National Heritage Fellowship

The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. It is a one-time only award and fellows must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

The program began in 1982. Each year, fellowships are presented to between ten and fifteen artists or groups at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C. A biographical dictionary of the award winners from the first 20 years was published in 2001.^[1] 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.^[2]

Winners

Awardees have included Native American basket weavers, African American blues musicians, traditional fiddlers, Mexican American accordionists, and all manner of traditional artisans and performers of numerous ethnic backgrounds.

1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990

1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000

2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

National Heritage Fellowship winners include:

1982

• Dewey Balfa, Cajun fiddler
• Joe Heaney, Irish Sean Nós singer
• Tommy Jarrell, Appalachian fiddler
• Bessie Jones, singer, member of the Georgia Sea Island Singers
• George López, Santos woodcarver
• Brownie McGhee, blues guitarist
• Hugh McGraw, shape note singer
• Lydia Mendoza, Mexican American singer
• Bill Monroe, bluegrass musician
• Elijah Pierce, carver and painter
• Adam Popovich, Tamburitza musician
• Georgeann Robinson, Osage ribbonworker
• Duff Severe, saddlemaker
• Philip Simmons, ornamental ironworker and blacksmith
• Sanders "Sonny" Terry, blues musician

1983

• Sister Mildred Baker, Shaker singer
• Rafael Cepeda, bomba dancer and musician
• Ray Hicks, Appalachian storyteller
• Stanley Hicks, Appalachian musician and storyteller
• John Lee Hooker, blues guitarist and singer
• Mike Manteo, Sicilian marionettist (Marionette maker)
• Narciso Martínez, accordionist and composer
• Lanier Meaders, potter from Georgia
• Almeda Riddle, ballad singer
• Simon St. Pierre, French American fiddler from Maine
• Joe Shannon (piper), Irish piper
• Alex Stewart, copper and woodworker
• Ada Thomas, Chitimacha basketmaker
• Lucinda Toomer, African American quilter
• Lem Ward, duck decoy maker and painter
• Dewey Williams, shape note singer

1984

• Dave Tarras, klezmer clarinetist

1986

• Helen Cordero, potter

1987

• Louis Bashell, polka musician
• Wade Mainer, bluegrass banjoist
• Whistlin' Alex Moore, blues pianist

1988

• Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew, blues pianist.
• Michael Flatley, Irish American step dancer

1989

• Vanessa Paukeigope Jennings, Kiowa Regalia Maker
• LaVaughn Robinson, tap dancer and choreographer
• Earl Scruggs, Banjo musician
• Chesley Goseyun Wilson, Apache fiddle maker^[3]

1990

• Kevin Locke Lakota Flute Player/Singer/Dancer/Storyteller Mobridge, SD
• Wally McRae Cowboy Poet Colstrip Montana
• Em Bun Cambodian Silk Weaver Harrisburg, PA

1991

• Irvan Perez, Isleño décima singer and woodcarver

1992

• Fatima Kuinova, Bukharan Jewish singer "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union"^[4]
• Jerry Brown stoneware potter^[5]
• T. Viswanathan, South Indian flutist and vocalist

1993

• Elder Roma Wilson, gospel blues harmonica player^[6]

1994

• Vi Hilbert
• Simon Shaheen

1997

• Edward Babb, shout band leader
• Charles Brown, blues pianist, singer and composer
• Gladys Clark, Cajun spinner and weaver
• Georgia Harris, Catawba^{[disambiguation needed ]} poet
• Hua Wenyi, Chinese Kunqu opera singer
• Ali Akbar Khan, North Indian classical sarod player
• Ramón José López, santero and metalsmith
• Jim & Jesse McReynolds, bluegrass musicians and brothers
• Phong Nguyen (Nguyễn Thuyết Phong), Vietnamese musician and ethnomusicologist
• Hystercine Rankin, African American quilter
• Francis Whitaker, blacksmith and ornamental ironworker

1998

• Apsara Ensemble, Cambodian traditional dancers and musicians
• Eddie Blazonczyk, Polish American musician and bandleader
• Dale Calhoun, boat builder
• Bruce Caesar, Sac and Fox-Pawnee, German silversmith^[7]
• Antonio De La Rosa, Tejano conjunto accordianist
• Epstein Brothers, Jewish Klezmer musicians
• Sophia George, Yakama - Colville beadworker
• Nadjeschda Overgaard, Danish American hardanger embroidery needleworker
• Harilaos Papapostolou, Greek Byzantine chanter
• Claude "Fiddler" Williams, jazz and swing fiddler
• Pops Staples, gospel and blues musician

1999

• Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer
• Lila Greengrass Blackdeer, Chunk^{[disambiguation needed ]} and Black Ash^{[disambiguation needed ]} basketmaker and needleworker
• Shirley Caesar, gospel singer
• Alfredo Campos, horse hair hitcher
• Mary Louise Defender Wilson, Dakotah-Hidatsa traditionalist and storyteller
• Jimmy "Slyde" Godbolt, tapdancer
• Ulysses Goode, Western Mono basketmaker
• Bob Holt, Ozark fiddler
• Zakir Hussain, tabla player
• 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, Laotian American weaver
• The Dixie Hummingbirds, African American Gospel Quartet
• José González, hammock weaver
• Nettie Jackson, Klickitat basketmaker
• Santiago Jiménez, Jr., Tejano Accordionist
• Genoa Keawe, Native Hawaiian 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, weaver
• Felipe García Villamil, Afro-Cuban drummer and santero
• Don Walser, Western singer and guitarist

2001

• Wilson "Boozoo" Chavis, Creole zydeco accordionist
• Celestino Avilés, santero
• Mozell Benson, quilter
• Hazel Dickens, Appalachian singer and songwriter
• João Oliveira dos Santos (Mestre João Grande), Capoeira Angola master
• Evalena Henry, Apache basketweaver
• Peter Kyvelos, oud 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, Kiowa sacred song leader
• Joseph Wilson^{[disambiguation needed ]}, folklorist

2002

• Ralph Blizard, fiddler
• Loren Bommelyn, Tolowa tradition bearer
• Kevin Burke, Irish American fidler
• Rose Cree and Francis Cree, Ojibwe basketmakers and storytellers
• Nadim Dlaikan, nye^{[disambiguation needed ]} (reed flute) player
• Luderin Darbone and Edwin Duhon, Cajun fiddler and accordionist
• David "Honeyboy" Edwards, blues guitarist and singer
• Flory Jagoda, Jewish-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist
• Clara Neptune Keezer, Passamaquoddy basketmaker
• Bob McQuillen, Contra dance musician and composer
• Domingo Saldivar, Conjunto accordionist
• Losang Samten, Tibetan monk and creator of sandpaintings
• Jean Ritchie, Appalachian musician and songwriter

2003

• Rosa Elena Egipciaco, mundillo maker (Puerto Rican Bobbin Lace)
• Agnes "Oshanee" Kenmille, Salish beadworker and regalia maker
• Norman Kennedy, Scottish weaver, singer, storyteller
• Roberto Martinez and Lorenzo Martinez, father and son musicians
• Norma Miller, African American Swing Dancer/Choreographer
• Ron Poast, Hardanger fiddle maker
• Felipe I. Ruak and Joseph K. Ruak, father and son Carolinian stick dancers
• Manoochehr Sadeghi, santur player
• Jesus Arriada, Johnny Curutchet, Martin Goicoechea and Jesus Goni, Basque (Bertsolari) poets

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 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 [4]

2005

• Eldrid Skjold Arntzen, Norwegian-American rosemaler
• Earl Barthé, Creole building artisan
• Chuck Brown, African American musical innovator
• Janette Carter, country musician
• Michael Doucet, Cajun fiddler, composer, band leader
• Big Joe Duskin, blues and boogie-woogie pianist^[8]
• 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,"Queen of Gospel Music"
• James Ka'upena Wong, Hawaiian chanter^[9]

2006

• Charles M. Carrillo, santero
• Delores Elizabeth Churchill, Haida cedar bark weaver
• 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, hula master
• Wilho Saari, Finnish kantele player
• Mavis Staples, Gospel, rhythm and blues singer
• Nancy Sweezy, folklorist and potter
• Treme Brass Band, New Orleans based 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 Parker, Kashia Pomo basketmaker
• Mary Jane Queen, Appalachian musician
• Joe Thompson^{[disambiguation needed ]}, 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, 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
• Chitresh Das, Kathak dancer and choreographer
• LeRoy Graber, German-Russian willow basketmaker from South Dakota
• "Queen" Ida Guillory, Zydeco musician and singer
• Dudley Laufman, Contra and barn dance caller and musician
• Amma D. McKen, Yoruba Orisha singer
• Joel Nelson, Cowboy poet
• Teri Rofkar, Tlingit weaver and asketmaker
• Mike Seeger, folk musician, cultural scholar
• Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, Cambodian classical dancer and choreographer

2010

• Yacub Addy
• Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor
• GLadys Kukana Grace
• Mary Jackson
• Delano Floyd "Del" McCoury
• Judith McCulloh
• Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan
• Mike Rafferty
• Ezequiel Torres

External links

• National Heritage Fellowships page from National Endowment for the Arts site
• List of all National Heritage Fellowship winners
• Announcement of 2010 NEA National Heritage Fellowship Recipients

References

1. ^ [1] Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary
2. ^ [2] Extraordinary Ordinary People: Five American Masters of Traditional Arts
3. ^ 1989 NEA National Heritage Fellow: Chesley Goseyun Wilson, National Endowment for the Arts (USA)
4. ^ [3]
5. ^ "(listing for) Jerry Brown". National endowment for the Arts. http://www.nea.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/fellow.php?id=1992_02. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
6. ^ "Elder Roma Wilson". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p165862/biography. Retrieved October 28, 2011. 
7. ^ "Lifetime Honors: Bruce Caesar." National Endowment for the Arts. (retrieved 6 Aug 2011)
8. ^ "Big Joe Duskin; Bluesman who flourished in later life - obituary by Tony Russell". London: Guardian.co.uk. June 19, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/jun/19/guardianobituaries.obituaries. Retrieved November 25, 2009. 
9. ^ A short autobiography of Ka‘upena