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A Sacagawea / Native American dollar — an annual "time capsule" of Native American contributions. The theme of this issue is "Oneida at Valley Forge — Polly Cooper".
Obverse
The obverse shows a portrait of Sacagawea — a young Shoshone woman, guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back. Flanking it are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It is the most recognizable image of the series, unchanged since 2000. The inscription and portrait set a solemn, recognizable tone for the whole series.
Reverse
The 2026 reverse is a miniature of its own: it depicts an Oneida woman, Polly Cooper, sharing corn with George Washington, who lifts his hat in gratitude — honoring the Oneida’s aid to the starving Continental Army. Around the rim are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination $1, while the year and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM are lettered on the edge. The relief catches the light as the coin is turned.
Historical context
The series-wide obverse depicts Sacagawea — a young Lemhi Shoshone woman born around 1788 in what is now Idaho. Captured by a rival tribe as a girl, she later became the wife of the trader Toussaint Charbonneau and, already pregnant, joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition in February 1805. Carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back, she took on the roles of interpreter, guide and peacemaker, without whom the party could hardly have reached the Pacific. Sacagawea became one of the most honored women in U.S. history — with more monuments dedicated to her than to any other American woman.
The 2026 reverse honors the Oneida people and their aid to the Continental Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777–1778. On the coin a woman named Polly Cooper shares corn with George Washington, who lifts his hat in gratitude. That terrible winter soldiers were dying of hunger and cold, and it was Oneida supplies and knowledge that helped the army survive. The coin reminds us that among the young republic’s allies were Native peoples whose contribution often remained in history’s shadow. It rounds out the series nicely and looks striking in a capsule or tray.