2009 - Three Sisters Agriculture

Coin commemorates the spread of Three Sisters Agriculture around 1000 A D and features a Native American woman planting seeds in a field populated with corn, beans and squash.

2010 

- Great Law of Peace (HAUDENOSAUNEE)

Coin commemorates the Great Tree of Peace and the Iroquois Confederacy of the early 1400s, and features an image of the Hiawatha Belt with five arrows bound together and the additional inscription HAUDENOSAUNEE and GREAT LAW OF PEACE.

2011 - Wampanoag Treaty 1621

Coin commemorates the Great Wampanoag Nation and the creation of an alliance with settlers at Plymouth Bay in 1621 and features the hands of the Supreme Sachem Ousamequin Massasoit and Governor John Carver, symbolically offering a ceremonial peace pipe after the initiation of the first formal written peace alliance between the Wampanoag tribe and the European settlers.  The additional inscription is WAMPANOAG TREATY 1621.

2012 - Trade Route

 Coin commemorates the Trade Routes that helped spread the horse in 17th Century America, and features a Native American horse in profile with horses running in the background.

2013  - Treaty With the Delawares 1778

Coin commemorates the Treaty with the Delawares and features a turkey, howling wolf and turtle (all symbols of the clans of the Delaware Tribe), and a ring of thirteen stars to represent the Colonies.  The additional inscriptions are TREATY WITH THE DELAWARES and 1778.

2014 - Native Hospitality

Coin commemorates how Native American hospitality ensures the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Its reverse design depicts a Native American man offering a pipe while his wife offers provisions of fish, corn, roots and gourds.  In the background is a stylized image of the face of William Clark's compass highlighting "NW," the area in which the expedition occurred.  The design includes the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and $1.

2015 - MOHAWK Iron Workers

Coin commemorates the contribution of the Kahnawake Mohawk and Mohawk Akwesasne communities to "high iron" construction work and the building of New York City skyscrapers and bridges.

2016 - Code Talkers

The reverse of this coin features two helmets and inscriptions for WWI and WWII with two feathers forming a "V" to symbolize victory, unity and the importance of the code talkers program.

2017 - Sequoyah

The reverse of this coin commemorates the contributions of Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary. 

2018 - Jim Thorpe

This year's coin recognizes the accomplishments of Olympian and multi- talented athlete Jim Thorpe.  The reverse of this coin depicts Thorpe, with the foreground elements highlighting his football and Olympic achievements.  Inscriptions are "JIM THORPE," "WA-THO-HUK" (his native name), "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," and "$1."

2019 - US Space Program

The 2019 Native American $1 Coin reverse (tails side) design highlights the contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Space Program. American Indians have been on the modern frontier of space flight since its infancy. American Indian contributions to the U.S. Space Program culminated in the three spacewalks of John Herrington (Chickasaw) on the International Space Station in 2002. These and other pioneering achievements date back to the work of Mary Golda Ross (Cherokee), one of the first female American Indian engineers. She helped develop the Agena spacecraft for the Gemini and Apollo Programs.

The reverse design features Mary Golda Ross writing calculations. Behind her, an Atlas-Agena rocket launches into space, with an equation inscribed in its cloud. An astronaut, symbolic of Native American astronauts, including Herrington spacewalks above. In the field behind, a group of stars indicates outer space.

 2020 - Alaska Anti-Discrimination Law

 The theme of the 2020 Native American $1 Coin design is Elizabeth Peratrovich and Alaska’s Anti-Discrimination Law.

The first anti-discrimination law in the United States, prohibiting discrimination in access to public accommodations, was passed in the Alaskan territorial government in 1945. Elizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit nation), through her advocacy for Alask2022  - Ely Parker Native American Dollar

an Natives with her husband Roy and an impassioned speech in the Alaskan Senate in support of the law, is widely credited with getting it passed.  2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Elizabeth Peratrovich’s famous testimony in support of the nation’s first anti-discrimination law.

2021 - Native Americans in the US Military

The theme of the 2021 Native American $1 Coin is Native Americans in the U.S. Military.

Native Americans have served in the Armed Forces of the United States in each of our nation’s conflicts, beginning with the Revolutionary War. They have served at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group. During World War I, Native Americans volunteered to fight in astonishing numbers although most were ineligible for the draft. Of the 10,000 Native Americans who served in the Army and the 2,000 who served in the Navy, three out of four were volunteers.

Native Americans have received recognition for their service, including five Medals of Honor during World War II. Their exemplary record of military service continues to this day.

 2022  - Ely Parker Native American Dollar

 The 2022 Native American $1 Coin commemorates Ely S. Parker, a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat, who served as military secretary to Ulysses S. Grant during the U.S. Civil War. When Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, Parker rendered the formal surrender documents in his own hand.  Designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Designer Paul C. Balan and sculpted by United States Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna, the reverse (tails) design features Parker, depicted in Army uniform, with a quill pen and book, along with a likeness of his graceful signature, as symbols of his experience as an expert communicator. The inscriptions “TONAWANDA SENECA” and “HA-SA-NO-AN-DA” recognize his tribe and the name given to him at birth. Additional inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “$1.”

 2023  - Maria Tallchief Native American Dollar

 The 2023 reverse design features Maria Tallchief in balletic pose. Tallchief was America’s first major prima ballerina, and she and her husband, George Balanchine, transformed American classical ballet. In addition to Tallchief, four other American Indian ballerinas from Oklahoma achieved international recognition in the 20th century, including her younger sister Marjorie Tallchief, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, and Moscelyne Larkin. Celebrated as the “Five Moons,” their legacy of achievement and inclusion continues to influence ballet today. A nod to the Five Moons is presented in the lunar motif, while the four ballerinas in the background are symbolic of both Tallchief’s American Indian ballerina contemporaries and the generations of dancers they inspired. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “MARIA TALLCHIEF,” “$1,” and “AMERICAN INDIANS IN BALLET.”