On September 20, 2007, The Native American $1 Coin Act H.R. 2358 was signed into law. The Act provides for a new series of dollar coins celebrating contributions made by Indian Tribes and important Native Americans.
The Native American Dollar Coin Program will begin in 2009 and run silmuntaneously with the Presidential Dollar Coin Program.
The Native American Dollars will feature Sacagawea on the obverse of the coin and important figures and events from Native American history on the reverse. The reverse designs will be changed once per year and begin to be issued in 2009.
The new coins will also included edge-incused text, which is currently used on the Presidential Dollar Coins. The edge lettering will include the year, mint mark, and “E Pluribus Unum.” The motto “In God We Trust” will be featured on the obverse of the coins.
The Act also provides that the new Native American Dollars will comprise at least 20% of the total mintage of all dollar coins. The Secretary of the Treasury is also encouraged to carry out an “aggressive, cost-effective continuing campaign” to encourage businesses to accept and dispense the new $1 coins.
