy of her. I thought it was also an honor to show her what we could do.”
As the label on the Maria Tallchief Barbie box notes, she is an inspiring woman and her words on the packaging advise, “Very often you are in the right place at the right time, but you don’t know it.” Tallchief’s Barbie joins others in the Inspiring Women line including Dr. Maya Angelou, Amelia Earheart, Florence Nightingale and Misty Copeland.
Like Tallchief, Copeland is a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre and a woman of color as the first African American principal dancer. Copeland shared remarks for the crowd, read by Russ Tallchief.
“Maria Tallchief’s extraordinary career not only broke barriers but also served as a beacon of inspiration throughout my own journey as a dancer,” said Copeland.
“From a young age, I admired her strength, elegance [and] pioneering spirit, which reshaped the ballet world. The release of the Barbie doll honors her groundbreaking legacy and I’m proud to celebrate Maria’s influence, which continues to inspire young dancers to dream big and see themselves reflected in her story.”
All who “try their very best … Washka^,” as Russ Tallchief said, will continue to follow in her footsteps, and now with the Maria Tallchief Barbie, thousands more will learn of a woman who changed ballet forever, “breaking barriers with her very presence.”
Paschen ended her remarks by sharing her own memories of being a backstage baby and read a poem from 𐒼𐒰𐒹𐒻𐒼𐒷 𐓆𐓊𐒷, Tallchief, a 2023 chapbook published by Magic City Books Press. “I watched my mother create magic with each role she performed,” said Paschen, whose poem is about her mother dancing Swan Lake.
Heritage XII, from Tallchief
Across a lake my mother
floated, a swan,
spell-bound by day, transformed
back to human at night.
As a child, with every
shift of vibrato, I could
predict the enchantment.
Let me tell you about
a procession of swans,
the swish of waves
luring beyond the stage.
After encores,
my mother’s face
shone when she saw
my eagerness, curtained
behind the wings, her only
child, a fairy
tale made flesh.
Her moonlit face
encompassed by ivory
swan feathers
To view additional photos from the celebration, visit the Osage News’ Flickr album at https://www.flickr.com/photos/osagenews/albums/72177720322020432/with/54149803986/
