Aboriginal Womyn's Justice Foundation
464, 11007 Jasper Avenue T5K 0K6 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Bella Laboucan-McLean was only 25 years old when her life was cut short. A beautiful young woman with promising dreams and a bright future ahead of her. This is Bella’s Story. Airing today and tomorrow on APTN.

When they speak, do yourself a favour and listen

Because of course

Maria Tallchief, the first Native American to become a prima ballerina, was one of the most acclaimed ballerinas of the 20th century. Born in 1925, Tallchief gr...ew up on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma. As noted in a NY Times tribute to her, "Growing up at a time when many American dancers adopted Russian stage names, Ms. Tallchief, proud of her Indian heritage, refused to do so, even though friends told her that it would be easy to transform Tallchief into Tallchieva." Tallchief kept her name and made her mark throughout the dance world, dancing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1942 to 1947 and the New York City Ballet from its founding in 1947 through 1965. She is pictured here in the title role of George Balanchine's ballet "Firebird." This dance legend passed away in 2013 at the age of 88. To introduce this pioneering dancer to children, we highly recommend "Who Is Maria Tallchief" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-maria-tallchief) and "Tallchief: American's Prima Ballerina" for ages 4 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/tallchief-america-s-prima-balle) She is also among the women featured in "This Little Trailblazer" for ages 1 to 4 (https://www.amightygirl.com/this-little-trailblazer) and "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World," for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/she-persisted) To discover our favorite fictional picture books about Mighty Girl dancers, visit our blog post, "Dancing Her Heart Out: 20 Picture Books About Mighty Girls Who Love to Dance," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12378 For more books about Native American and Indigenous girls and women to share during November's Native American Heritage Month, check out our blog post, 50 Children's Books Celebrating Native American and Indigenous Mighty Girls" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10365

Social media activism by our youth... too proud