"Maria Tallchief loved to dance, but was told that she might need to change her Osage name to one that sounded more Russian to make it as a professional ballerina. She refused, and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America's first prima ballerina. Many famous American ballets were created for Maria!" -- Amazon.com. "A biography of Maria Tallchief, part of the She Persisted chapter book series"--
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