The United States Mint will initiate the formal design process by contacting the appropriate officials with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, and the National Congress of American Indians (consulting organizations). Each consulting organization will appoint one individual to serve as the liaison to the United States Mint for the Native American $1 Coin Program.

The United States Mint will consult with the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., to develop at least 12, but no more than 15, different themes that celebrate the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the development of the United States and the history of the United States in the chronological order in which the Native Americans lived or the events occurred. Each theme will be in narrative format and will explain the significance of the individual Native American or Native American contribution.

The United States Mint will consult with the consulting organizations annually on the proposed theme by requesting that each consulting organization provide written comments on the proposed theme for the following year's reverse design.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) will review the proposed theme and the written comments provided by the consulting organizations, and make recommendations. The United States Mint may make changes to the proposed theme to address such recommendations and, if necessary, may return to Step Two to obtain additional theme proposals for consideration.

Based on the comments from the consulting organizations and the CCAC, the United States Mint will finalize the theme for the following year's design. The United States Mint then will produce original Native American $1 Coin candidate designs for that year, focusing on aesthetic beauty, historical accuracy, appropriateness and coinability.

The United States Mint will collaborate with the NMAI on the candidate designs to ensure historical accuracy and proper Native American representation.

The United States Mint will consult with the consulting organizations on the candidate designs by requesting that each consulting organization provide written comments on the candidate designs.

The candidate designs will be presented before the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the CCAC. Each group will review the candidate designs and the comments from the consulting organizations, and make recommendations. The United States Mint may make changes to address such recommendations.

Based on the comments from the CFA and CCAC, the United States Mint will present a recommended design to the Secretary of the Treasury for approval.