An Oneida Nation heroine will be honored by the United States Mint with a coin.
The Mint announced the release of a $1 coin recognizing Polly Cooper, who led a band of Oneidas to aid then-Gen. George Washington’s colonial troops at Valley Forge, Pa., in 1778 during the American Revolution. Washington’s Continental Army had suffered through a harsh winter of 1777, and Cooper and her fellow Oneidas brought them food and medical aid.
“They arrived in Valley Forge with hundreds of baskets of white corn. Since white corn takes careful preparation before it can be eaten, Cooper taught soldiers and their families how to properly cook it,” reads a Cooper biography from the nonprofit American Battlefield Trust. “She also cared for sick soldiers, refusing to accept any pay for her services.”
The Oneida Nation says the Cooper coin was created “as part of a federal program that celebrates the contributions of tribal nations and Native American individuals to the country’s development and growth.”