The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and traditional artists by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's highest honor in the

and

traditional arts Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative Beauty is commonly described as a fe ...

. It is a one-time only award and fellows must be living citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Each year, fellowships are presented to between nine and fifteen artists or groups at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Fellows are nominated by individual citizens, with an average of over 200 nominations per year. From that pool of candidates, recommendations are made by a rotating panel of specialists, including one layperson, as well as folklorists and others with a variety of forms of cultural expertise. The recommendations are then reviewed by the National Council on the Arts, with the final decisions made by the chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts. As of 2022, 467 artists in a wide variety of fields have received Fellowships.

History

The program was officially founded in 1982 by

Bess Lomax Hawes Bess Lomax Hawes (January 21, 1921 – November 27, 2009) was an American folk musician, folklorist, and researcher. She was the daughter of John Avery Lomax and Bess Bauman-Brown Lomax, and the sister of Alan Lomax and John Lomax Jr. Early l ...

, the first director of the Folk and Traditional Arts Program at the NEA, following a five-year period of development. In 1982, the monetary award associated with the Fellowship was $5,000; in 1993, it was increased to $10,000 and since 2009, the award amount is $25,000, which is considered "enough to make a difference, but not enough to go to anyone's head". Each recipient receives a certificate of honor, the monetary award, and a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States. The annual recognition events are held in the Fall and consist of an awards ceremony, a banquet, and a concert that is open to the public. Over the years, the awards ceremony has been held at different locations in the US capitol city, including the NEA headquarters,

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box ...

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, and for the first time at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in 1995. Since 2000, the banquet has been held in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress. The concert features musical performances, craft demonstrations, and interviews with the honorees. Masters of ceremonies at the concerts have included folksinger

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, actress

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...

, author

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral his ...

, journalist

Charles Kuralt Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Evenin ...

, and since 1997

Nick Spitzer Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Pla ...

, the host of public radio program ''

American Routes American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

''. Beginning in 2010, the Fellowship concerts have been streamed live on the NEA website and archived on YouTube. In 2000, the NEA instituted the Bess Lomax Hawes Award in conjunction with the Fellowships, "given to an individual for achievements in fostering excellence, ensuring vitality, and promoting public appreciation of the folk and traditional arts". The Hawes Award has been given annually since 2000 to recognize "artists whose contributions, primarily through teaching, advocacy, and organizing and preserving important repertoires, have greatly benefited their artistic tradition. It also recognizes individuals, such as producers and activists, who have comprehensively increased opportunities for and public visibility of traditional artists."

Publications

* A companion volume titled ''American Folk Masters: The National Heritage Fellows'' was published in 1992 to accompany a traveling exhibition (1991–1994) called "America's Living Folk Traditions" that featured the artistry of 36 Fellowship recipients. * A two-volume biographical dictionary of the award winners from the first 20 years was published in 2001, titled ''Masters of Traditional Arts''. *A young readers book featuring five of the National Heritage Fellows entitled ''Extraordinary Ordinary People: Five American Masters of Traditional Arts'' was published in 2006.

Winners

Awardees have included Native American basket weavers, African American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians, traditional

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

rs,

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ists, and all manner of traditional artisans and performers of numerous ethnic backgrounds. __NOTOC__ National Heritage Fellowship winners are:

1982

Dewey Balfa Dewey Balfa (March 20, 1927 – June 17, 1992) was an American Cajun fiddler and singer who contributed significantly to the popularity of Cajun music. Balfa was born near Mamou, Louisiana. He is perhaps best known for his 1964 performance at th ...

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

fiddler *

Joe Heaney Joe Heaney (AKA Joe Éinniú; Irish: Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) (1 October 1919 – 1 May 1984) was an Irish traditional ( sean nós) singer from County Galway, Ireland. He spent most of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scotland and New York ...

, Irish sean-nós singer *

Tommy Jarrell Thomas Jefferson Jarrell (March 1, 1901 – January 28, 1985) was an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer from the Mount Airy region of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains. Biography He was born in Surry County, North Carolina, United ...

, Appalachian fiddler * Bessie Jones, singer, member of the

Georgia Sea Island Singers The Georgia Sea Island Singers are an American folk music ensemble from Georgia, United States. Formed in the early 1900s,

George López George T. López (April 23, 1900 – December 23, 1993) was a renowned Santo (art), Santos woodcarver who was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982. He was born in the small village of Cordova, New ...

, Santos woodcarver *

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee wa ...

, blues guitarist *

Hugh McGraw Hugh McGraw (February 20, 1931 – May 28, 2017) was a leading figure in contemporary Sacred Harp singing. He was the General Chairman of the committee that created the 1991 Denson revision of ''The Sacred Harp'' and played an important role in ...

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

singer *

Lydia Mendoza Lydia Mendoza (May 31, 1916December 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American guitarist and singer of Tejano and traditional Mexican-American music. Historian Michael Joseph Corcoran has stated that she was "The Mother of Tejano Music", an art form tha ...

singer *

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

, bluegrass musician *

Elijah Pierce Elijah Pierce (1892-1984) was a 20th-century wood carver. Pierce was the youngest in his family born from a former slave on a farm in Baldwyn, Mississippi on March 5, 1892. He began carving at a young age using a pocket knife. He first started ...

, carver and painter * Adam Popovich, Tamburitza musician *

Georgeann Robinson Georgeann Robinson (Osage: Wah-kah-sah, October 13, 1917 – September 4, 1985) was an Osage teacher and businesswoman, who used her skill with ribbonwork to preserve the cultural heritage of her people. She was honored as a 1982 National Herita ...

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

ribbonworker *

Duff Severe Duff may refer to: People * Duff (surname) * Duff (given name) * Duff (nickname) * Karen Duffy, an actress, model, and former MTV VJ once known as "Duff" * Duff Roman, on-air name of Canadian radio personality and executive David Mostoway (b ...

, saddlemaker *

Philip Simmons Philip Simmons (June 9, 1912 – June 22, 2009) was an American artisan and blacksmith specializing in the craft of ironwork. Simmons spent 78 years as a blacksmith, focusing on decorative iron work. When he began his career, blacksmiths in Cha ...

, ornamental

ironworker An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...

and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

* Sanders "Sonny" Terry, blues musician

1983

* Sister Mildred Barker, Shaker singer *

Rafael Cepeda Rafael Cepeda Atiles (July 10, 1910 – July 21, 1996), recognized as "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as ambassadors of Black history in Puerto Rico, Afro-Puerto Rican folk musi ...

, bomba dancer and musician *

Ray Hicks Lenard Ray Hicks (August 29, 1922 – April 20, 2003) was an Appalachian storyteller who lived his entire life on Beech Mountain, North Carolina. He was particularly known for the telling of Jack Tales. He was a recipient of a 1983 Nati ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n storyteller * Stanley Hicks, Appalachian musician and storyteller *

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, blues guitarist and singer * Mike Manteo, Sicilian marionettist (

Marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...

maker) * Narciso Martínez,

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed i ...

and composer * Lanier Meaders, potter from Georgia * Almeda Riddle, ballad singer *

Simon St. Pierre Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

French American French Americans or Franco-Americans (french: Franco-Américains), are citizens or nationals of the United States who identify themselves with having full or partial French or French-Canadian heritage, ethnicity and/or ancestral ties. ...

fiddler from Maine * Joe Shannon (piper), Irish

piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

* Alex Stewart, copper and woodworker * Ada Thomas,

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

basketmaker * Lucinda Toomer, African American quilter *

Lem Ward Lem may refer to: Places * 3836 Lem, an asteroid named after Stanisław Lem * , a municipality in Jutland People Given name or nickname (Alphabetical by surname) * Lemuel Lem Barney (born 1945), American football player * Lem Billings (1916–1 ...

, duck decoy maker and painter * Dewey Williams,

singer

1984

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

accordionist *

Bertha Cook Bertha Hodges Cook (March 29, 1895 – March 9, 1990) was an American handicraft artist who was known primarily for her needlework using Colonial knotting and fringing techniques to make Bedding, bedspreads. Cook was a recipient of a 1984 Nati ...

, knotted bedspread maker * Joseph Cormier, violinist *

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This po ...

, guitarist and songwriter * Burlon Craig, potter *

Albert Fahlbusch Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

maker and player * Janie Hunter, singer and storyteller * Mary Jane Manigault,

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

basket maker * Genevieve Mougin,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

maker * Martin Mulvihill, fiddler * Howard "Sandman" Sims,

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

r *

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

, Appalachian banjo player and singer *

Margaret Tafoya Maria Margarita "Margaret" Tafoya ( Tewa name: Corn Blossom; August 13, 1904 – February 25, 2001) was the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo potters. She was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for ...

, potter *

Dave Tarras Dave Tarras (c. 1895 – February 13, 1989) was a Ukrainian-born American klezmer clarinetist and bandleader, a celebrated klezmer musician, instrumental in Klezmer revival. Biography Early life Tarras was born David Tarasiuk in Teplyk, Ukrai ...

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

clarinetist * Paul Tiulana,

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...

maskmaker, dancer, and singer * Cleofes Vigil, storyteller and singer * Emily Kau'i Zuttermeister,

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...

master

1985

Eppie Archuleta Epifania "Eppie" Archuleta (January 6, 1922 – April 11, 2014) was an American weaver and textile artisan at the annual Spanish Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While the more traditional Chimayo and Rio Grande tapestries used diamonds and stripes ...

, weaver * Alice New Holy Blue Legs, Lakota Sioux quill artist * Periklis Halkias, clarinetist * Jimmy Jausoro, accordionist * Meali'i Kalama, quilter *

Lily May Ledford Lily May Ledford (March 17, 1917 – July 14, 1985) was an American clawhammer banjo and fiddle player. After gaining regional radio fame in the late 1930s as head of the Coon Creek Girls, one of the first all-female string bands to appear ...

, Appalachian musician and singer * Leif Melgaard, woodcarver * Bua Xou Mua,

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

musician * Julio Negrón-Rivera, instrument maker *

Glenn Ohrlin Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

, cowboy singer, storyteller, and illustrator *

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: * Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England * Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay * Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815� ...

, blues musician and songwriter * Horace "Spoons" Williams,

spoons Spoons may refer to: * Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup * Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons Film and TV * ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show *Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos'' ...

and

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

player and poet

1986

* Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, Creole accordionist * Earnest Bennett, whittler *

Helen Cordero Helen Cordero (June 15, 1915 – July 24, 1994) was a Cochiti Pueblo potter from Cochiti, New Mexico. She was renowned for her storyteller pottery figurines, a motif she invented, based upon the traditional "singing mother" motif. Early work ...

, potter * Sonia Domsch, bobbin lace maker *

Canray Fontenot Canray Fontenot (October 16, 1922 – July 29, 1995) was an American Creole fiddle player, who has been described as "the greatest Creole Louisiana French fiddler of our time." Early life Canray Fontenot was born in L'Anse aux Vaches, ne ...

, Creole fiddler *

John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...

, songster and guitarist *

Peou Khatna Peou is a village in the Assoli prefecture in the Kara Region of north-eastern Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the ...

, Cambodian court dancer and choreographer * Valerio Longoria, accordionist *

Doc Tate Nevaquaya Joyce Lee "Doc" Tate Nevaquaya (July 3, 1932 – March 5, 1996) was a Comanche flute player and painter from Apache, Oklahoma. He is known for his contribution to the Native American flute music. His efforts in learning how to make Comanche flut ...

, Comanche flutist * Luis Ortega, rawhide worker *

Ola Belle Reed Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002) was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player. Early life Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina, to Arthur Camp ...

, Appalachian banjo picker/singer *

Jennie Thlunaut Jennie Thlunaut (–1986) was a Tlingit artist, who is credited with keeping the art of Chilkat weaving alive and was one of the most celebrated Northwest Coastal master weavers of the 20th century.Brown, Steven C. ''Native Visions: Evolution in ...

, Chilkat blanket weaver * Nimrod Workman, Appalachian ballad singer

1987

Juan Alindato ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...

, Carnival maskmaker *

Louis Bashell Louis Bashell (July 1, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American polka musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was known for playing the Slovenian-style polka. He was nicknamed "Milwaukee's polka king". Bashell's band was signed to RCA Victor f ...

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

musician *

Genoveva Castellanoz Eva Castellanoz (born November 18, 1939) is an artist, activist, educator, healer, and spokesperson for Oregon's Latino community. Life She was born in 1939 to María Concepción and Fidel Silva in Valle de Santiago, Mexico; her given name w ...

, corona maker * Thomas Edison Ford, cowboy singer and storyteller * Kansuma Fujima, Japanese classical dancer *

Claude Joseph Johnson Claude Joseph ("Dr. C. J.") Johnson (May 16, 1913July 20, 1990) was an American gospel music singing preacher and pastor. He was born on May 16, 1913, in Douglasville, Georgia, the son of Will and Cora Reid Johnson. The family moved to Atlanta, ...

, religious singer and orator * Raymond Kane, slack key guitarist and singer *

Wade Mainer Wade Eckhart Mainer (April 21, 1907 – September 12, 2011) was an American country singer and banjoist. With his band, the Sons of the Mountaineers, he is credited with bridging the gap between old-time mountain music and Bluegrass and is som ...

, bluegrass

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

ist *

Sylvester McIntosh Sylvester Ivan McIntosh (August 17, 1934 – November 11, 2017), also known as Blinky, was a Crucian singer and bandleader. He was the founder and frontman of the band Blinky & the Roadmasters. Early life McIntosh was born on August 17, 1934, in ...

, singer and bandleader * Allison "Tootie" Montana, Mardi Gras Indian chief and costume maker * Alex Moore, Sr.,

pianist * Emilio and Senaida Romero, tin embroiderers * Newton Washburn, split ash basketmaker

1988

* Pedro Ayala, accordionist * Kepka Belton, egg painter * Amber Densmore, quilter and needleworker *

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', and ''Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 milli ...

, Irish step dancer * Sister Rosalia Haberl,

bobbin lace Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually de ...

maker *

John Dee Holeman John Dee Holeman (April 4, 1929April 30, 2021) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His music includes elements of Texas blues, R&B and African-American string-band music. In his younger days he was also known for ...

, dancer, musician, and singer * Albert "

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

" Luandrew, blues pianist and singer *

Yang Fang Nhu Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

, weaver and embroiderer * Kenny Sidle, fiddler *

Willie Mae Ford Smith Willie Mae Ford Smith (June 23, 1904 – February 2, 1994) was an American musician and Evangelism, Christian evangelist instrumental in the development and spread of gospel music in the United States. She grew up singing with her family, joinin ...

, gospel singer * Clyde "Kindy" Sproat, cowboy singer and

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

player * Arthel "Doc" Watson, guitarist and singer

1989

* John Cephas,

Piedmont blues Piedmont blues (also known as East Coast, or Southeastern blues) refers primarily to a guitar style, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melo ...

guitarist and singer *

The Fairfield Four The Fairfield Four is an American gospel group that has existed for over 100 years, starting as a trio in the Fairfield Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National End ...

, a capella gospel singers * José Gutiérrez,

Jarocho Jarocho () in Mexican Spanish is a colloquial demonym for residents of the State of Veracruz, Mexico, as well as an appellative term for anything related to said state. Etymology One explanation of the origin of the term jarocho is that it ...

musician and singer * Richard Avedis Hagopian,

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

player *

Christy Hengel Christy may refer to: * Christy (given name) * Christy (surname) * ''Christy'' (novel), by Catherine Marshall * Christy (towel manufacturer), a UK textile firm established in 1850 * ''Christy'' (TV series) * '' Christy: Return to Cutter Gap'', ...

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

maker * Ilias Kementzides,

lyra Lyra (; Latin for lyre, from Greek ''λύρα'') is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was ...

player * Ethel Kvalheim, rosemaler * Vanessa Paukeigope Morgan,

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereign ...

maker *

Mabel E. Murphy Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

, quilter *

LaVaughn Robinson LaVaughn Robinson (born LaVaughn Evett) (February 9, 1927 – January 22, 2008) was an American tap dancer, choreographer, and teacher. A virtuoso tap dancer, Robinson perfected a high speed, low to the ground, a cappella style of dance tha ...

r and choreographer *

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

, banjo player *

Harry V. Shourds Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

, wildlife decoy carver *

Chesley Goseyun Wilson Chesley Goseyun Wilson (July 31, 1932 – October 4, 2021) was a maker and performer of the Apache fiddle, singer, dancer, medicine man, silversmith, former model, and actor. Wilson received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endow ...

Apache fiddle The Apache fiddle (Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal plant ...

maker

1990

* Howard Armstrong, string band musician * Em Bun, silk weaver *

Nati Cano Natividad "Nati" Cano (June 23, 1933 – October 3, 2014) was a Mexican-born American mariachi musician and former, longtime leader of Mariachi los Camperos, a Grammy-winning mariachi band based in Los Angeles. According to the ''Los Angeles Ti ...

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

musician, leader of

Mariachi los Camperos Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano is a Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles-based mariachi ensemble which was formerly led by Natividad "Nati" Cano. History In 1950, Nati Cano joined a mariachi band in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, as an ar ...

* Giuseppe and Raffaela DeFranco, Southern Italian musicians and dancers * Maude Kegg,

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

storyteller and craftswoman *

Kevin Locke Kevin Locke may refer to: * Kevin Locke (musician) (born 1954 - passed October 1, 2022), Native American musician *Kevin Locke (rugby league) (born 1989), New Zealand rugby league footballer See also * Kevin Lock (born 1953), English former footba ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: *Lakota, Iowa *Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County *Lakota ...

flute player, singer, and dancer *

Marie McDonald Marie McDonald (born Cora Marie Frye, July 6, 1923 – October 21, 1965) was an American singer and actress known as "The Body Beautiful" and later nicknamed "The Body". Early life Born in Burgin, Kentucky, McDonald was the daughter of Evert ...

, lei maker *

Wally McRae Wallace D. "Wally" McRae (born February 26, 1936) is an American rancher, cowboy, cowboy poet and philosopher. He runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on Rosebud Creek, south of Rosebud, Montana. Biography McRae is a third-generation ranche ...

cowboy poet Cowboy poetry is a form of poetry that grew from a tradition of cowboys telling stories. Authorship Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have so ...

* Art Moilanen, accordionist * Emilio Rosado, woodcarver * Robert Spicer, flatfoot dancer * Douglas Wallin, Appalachian ballad singer

1991

Etta Baker Etta Baker (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. Early life and career She was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell County, North Carolina, of African-American, Native A ...

, guitarist *

George Blake George Blake ( Behar; 11 November 1922 – 26 December 2020) was a spy with Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union. He became a communist and decided to work for the MGB while a pris ...

Hupa Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...

Yurok The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...

craftsman * Jack Coen, flautist *

Rose Frank Rosaline Margaret Frank (21 December 1864 – 6 October 1954), known as Rose Frank, was a New Zealand photographer. She was born in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson, New Zealand, on 21 December 1864. When she was 21, she started working as an assist ...

, cornhusk weaver * Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero, singer, guitarist, and composer * Khamvong Insixiengmai, singer *

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

, western saddlemaker * Riley "B.B." King, bluesman * Esther Littlefield,

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

maker * Seisho "Harry" Nakasone, musician * Irvan Perez, Isleño

décima A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry. The most popular form is called décima espinela after Vicente Espinel (1550–1624), a Spanish writer, poet, and musician from the Siglo de Oro who used it extensively throughout his compositions. The d� ...

singer and

woodcarver Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

Morgan Sexton Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer) ...

, Appalachian banjo player and singer *

Nikitas Tsimouris Nikitas ( el, Νικήτας; tr, Güneşköy) is a village in Cyprus, 4 km southwest of Morphou. ''De facto'', it is under the control of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the ...

, bagpipe player * Gussie Wells, quilter * Arbie Williams, quilter * Melvin Wine, Appalachian fiddler

1992

Francisco Aguabella Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader. Biography In Cuba Aguabella wa ...

, drummer *

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

, stoneware potter *

Walker Calhoun Walker Calhoun (May 13, 1918 – March 28, 2012) was an Eastern Band Cherokee musician, dancer, and teacher. He was a medicine man and spiritual leader who worked to preserve the history, religion, and herbal healing methods of his people. With ...

, Cherokee musician, dancer and teacher *Clyde Davenport, Appalachian fiddler *Belle Deacon, basketmaker *Nora Ezell, quilter *Gerald R. Hawpetoss, Menominee/Potawatomi

maker *Fatima Kuinova, Bukharan Jewish singer *John Naka, bonsai sculptor *Marc Savoy, accordion maker/musician *Ng Sheung-Chi, muk'yu folk singer *Othar Turner, fife player *T. Viswanathan, flutist and vocalist

1993

*Santiago Almeida, conjunto musician *Kenny Baker (fiddler), Kenny Baker, bluegrass fiddler *Inez Catalon, French Creole singer *Nicholas & Elena Charles, Yup'ik people, Yupik woodcarvers, maskmakers, and skinsewers *Charles Hankins, boatbuilder *Nalani Kanaka'ole & Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahel,

masters *Everett Kapayou, Mesquakie singer *McIntosh County Shouters, spiritual/shout performers *Elmer Miller (artist), Elmer Miller, Bit (horse), bit & spur maker/silversmith *Jack Owens (blues singer), Jack Owens, blues singer and guitarist *Mone & Vanxay Saenphimmachak, weavers, needleworkers, and loommakers *Liang-xing Tang, pipa player

1994

*The Blind Boys of Alabama, Clarence Fountain & The Blind Boys, gospel singers *Liz Carroll, fiddler *Mary Mitchell Gabriel, Passamaquoddy basketmaker *Johnny Gimble, Western swing fiddler *Frances Varos Graves, colcha embroidery, colcha embroiderer *Vi Hilbert, Violet Hilbert, Skagit peoples, Skagit storyteller *Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto, Chado tea ceremony master *D. L. Menard, Cajun songwriter and musician *Simon Shaheen,

player *Lily Vorperian, Marash-style embroiderer *Elder Roma Wilson, gospel blues harmonica player

1995

*Mary Holiday Black, Navajo basketweaver *Lyman Enloe, fiddler *Donny Golden, Irish step dancer *Wayne Henderson (luthier), Wayne Henderson, luthier *Bea Ellis Hensley, blacksmith *Nathan Jackson (artist), Nathan Jackson,

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

woodcarver, metalsmith, dancer *Danongan Kalanduyan, kulintang musician *Robert Lockwood Jr., Robert Jr. Lockwood, Delta blues guitarist *Cachao, Israel López, bassist, composer, and bandleader *Nellie Star Boy Menard, Lakota Sioux quiltmaker *Bao Mo-Li, jing erhu player *Buck Ramsey,

and singer

1996

*Obo Addy, drummer *Betty Pisio Christenson, egg decorator *Paul Dahlin, fiddler *Juan Gutiérrez (musician), Juan Gutiérrez, drummer *Solomon & Richard Ho'opi'I, Hawaiian singers *Will Keys, banjo player *Joaquin Flores Lujan, blacksmith *Eva McAdams, Shoshone

maker *John Mealing (singer), John Mealing & Cornelius Wright, Jr., railroad worksong singers *Vernon Owens, stoneware potter *Dolly Spencer, Inupiat dollmaker

1997

*Edward Babb, shout band leader *Charles Brown (musician), Charles Brown, blues pianist, singer and composer *Gladys Clark, Spinning (textiles), spinner and weaver *Georgia Harris, Catawba (tribe), Catawba potter *Hua Wenyi, Kunqu opera singer *Ali Akbar Khan, classical sarod player *Ramón José López, Santo (art), santero and metalsmith *Jim & Jesse, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, bluegrass musicians *Phong Nguyen (musician), Phong Nguyen (Nguyễn Thuyết Phong), musician and ethnomusicologist *Hystercine Rankin, quilter *Francis Whitaker, blacksmith and ornamental ironworker

1998

*Apsara Ensemble, Cambodian traditional dancers and musicians *Eddie Blazonczyk, musician and bandleader *Dale Calhoun, boat builder *Bruce Caesar, Sac and Fox-Pawnee people, Pawnee, German silversmith *Antonio De La Rosa, conjunto accordionist *Epstein Brothers Orchestra, Epstein Brothers, Klezmer musicians *Sophia George (artist), Sophia George, Yakama – Colville (tribe), Colville beadworker *Nadjeschda Overgaard, hardanger embroidery needleworker *Harilaos Papapostolou, Greek Byzantine chanter *Claude Williams (musician), Claude "Fiddler" Williams, jazz and swing fiddler *Pops Staples, gospel and blues musician

1999

*Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer *Lila Greengrass Blackdeer, Ho-Chunk Fraxinus nigra, Black Ash basketmaker and needleworker *Shirley Caesar, gospel singer *Alfredo Campos, horse hair hitcher *Mary Louise Defender Wilson, Dakotah-Hidatsa traditionalist and storyteller *Jimmy Slyde, Jimmy "Slyde" Godbolt, tapdancer *Ulysses Goode, Western Mono basketmaker *Bob Holt (fiddler), Bob Holt, Ozark fiddler *Zakir Hussain (musician), Zakir Hussain, tabla player *Ellie Mannette, Elliott "Ellie" Mannette, steel pan builder, tuner and player *Mick Moloney, Irish musician *Eudokia Sorochaniuk, Ukrainian American weaver and textile artist *Ralph W. Stanley, boatbuilder

2000

*Bounxou Chanthraphone, weaver *The Dixie Hummingbirds, gospel quartet *José González (hammock weaver), José González, hammock weaver *Nettie Jackson, Klickitat (tribe), Klickitat basketmaker *Santiago Jiménez Jr., accordionist *Genoa Keawe, singer and ukulele player *Frankie Manning, Lindy Hop dancer and choreographer *Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, blues piano player *Konstantinos Pilarinos, Orthodox Byzantine icon woodcarver *Chris Strachwitz, record producer and label founder *Dorothy Thompson (artist), Dorothy Thompson, weaver *Felipe García Villamil, drummer and santero *Don Walser, singer and guitarist

2001

*Celestino Avilés, santo (art), santero *Mozell Benson, quilter *Boozoo Chavis, Wilson "Boozoo" Chavis, Creole

accordionist *Hazel Dickens, Appalachian singer and songwriter * João Oliveira dos Santos (João Grande, Mestre João Grande), Capoeira Angola master *Evalena Henry, Apache basketweaver *Peter Kyvelos,

maker *Eddie Pennington, thumbpicking-style guitarist *Qi Shu Fang, Beijing Opera performer *Seiichi Tanaka, Taiko drummer and dojo founder *Dorothy Trumpold, rug weaver *Fred Tsoodle,

sacred song leader *Joseph Wilson (folklorist), Joseph Wilson, folklorist

2002

*Ralph Blizard, fiddler *Loren Bommelyn, Tolowa tradition bearer *Kevin Burke (musician), Kevin Burke, fiddler *Rose Cree and Francis Cree,

basketmakers and storytellers *Luderin Darbone and Edwin Duhon, Cajun fiddler and accordionist *Nadim Dlaikan, nye (reed flute) player *David "Honeyboy" Edwards, blues guitarist and singer *Flory Jagoda, singer, songwriter, and guitarist *Clara Neptune Keezer, Passamaquoddy basketmaker *Bob McQuillen, contra dance musician and composer *Jean Ritchie, Appalachian musician and songwriter *Domingo Saldivar, Conjunto accordionist *Losang Samten, Tibetan people, Tibetan monk and creator of sandpaintings

2003

*Jesus Arriada, Johnny Curutchet, Martin Goicoechea and Jesus Goni, Basque people, Basque (Bertsolari) poets *Rosa Elena Egipciaco, mundillo (Puerto Rican

) maker *Agnes Kenmille, Agnes "Oshanee" Kenmille, Salish people, Salish beadworker and

maker *Norman Kennedy (singer), Norman Kennedy, weaver, singer, storyteller *Roberto Martinez (musician), Roberto Martinez and Lorenzo Martinez (New Mexico musician), Lorenzo Martinez, father and son musicians *Norma Miller, swing dancer and choreographer *Carmencristina Moreno, singer, composer, teacher *Ron Poast, Hardanger fiddle maker *Felipe I. Ruak and Joseph K. Ruak, father and son Carolinian people, Carolinian stick dancers *Manoochehr Sadeghi, Santoor (Persian instrument), santur player *Nicholas Toth, diving helmet builder

2004

*Anjani Ambegaokar, Kathak dancer *Charles "Chuck" T. Campbell, Gospel steel guitarist *Joe Derrane, Irish-American button accordionist *Jerry Douglas, Dobro player *Gerald "Subiyay" Miller, Skokomish (tribe), Skokomish tradition bearer, carver, basket maker *Chum Ngek, Cambodian musician and teacher *Milan Opacich, Tamburitza instrument maker *Eliseo Rodriguez and Paula Rodriguez, husband and wife straw appliqué artists *Koko Taylor, blues musician *Yuqin Wang and Zhengli Xu, Chinese rod puppeteers

2005

*Eldrid Skjold Arntzen, rosemaler *Earl Barthé, building artisan *Chuck Brown, musical innovator *Janette Carter, country musician *Michael Doucet, Cajuns, Cajun fiddler, composer, band leader *Big Joe Duskin, blues and boogie-woogie pianist *Jerry Grcevich, Tamburitza musician, prim player *Wanda Jackson, country, rockabilly and gospel singer *Grace Henderson Nez, Navajo weaver *Herminia Albarrán Romero, paper cutting artist *Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, Yiddish singer, songwriter, and poet *Albertina Walker, gospel singer *James Ka'upena Wong, Hawaiian chanter

2006

*Charles M. Carrillo, santo (art), santero *Delores Churchill, Delores Elizabeth Churchill, Haida people, Haida cedar bark weaver *Henry Gray (musician), Henry Gray, blues piano player and singer *Doyle Lawson, gospel and bluegrass singer, bandleader *Esther Martinez, Tewa linguist and storyteller *Diomedes Matos, master string instrument maker *George Na'ope,

master *Wilho Saari, kantele player *Mavis Staples, gospel, rhythm and blues singer *Nancy Sweezy, folklorist and potter *Treme Brass Band, New Orleans brass band

2007

*Nicholas Benson, stone letter cutter and calligrapher *Sidiki Conde, Guinean dancer and musician *Violet Kazue de Cristoforo, Haiku poet and historian *Roland Freeman, photo documentarian, author, and exhibit Curator *Pat Courtney Gold, Wasco sally bag weaver *Eddie Kamae, Hawaiian musician *Agustin Lira, Chicano singer and musician, *Julia F. Parker, Julia Parker, Kashia Pomo basketmaker *Mary Jane Queen, Appalachian musician *Joe Thompson (musician), Joe Thompson, string band musician *Irvin Trujillo, Rio Grande weaver *Elaine Hoffman Watts, Klezmer musician

2008

*Horace Axtell, Nez Perce drum maker, singer, tradition-bearer *Dale Harwood, saddlemaker *Bettye Kimbrell, quilter *Jeronimo E. Lozano, Peruvian retablo maker *Oneida Hymn Singers of Wisconsin *Sue Yeon Park, Korean dancer and musician *Moges Seyoum, Ethiopian liturgical minister and scholar *Jelon Vieira, Capoeira master *Dr. Michael White (clarinetist), Michael White, traditional jazz musician and bandleader *Mac Wiseman, Bluegrass musician *Walter Murray Chiesa, traditional arts specialist and advocate

2009

*Birmingham Sunlights, five-man, four-part harmony a cappella gospel group *Edwin Colón Zayas, Puerto Rican Cuatro (Puerto Rico), cuatro *Chitresh Das, Kathak dancer and choreographer *LeRoy Graber, German-Russian willow basketmaker from South Dakota *Queen Ida, "Queen" Ida Guillory, Zydeco musician and singer *Dudley Laufman, Contra dance, Contra and Barn dance, barn Caller (dancing), dance caller and musician *Amma D. McKen, Yoruba people, Yoruba Orisha singer *Joel Nelson, Cowboy poet *Teri Rofkar, Tlingit people, Tlingit weaver and basketmaker *Mike Seeger, folk musician, cultural scholar *Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, Cambodian classical dancer and choreographer

2010

*Yacub Addy, Ghanaian drum master, preserves music of the Ga people *Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, Texas fiddler *Gladys Kukana Grace, Lauhala (palm leaf) weaver *Mary Jackson (artist), Mary Jackson, Gullah Muhlenbergia sericea, sweetgrass basketweaver *Del McCoury, Delano Floyd "Del" McCoury, Bluegrass guitarist and singer *Judith McCulloh, Folklorist and editor *Kumari Kamala, Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan, Bharatanatyam Indian dancer *Mike Rafferty (flautist), Mike Rafferty, Irish flute player *Ezequiel Torres, Afro-Cuban drummer and drum-builder

2011

*Laverne Brackens, Quilter *Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, Frame drum player and percussionist *Bo Dollis, Mardi Gras Indians, Mardi Gras Indian Chief *James S. Griffith, Jim Griffith, folklorist *Roy Hirabayashi, Roy and PJ Hirabayashi, Taiko drum leaders *Ledward Kaapana, Ukulele and slack key guitarist *Frank Newsome, Old Regular Baptist singer *Warner Williams and Jay Summerour, Warner Williams,

songster *Yuri Yunakov, Bulgarian saxophonist

2012

* Mike Auldridge, dobro player * Paul & Darlene Bergren, dog sled and snowshoe designers and builders * Harold A. Burnham, master Shipbuilding, shipwright * Albert B. Head, Folk art, traditional arts advocate * Flaco Jiménez, Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez, accordionist * Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone, dancer * Molly Neptune Parker, Passamaquoddy basketmaker * The Paschall Brothers, gospel quartet * Andy Statman,

clarinetist, mandolinist, and composer

2013

* Sheila Kay Adams, Storyteller and musician * Ralph Burns (storyteller), Ralph Burns, Pyramid Lake Paiute storyteller * Verónica Castillo, Ceramicist and clay sculptor * Séamus Connolly, Irish fiddler and scholar * Nicolae Feraru, Cimbalom player * Carol Fran, Swamp blues singer and pianist (both French Creole and English singer) * Pauline Hillaire, Lummi artist, teacher, and storyteller * David Ivey, Sacred Harp singer * Ramón "Chunky" Sánchez, Chicano musician

2014

* Henry Arquette, Mohawk people, Mohawk basketmaker * Manuel "Cowboy" Donley, Tejano musician and singer * Kevin Doyle (dancer), Kevin Doyle, Irish step dancer * The Holmes Brothers, blues, gospel, and R&B band * Yvonne Walker Keshick, Odawa quill artist * Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Carolyn Mazloomi, quilting community advocate * Vera Nakonechny, Ukrainian embroiderer and bead worker * Singing & Praying Bands of Maryland and Delaware, African-American religious singers * Rufus White, Omaha traditional singer and drum group leader

2015

* Rahim AlHaj,

player & composer * Michael Alpert, Yiddish musician and tradition bearer * Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway — quilters of Gee's Bend * Dolly Jacobs, circus aerialist * Yary Livan, Cambodian ceramicist * Daniel Sheehy, ethnomusicologist/folklorist * Drink Small, blues artist * Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi, Japanese classical dancer * Sidonka Wadina, Slovak straw artist/egg decorator

2016

* Bryan Akipa, Dakota flute maker and player * Monk Boudreaux, Mardi Gras Indian craftsman and musician * Billy McComiskey, Irish button accordionist * Artemio Posadas, Master Huastecan son musician and advocate * Clarissa Rizal, Tlingit ceremonial regalia maker * Theresa Secord, Penobscot Nation ash/sweetgrass basketmaker * Bounxeung Synanonh, Laotian khaen player * Michael Vlahovich, master shipwright * Leona Waddell, white oak basketmaker

2017

* Norik Astvatsaturov, Armenian Repoussé and chasing, repoussé metal artist * Anna Brown Ehlers, Chilkat weaving, Chilkat weaver * Modesto Cepeda, bomba and plena musician * Ella Jenkins, children's folk singer and musician * Dwight Lamb, Danish button accordionist and Missouri-style fiddler * Thomas Maupin, old-time Clogging, buckdancer * Cyril Pahinui, Hawaiian Slack-key guitar, slack key guitarist * Cephas & Wiggins, Phil Wiggins, acoustic blues harmonica player * Eva Ybarra, conjunto accordionist and bandleader

2018

* Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, Palestinian embroiderer * Eddie Bond (fiddler), Eddie Bond, Appalachian fiddler * Kelly Church, Gun Lake Band Potawatomi black ash basket maker * Marion Coleman, African American quilter * Manuel Cuevas, Mexican-American rodeo tailor * Ofelia Esparza, Chicana ''altarista'' (Day of the Dead altar maker) * Barbara Lynn, African American R&B guitarist * Don and Cindy Roy, French-American musicians * Ethel Raim, advocate for customary music and dance

2019

* Dan Ansotegui, Basque musician and tradition bearer * Grant Bulltail, Crow Nation, Crow storyteller * Linda Goss, African-American storyteller * James F. Jackson, leatherworker * Balla Kouyaté, Balafon, balafon player and Griot, djeli * Josephine Lobato, Spanish colcha embroiderer * Rich Smoker, decoy carver * Las Tesoros de San Antonio: Beatriz "La Paloma del Norte" Llamas and Blanquita "Blanca Rosa" Rodríguez, Tejano music, Tejano singers * Bob Fulcher, Folklore studies, folklorist

2020

* William Bell (singer), William Bell, soul singer and songwriter * Onnik Dinkjian, Armenian folk and liturgical singer * Zakarya and Naomi Diouf, West African diasporic dancers * Karen Ann Hoffman, Iroquois raised beadworker * Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz de la Ladrillera, traditional religious dancers * John Morris, old-time fiddler and banjo player * Suni Paz, Nueva Canción singer and songwriter * Wayne Valliere, birchbark canoe builder * Hugo Morales (radio), Hugo N. Morales, radio producer and radio network builder

2021

* Cedric Burnside, Hill Country blues musician * Tagumpay De Leon, Rondalla musician * Anita Fields, Osage ribbon worker * Los Lobos, Mexican-American band * Joanie Madden, Irish flute player * Reginald McLaughlin, tap dancer * Nellie Vera Sánchez, Mundillo master weaver * Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble, Easter Rock spiritual ensemble * Tom Davenport (filmmaker), Tom Davenport, filmmaker, documentarian, and media curator

2022

* Michael Cleveland, bluegrass fiddler * Eva Enciñias, flamenco artist * Excelsior Band, brass band musicians * Stanley Jacobs, Fungi (music), quelbe flutist and bandleader * The Legendary Ingramettes, gospel musicians * Francis Palani Sinenci, Hawaiian_architecture#Hale, Hawaiian hale builder * Tsering Wangmo Satho, Tibetan opera singer and dancer * C. Brian Williams, Step dance, step artist and producer * Shaka Zulu, Mardi Gras Indians, Black masking craftsman, stilt dancer and musician * TahNibaa Naataanii, Navajo (Diné) textile artist and weaver

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage
List of all NEA National Heritage Fellowships through 2019, by recipient name
National Heritage Fellowship winners, Awards established in 1982 Arts awards in the United States Fellowships 1982 establishments in the United States National Endowment for the Arts