2025HeritageProgram_4web

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Cover: Eagle bit by Ernie Marsh Photo by Teresa Marsh

Zacatecas dresses by Carmen Baron Photo by Paul Baron

Contents History of the NEA National Heritage Fellowships.. .............................................................. 2 Message from the NEA Senior Advisor.................................................................................. 3

2025 NEA NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOWS Carmen Baron..........................................................................................4 Mexican Folk Costume Maker and Dancer (Tucson, Arizona)

Peniel Guerrier.........................................................................................6 Haitian Dancer, Drummer, and Educator (Astoria, New York)

Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga.....................................................................8 Bon Odori Dancer, Teacher, and Choreographer (Saratoga, California)

Ernie Marsh.............................................................................................10 Bit & Spur Maker and Silversmith (Lovell, Wyoming)

Edward Poullard...................................................................................12 Creole Musician (Beaumont, Texas)

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America.......................14 Men’s Choral & Bandura Ensemble (Detroit, Michigan) Bess Lomax Hawes Fellow

Steven Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota)..................................................16 Traditional Lakota Artist & Educator (Omaha, Nebraska)

National Heritage Fellows, 1982–2024.......................................................................................................18 1

National Endowment for the Arts

A Brief History of the NEA National Heritage Fellowships In 1982, under President Ronald Reagan, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) launched the National Heritage Fellowships to recognize the lifetime achievements of folk and traditional artists in the United States. At the first celebration, Bess Lomax Hawes, then director of the Folk Arts program, wrote that each year’s honorees would reflect “the dazzling array of artistic traditions we have inherited throughout our nation’s fortunate history.”

The process begins with a nomination, often from someone in the artist’s own community, supported by letters and materials describing their work. A panel of folk arts experts, along with at least one layperson, reviews the nominations. Their recommendations go to the National Council on the Arts, with final approval by the NEA chair.

This one-time award highlights both artistic excellence and efforts to preserve cultural traditions. Some recipients—such as Mavis Staples, B.B. King, Michael Flatley, and Wu Man—are widely known worldwide.

Many others are recognized more locally or within their

cultural communities, where they are valued as craft workers, musicians, dancers, storytellers, and cultural leaders.

In 2000, the NEA introduced the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship to recognize individuals who have made major contributions to the vitality and public appreciation of folk and traditional arts. Record producer and cultural advocate Chris Strachwitz received the first award.

Beyond the fellowships, the NEA supports folk and traditional arts through grants for festivals, documentaries, exhibitions, and educational projects.

The agency has also helped build state-level folk arts programs that sustain apprenticeships and fieldwork.

With nearly 500 recipients representing more than 200 different art forms, the National Heritage Fellowships continue to shine an important light on America’s cultural traditions and the skilled and dedicated artists whose work helps keep them alive.

1984 NEA National Heritage Fellow Ralph Stanley (center, with banjo) leads his band in a concert outside the Old Post Office Building in Washington, DC, in 1984.

NEA file photo

2

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Message from the NEA Senior Advisor At the National Endowment for the Arts, we believe the story of our country is told not only through written history and commemorative events, but also through the enduring traditions passed down from generation to generation—often through music, dance, craft, and ceremony. The recipients of the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellowships—our nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts—remind us that active cultural practices help us reflect on where we’ve come from and imagine where we might go.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we especially recognize these Fellows for their lasting commitment to art forms that reflect the complexity and depth of our national story.

Photo courtesy of Mary Anne Carter

We find resilience and celebration in Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga’s Bon Odori dances, where thousands gather together in shared movement to honor generations past. In Carmen Baron’s handmade folklórico costumes, each seam, cut, and stitch carries forward the discipline and pride of traditional craftsmanship.

Ernie Marsh’s bit and spur making is both functional art and a reflection of cowboy culture; his high-relief silverwork preserves the artistry of the American West. Similarly, Edward Poullard carries forward the soundscape of Creole Louisiana and Texas through his music and expertly crafted instruments, linking old French songs, zydeco rhythms, and generations of family and community traditions.

Steven Tamayo, our 2025 Bess Lomax Hawes Fellow, brings care and dedication to restoring and revitalizing Lakota traditions—buffalo robes, regalia, and language—ensuring that what was once nearly lost is preserved and shared.

Peniel Guerrier teaches Haitian dance and drumming with the precision of a skilled artist and the heart of an educator, offering young people opportunities to engage with tradition in dynamic, meaningful ways. Likewise, the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America continues the centuries-old practice of storytelling through song and the bandura, preserving language, memory, and meaning through a collective voice.

These artists are upholding the customs they inherited, while also shaping new traditions and passing them on. Their work invites us to reflect on the values we hold, the stories we honor, and the practices we choose to carry into the future.

On behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the 2025 National Heritage Fellows. Thank you for joining us in celebrating these remarkable individuals, whose life’s work reminds us that heritage is not a static treasure of the past, but a living tradition that continues to connect us with one another.

Mary Anne Carter Senior Advisor, National Endowment for the Arts

3

National Endowment for the Arts

Carmen Baron MEXICAN FOLK COSTUME MAKER AND DANCER Tucson, Arizona

A

s a trained structural and architectural designer, Carmen Baron sees the lines, colors, and proportions needed to create intricately designed custom-made costumes for young Baile Folklórico dancers throughout the state of Arizona.

Carmen Baron was born in 1960 in the town of Atil, Sonora, Mexico, and raised nearby in Altar. Her house was made in a traditional rural Mexican style of adobe, the floor was dirt, there was no electricity, and water was drawn from a well. Sewing was a necessity, which Baron learned on her grandmother’s pedal machine.

Her mother taught her the basics for sewing as well as how to make dresses without patterns which later became a creative expression.

When she was 13, Baron’s father, a native of Los Angeles, moved the family back to the U.S. and Baron went on to study Architecture at the University of Arizona. While working professionally as a structural and architectural designer, Baron also studied Mexican folk dance (Baile Folklórico). She danced for seven years with Instituto de Folklore Mexicano in Tucson, while also volunteering as a seamstress for the group. Following the death of her teacher and the end of Instituto de Folklore Mexicano, Baron formed her own dance group, Danzacultura Mexicana, to pass on her knowledge of the traditional dances to new generations. Since the company’s founding in 1997, Baron has taught Mexican folk dance and made nearly all the costumes for Danzacultura students. The students have been featured at festivals in and around Tucson, including De Anza Days and Presidio San Agustin.

4

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Folklórico costumes represent social dances and songs from predominately nine different geographic regions of Mexico. They consist of embroidered jackets, circular skirts with multi-colored hand-sewn ribbon trim, and bold colors, each animating which Mexican region or dance is being performed. To make them by hand, with original patterns, requires skill and knowledge of the distinctive cultural expressions represented.

Baron is committed to maintaining the art of handmade folklórico costumes by documenting traditional methods and teaching younger generations, instilling a sense of discipline, confidence, and pride in their cultural heritage. Both in-person and virtually, she mentors students in the steps for making the Mexican folk costumes, from drawing patterns to cutting and stitching the garments. For each costume, she documents how to make the patterns, as well as how much and what type of fabric is needed.

Her costumes have been exhibited at the Presidio San Agustin Tortilla Festival in Tucson; the La Canoa Ranch in Green Valley, Arizona; and the Tucson Meet Yourself festival. In 2016, Baron received a Southwest Folklife Alliance Master-Apprentice Award to support her in sharing her knowledge of traditional folklórico costumes and sewing with her first apprentice. In 2017, the City of Tucson’s Parks & Recreation Department recognized Baron with the Commissioners Award for her thousands of volunteer hours at its El Rio Neighborhood Center.

Photo by John Baron

5

National Endowment for the Arts

Peniel Guerrier HAITIAN DANCER, DRUMMER, AND EDUCATOR Astoria, New York

P

eniel Guerrier has dedicated his life to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Haiti through dance and drumming. Guerrier’s passion for understanding dances of affranchise and rabordaoyi, social dance forms that show European influences in Haitian history, as well as Vodou ceremonies and traditional practices led him to become a renowned dancer and teacher, recognized internationally for his contributions to the arts.

Guerrier was born in 1971 in the small town of St. Marc, Haiti. Though his parents were strictly Protestant, Vodou dancing, drumming, and songs were everywhere in his neighborhood. Vodou is a faith tradition that mixes Roman Catholicism with spiritual practices brought to the island by African peoples who were enslaved. Even as a child, Guerrier was interested in learning the deeper meanings of Vodou ceremonies and symbolism.

Guerrier’s high school teacher introduced him to teaching artists at Haiti’s National Theater, and soon he met Odette Weiner, founder of Ballet Bacoulou.

Weiner and others were very impressed by Guerrier’s interpretations of the folkloric and ceremonial dance rituals and by 16, he was dancing professionally in Professor Herve Maxi’s dance company, Tamboula d’Haiti. He studied with Maxi at the National School of Arts at Haiti State University before auditioning as a professional artist for the National Theater and dancing with them nationally and internationally for eight years.

6

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

When Guerrier was on tour with Ballet Bacoulou in the late 1990s, he was noticed by New York-based Haitian dancers Nadia Dieudonne and Joey Nelson who invited him to teach in New York City at Peridance/Djoniba studio. Dance scholars and fellow dancers took note of Guerrier’ gift for teaching and created opportunities for him in K-12 and university settings. Sometimes he would teach as many as 400 students per day.

Now a U.S. citizen, Guerrier currently directs two of his own companies, Tamboula d’Haiti and Kriye Bode, which is a community-based dance and drumming colloquium that involves a large-scale thematic performance often on Haitian historical themes. In addition to maintaining his early performance and teaching partnerships with organizations such as Peridance/Djoniba, KONGO Haitian Roots Music, and the “Five Sister” colleges in Western Massachusetts, he has traveled to teach and perform throughout the U.S., Haiti, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and Suriname.

The range of organizations he has worked with also include the Mark Morris Dance Company and Domestic Workers United.

Since 2013, Guerrier has been recognized a record five times as a Master Artist in Haitian Dance/Drumming by the New York State Council on the Arts Folk Arts Apprenticeship program. Through this award program, he has provided year-long intensive apprenticeship trainings for dedicated, emerging traditional artists.

Photo courtesy of Peniel Guerrier

7

National Endowment for the Arts

Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga BON ODORI DANCER, TEACHER, CHOREOGRAPHER Saratoga, California

A

drienne Reiko Iwanaga is a teacher, performer, preserver, and cultural ambassador of Bon Odori, a centuries old Japanese folk dance rooted in the Buddhist tradition of communal gathering to honor and celebrate the memory of ancestors. Iwanaga’s dedication to community outreach, education and inclusivity, as well as her innovative, accessible, and joyous choreography have helped to revitalize and increase participation in this spirited communal art form both within and outside the Japanese American community.

Iwanaga was born in San Jose, California, in 1938. At age four, while incarcerated with her family at the Granada Relocation Center (Amache) in Colorado, Iwanaga was introduced to nihon buyo, classical Japanese dance.

After WWII ended, she continued her studies and, in 1965, underwent a rigorous testing process in Japan to be certified as a natori dance master, earning the professional dance name Hanayagi Reimichi.

While continuing her training in classical odori, Iwanaga became involved with Bon Odori folk dancing through the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin. By coincidence, Iwanaga’s future father-in-law, Reverend Yoshio Iwanaga, a first-generation Japanese immigrant, had been responsible for introducing Bon Odori dancing to West coast Japanese American communities in the early 1930s.

In 1998, Iwanaga became the San Jose Buddhist Church’s head Bon Odori teacher. Driven to further her father-in-law’s legacy and inspired by the universal appeal of joyous dancing, Iwanaga began choreographing new dances that, though still historically relevant, were fun, simple to learn, and appealed to all ages. Remembering her experience of incarceration and excited by a changing multicultural

8

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

population, Iwanaga envisioned using Bon Odori as an inclusive art and began making efforts to reach new communities, cultures, and people outside of the Japanese American population. Today, more than 2,500 dancers of all demographics annually participate in the San Jose Buddhist Church’s Obon Festival, considered the largest such celebration in the United States.

Iwanaga’s work perpetuating Bon Odori expands beyond Obon festivals. She lectures, runs workshops, and leads demonstrations through partnerships with educational, community, and cultural organizations including the University of California, Rotary Club, elementary and Japanese cultural schools, and the Buddhist Churches of America. Additionally, Iwanaga co-founded the American Bon Consortium to ensure that the history of Bon Odori is documented and perpetuated, while moving forward into new expressions.

In 2016, Iwanaga was inducted into the Hokka Nichi Bei Kai (Japanese American Association of Northern California) Cultural Hall of Fame, which honors those who have strengthened the Japanese American community by preserving and sharing Japanese cultural practices. Other honors include Saratoga Citizen of the Year, San Jose Japanese American Citizens League Award, and congressional commendations.

In addition, Iwanaga has created commemorative choreography to celebrate the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin’s 100th anniversary and San Jose Taiko’s 50th anniversary.

Iwanaga remains committed to furthering her family’s legacy while continuing to evolve American Obon Odori, ensuring that it remains relevant, approachable, and fun for a contemporary audience.

Photo courtesy of the lwanaga Family

9

National Endowment for the Arts

Ernie Marsh BIT & SPUR MAKER AND SILVERSMITH Lovell, Wyoming

E

rnie Marsh’s passion for ranching, horses, the American West, and cowboy culture inspired him to pursue the arts of bit & spur making and silversmithing. Characterized by high-relief engraving, engraved steel, and French Gray finishes, Marsh’s work is instantly recognizable. The balance of function and beauty in his pieces has earned him the respect of horsemen, collectors, and fellow makers.

Marsh was born in Mountain View, California, in 1962, though he primarily grew up in Washington State.

After spending his youth as a bull rider in amateur and professional rodeos, he was working as a ranch hand in Southeastern Washington when he first developed his dream to become a bit & spur maker. In 1990, he took part in a four-week apprenticeship with mentor Elmer Miller.

Today, Marsh maintains the bridle bit & spur making tradition himself through both his own practice and by mentoring new generations. He has participated several times as a master artist for the Wyoming Arts Council’s Folk Art Mentoring Program and provided public demonstrations at events including the Big Horn Basin Folk Festival in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Marsh and his wife Teresa have recently converted a house on their property into a bunkhouse for students so they can spend extended time under Marsh’s tutelage.

10

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Marsh is a founding member and previous president of the prestigious Traditional Cowboys Arts Association (TCAA), which was founded in 1998 to preserve and promote traditional art forms associated with Western cowboy culture. Through TCAA, Marsh has devoted years to teaching the significance and finer details of bit & spur making. In addition to having his gear used every day by working cowboys, Marsh also has displayed his work in several places, including By Western Hands, a museum and education center in Cody, Wyoming; the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada; and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his work is shown annually at the TCAA show.

In 2000, the Academy of Western Artists honored Marsh with the Will Rogers Award for Spurmaker of the Year, and in 2016, he received the Katie Weitz United States Artists Fellowship.

Photo by Teresa Marsh

11

National Endowment for the Arts

Edward Poullard CREOLE MUSICIAN Beaumont, Texas

E

dward Poullard, a third-generation Creole musician, grew up in a large French-speaking family where his musical education began at the knee of his father, a sharecropper and prominent performer of “la la,” a musical precursor of Zydeco.

Poullard was born in Eunice, Louisiana, in 1952 and the family moved to Texas when he was a young child.

While in Texas, he learned to play the guitar and drums, but quickly graduated to the accordion. By the age of 19 he was playing house parties and church dances in his father’s band, the Poullard Family Band. Poullard went on to play with other notable ensembles, such as the Ardoin Family Band and BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet. In these later ensembles, he added vocals to his many talents, demonstrating his knowledge of the older French songs he had learned from his parents.

After an injury to his right hand made playing the accordion difficult, Poullard turned his interest to the fiddle.

A grant from Texas Folklife Resources in the late 1980s allowed Poullard to pursue his studies with the late Creole fiddler Canray Fontenot. As a result of the apprenticeship, Poullard regularly played with Fontenot on the national folk festival circuit.

This collaboration, which often included Poullard’s brother Danny, continued until Fontenot’s death in 1995. Poullard was also inspired by and shared the stage with Creole fiddlers such as Calvin Carriere and Ben Guillory, as well as the legendary Cajun fiddler

12

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Dewey Balfa. Poullard recorded with many Creole musicians, including playing fiddle with Lawrence “Black” Ardoin on Tradition Creole (Arhoolie Records, 1984) and accordion on Canray Fontenot’s Louisiana Hot Sauce (Arhoolie Records, 1992). He is also featured as a primary artist with Jesse Legé on Live! At the Isleton Crawdad Festival (Arhoolie Records, 2002).

As a further commitment to preserving the music, Poullard is also a master woodworker; he has specialized in accordion building since 2001. At that time, Poullard received a grant from Texas Folklife to study and build the ten-button diatonic accordion referred to as the Cajun style accordion. The single row of buttons and distinctive tuning give it a unique sound, and Poullard’s creations are in high demand.

In addition to mentoring musicians from his own community through apprenticeships and informal teaching sessions, Poullard has become increasingly active in passing on his traditions to others. He has taught Creole and Cajun fiddle and accordion styles at festivals and music camps throughout the United States and Europe, including the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia; American Fiddle Tunes at Port Townsend, Washington; the Folklore Village Dance Camp in Dodgeville, Wisconsin; the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio, Texas; and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC.

Photo by Mark Marcin

13

National Endowment for the Arts

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America MEN’S CHORAL AND BANDURA ENSEMBLE Detroit, Michigan

T

he Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (UBC), which has its roots in pre-World War II Ukraine, acts as an ambassador of Ukrainian culture, music, and the bandura, a stringed instrument with historical ties to the region. Today, UBC members— residing mostly in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania— regularly travel for rehearsals, performances, and other community-supported events.

The bandura is a lute-harp hybrid instrument with between 34 and 65 strings. The tradition of performing on the bandura with accompanying vocals harkens back to 16th-century Ukraine when a solitary musician, known as a kobzar, would travel the country performing this musical and oral tradition of epic song. At times, these singing minstrels were a threat to oppressive regimes as their repertoire included songs about Ukrainian history, morality, and contemporary issues which were shared with the people. In 1918, bandurist Vasyl Yemets united multiple individual performers to found the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus in Kyiv, Ukraine.

During political shifts in the Soviet regime in the late 1920s, bandura music was banned because of its religious, historical, and Ukrainian patriotic repertoire.

Khotkevych, as well as many other bandurists, were executed by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s.

Bandurists were also persecuted by the Nazis during WWII. After the war, the UBC musicians and their families remained refugees in Germany, unable to

14

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

return to Soviet Ukraine for fear of persecution or death.

In late 1948, American impresario Sol Hurok visited German refugee camps in search of talented musicians to sponsor for travel to the United States. At the same time, Detroit-based lawyer and Ukrainian American John (Ivan) Panchuk also traveled to Germany to observe conditions at the refugee camps. In 1949, Hurok and Panchuk joined forces to sponsor the entire ensemble’s immigration as one artistic unit. Most of the 17 families settled in Hamtramck, Michigan, where they lived and worked alongside existing Polish and Ukrainian immigrant communities.

Today the UBC is based in the Great Lakes’ Ukrainian diasporic community. The all-male ensemble consists of about 50 members between the ages of 16 and 70, including both bandura players and singers. They perform in traditional Ukrainian dress with the bandura players seated in front of the standing singers, who sing in Ukrainian.

The UBC performs in concerts and tours throughout North America, Australia, Europe, and Ukraine. The group has recorded more than 40 albums and discs of sacred and traditional Ukrainian music, as well as contemporary compositions. Since 1996 they have been led by artistic director Oleh Mahlay, an American conductor, bandurist and composer. In 2022, the UBC received the Michigan Heritage Award from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program.

Photo by Stefan Iwaskewycz

15

National Endowment for the Arts

Steven Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota) TRADITIONAL LAKOTA ARTIST AND EDUCATOR Omaha, Nebraska

S

teven Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota), recipient of the 2025 NEA Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship, has spent 14 years on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, reclaiming and preserving Lakota culture through his art. As a traditional artist and educator, Tamayo revives stories that were systematically erased by discriminatory laws, the boarding school system, and forced relocation.

After his service in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in the late 1980s, Tamayo worked with Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha) elder, World War II veteran, and artist Howard Wolf to study a variety of traditional materials and techniques important to the regalia of warrior societies. This included elements such as the pesha, a headdress made from deer tail and the soft guard hair of the porcupine.

His own work with buffalo robes is the culmination of decades of experience and knowledge gathering.

Following traditional practice, Tamayo prepared the hides by softening the animal skin and stretching each hide on a frame before painting it with materials he produced by harvesting natural pigments and vegetation. Painted buffalo robes archive the history of Lakota people, tell stories of everyday life, and share culture and tradition with future generations.

In 2022, Tamayo was awarded a four-year Creative Capital project grant to design, paint, and adorn 13 traditional buffalo robes for the school at Standing Rock

16

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Reservation. Tamayo’s work also includes buffalo robes gifted to Willie Nelson and Neil Young.

As part of the Nebraska Arts Council teaching roster, Tamayo visits schools and communities across the state, including remote communities, sharing his knowledge of art, regalia making, drumming, and powwow dancing. In his role as a cultural specialist in Omaha Public Schools’ NICE (Native Indigenous Centered Education) program, he helps Indigenous students sustain their cultural identity. To further his education and advocacy efforts, Bluebird Cultural Initiative, a nonprofit organization founded by Tamayo, offers free classes and educational materials on the Rosebud Reservation and nationwide. Several groups established by the organization host regular meetings where participants can deepen their cultural knowledge through traditional activities including Lakota language classes that teach ways of speaking and singing that are vital to cultural preservation and unity.

In 2011, Tamayo earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sínte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota, where he later developed and taught the traditional arts program. In 2014, he was awarded the Nebraska Governor’s Heritage Art Award for excellence in cultural artistic expression and for his contributions to Native American culture.

The Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship honors “keepers of tradition” who through their efforts as organizers, educators, producers, cultural advocates, or caretakers of skills and repertoires have had a major beneficial effect on the traditional arts of the United States. A member of the Lomax family of pioneering American folklorists, Bess Lomax Hawes (1921–2009) committed her life to the documentation and presentation of American folk artists. She served as an educator both inside the classroom and beyond, and nurtured the field of public folklore through her service at the National Endowment for the Arts. During her tenure as director of the NEA Folk Arts Program (1977–1993) an infrastructure of state folklorists was put in place, statewide folk arts apprenticeship programs were initiated, and the National Heritage Fellowships were created. In 1993 she received the National Medal of Arts for her many contributions in assisting folk artists nationwide and in bringing folk artistry to the attention of the public.

Photo by Ryan Soderlin for the Flatwater Free Press

17

National Endowment for the Arts

National 1982 Heritage Fellows

1983

1984

Dewey Balfa *

Sister Mildred Barker *

Clifton Chenier *

Joe Heaney *

Rafael Cepeda *

Bertha Cook *

Tommy Jarrell *

Ray Hicks *

Joseph Cormier *

Bessie Jones *

Stanley Hicks *

Elizabeth Cotten *

Cajun Fiddler Basile, LA

1982–2024

Irish Singer Brooklyn, NY

Appalachian Fiddler Mt. Airy, NC

Georgia Sea Island Singer Brunswick, GA

George Lopez * Santos Woodcarver Cordova, NM

Brownie McGhee * Blues Guitarist/Singer Oakland, CA

Hugh McGraw * Shape Note Singer Bremen, GA

Lydia Mendoza *

Mexican American Singer San Antonio, TX

Bill Monroe *

Bluegrass Musician Nashville, TN

Elijah Pierce * Carver/Painter Columbus, OH

Adam Popovich * Tamburitza Musician Dolton, IL

Georgeann Robinson * Osage Ribbonworker Bartelsville, OK

Duff Severe * Saddle Maker Pendleton, OR

Philip Simmons * Ornamental Ironwork Charleston, SC

Sanders “Sonny” Terry *

Blues Harmonica/Singer Holliswood, NY

Shaker Singer Poland Spring, ME

Bomba Musician/Dancer Santurce, PR Appalachian Storyteller Banner Elk, NC Appalachian Musician/ Storyteller/Instrument Maker Vilas, NC

John Lee Hooker * Blues Guitarist/Singer San Francisco, CA

Mike Manteo *

Creole Accordionist Lafayette, LA

Knotted Bedspread Maker Boone, NC Cape Breton Violinist Waltham, MA

African American Singer/ Songster Syracuse, NY

Burlon Craig * Potter Vale, NC

Albert Fahlbusch *

Sicilian Marionettist Staten Island, NY

Hammered Dulcimer Player/ Builder Scottsbluff, NE

Narciso Martinez *

Janie Hunter *

Lanier Meaders *

Mary Jane Manigault *

Texas-Mexican Accordionist/ Composer San Benito, TX Potter Cleveland, GA

Almeda Riddle * Ballad Singer Greers Ferry, AR

Joe Shannon * Irish Piper Chicago, IL

Simon St. Pierre *

French American Fiddler Smyrna Mills, ME

Alex Stewart *

Cooper/Woodworker Sneedville, TN

Ada Thomas *

Chitimacha Basketmaker Charenton, LA

Lucinda Toomer *

African American Quilter Columbus, GA

Lem Ward *

Decoy Carver/Painter Crisfield, MD

Dewey Williams * Shape Note Singer Ozark, AL

African American Singer/ Storyteller Johns Island, SC African American Seagrass Basketmaker Mt. Pleasant, SC

Genevieve Mougin *

Lebanese American Lace Maker Bettendorf, IA

Martin Mulvihill * Irish American Fiddler Bronx, NY

Howard “Sandman” Sims *

African American Tap Dancer New York, NY

Ralph Stanley *

Bluegrass Banjo Player/ Appalachian Singer Coeburn, VA

Margaret Tafoya *

Santa Clara Pueblo Potter Espanola, NM

Dave Tarras *

Klezmer Clarinetist Brooklyn, NY

Paul Tiulana *

Eskimo Mask Maker/Dancer/ Singer Anchorage, AK

Cleofas Vigil *

Hispanic Storyteller/Singer San Cristobal, NM

* Deceased

18

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Emily Kau’i Zuttermeister *

Hula Master (Kumu Hula) Kaneohe, HI

1985

1986

1987

1988

Eppie Archuleta *

Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin *

Juan Alindato *

Pedro Ayala *

Louis Bashell *

Kepka Belton *

Genoveva Castellanoz

Amber Densmore *

Thomas Edison “Brownie” Ford *

Michael Flatley

Hispanic Weaver San Luis Valley, CO

Periklis Halkias * Greek Clarinetist Astoria Queens, NY

Jimmy Jausoro * Basque Accordionist Boise, ID

Mealii Kalama * Hawaiian Quilter Honolulu, HI

Lily May Ledford *

Appalachian Musician/Singer Lexington, KY

Leif Melgaard *

Norwegian Woodcarver Minneapolis, MN

Bua Xou Mua * Hmong Musician Portland, OR

Julio Negrón-Rivera *

Puerto Rican Instrument Maker Morovis, PR

Alice New Holy Blue Legs *

Lakota Sioux Quill Artist Rapid City, SD

Glenn Ohrlin *

Cowboy Singer/Storyteller/ Illustrator Mountain Veiw, AR

Henry Townsend *

Blues Musician/Songwriter St. Louis, MO

Horace “Spoons” Williams * Percussionist/Poet Philadelphia, PA

Creole Accordionist Eunice, LA

Earnest Bennett *

Anglo-American Whittler Indianapolis, IN

Helen Cordero * Pueblo Potter Cochiti, NM

Sonia Domsch *

Czech American Bobbin Lace Maker Atwood, KS

Canray Fontenot * Creole Fiddler Welsh, LA

John Jackson *

Black Songster/Guitarist Fairfax Station, VA

Peou Khatna *

Cambodian Court Dancer/ Choreographer Silver Spring, MD

Valerio Longoria *

Mexican American Accordionist San Antonio, TX

Doc Tate Nevaquaya *

Carnival Maskmaker Ponce, PR

Mexican American Accordionist Donna, TX

Slovenian Accordionist Greenfield, WI Mexican American Corona Maker Nyssa, OR

Anglo-Comanche Cowboy Singer/Storyteller Herbert, LA

Kansuma Fujima *

Japanese American Dancer Los Angeles, CA

Claude Joseph Johnson *

African American Religious Singer/Orator Atlanta, GA

Raymond Kane *

Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist/ Singer Wai’ane, HI

Wade Mainer *

Comanche Indian Flutist Apache, OK

Appalachian Banjo Picker/ Singer Flint, MI

Luis Ortega *

Sylvester McIntosh *

Hispanic American Rawhide Worker Paradise, CA

Ola Belle Reed *

Appalachian Banjo Picker/ Singer Rising Sun, MD

Jennie Thlunaut *

Tlingit Chilkat Blanket Weaver Haines, AK

Nimrod Workman *

Appalachian Ballad Singer Macot, & Chattaroy, TN/WV

Crucian Singer/Bandleader St. Croix, VI

Allison “Tootie” Montana * Mardi Gras Chief/Costume Maker New Orleans, LA

Alex Moore, Sr. *

African American Blues Pianist Dallas, TX

Emilio & Senaida Romero *

Czech American Egg Painter Ellsworth, KS New England Quilter/ Needleworker Chelsea, VT

Irish American Stepdancer Palos Park, IL

Sister Rosalia Haberl * German American Bobbin Lace Maker Hankinson, ND

John Dee Holeman *

African American Musician/ Dancer/Singer Durham, NC

Albert “Sunnyland Slim” Laundrew * Blues Pianist/Singer Chicago, IL

Yang Fang Nhu *

Hmong Weaver/Embroiderer Detroit, MI

Kenny Sidle *

Anglo-American Fiddler Newark, OH

Willi Mae Ford Smith *

African American Gospel Singer St. Louis, MO

Clyde “Kindy” Sproat * Hawaiian Cowboy Singer/ Ukulele Player Kapaaee, HI

Arthel “Doc” Watson *

Appalachian Guitarist/Singer Deep Gap, NC

Hispanic American Tin and Embroidery Workers Santa Fe, NM

Newton Washburn * Split Ash Basketmaker Bethlehem, NH

1988 Fellow

Clyde “Kindy” Sproat Tom Pich Photography

1986 Fellow

Sonia Domsch

Tom Pich Photography

19

National Endowment for the Arts

1989

1990

1991

1992

John Cephas *

Howard Armstrong *

Etta Baker *

Francisco Aguabella *

Fairfield Four

Em Bun *

George Blake

Jerry Brown *

Cambodian Silk Weaver Harrisburg, PA

Native American Craftsman (Hupa-Yurok) Hoopa Valley, CA

Natividad Cano *

Jack Coen *

Walker Calhoun *

Piedmont Blues Guitarist/ Singer Woodford, VA African American a Capelle Gospel Singers Nashville, TN

José Gutiérrez

Mexican Jarocho Musician/ Singer Norwalk, CA

Richard Avedis Hagopian

African American String Band Musician Boston, MA

Mexican American Mariachi Musician Fillmore, CA

Giuseppe * and Raffaela DeFranco

Armenian Oud Player Visalia, CA

Southern Italian Musicians and Dancers Belleville, NJ

Christy Hengel *

Maude Kegg *

German American Concertina Maker New Ulm, MN

Vanessa Paukeigope Jennings Kiowa Regalia Maker Fort Cobb, OK

Ilias Kementzides *

Pontic Greek Lyra Player and Builder South Norwalk, CT

Ethel Kvalheim *

Norwegian Rosemaler Stoughton, WI

Mabel E. Murphy * Anglo-American Quilter Fulton, MO

LaVaughn E. Robinson * African American Tap Dancer Philadelphia, PA

Earl Scruggs *

Bluegrass Banjo Player Nashville, TN

Harry V. Shourds * Wildfowl Decoy Carver Seaville, NJ

Chesley Goseyun Wilson *

Ojibwe Storyteller/ Craftsperson/Tradition Bearer Onamia, MN

Kevin Locke *

African American Guitarist Morgantown, NC

Irish American Flautist Bronx, NY

Rose Frank *

Nez Perce Cornhusk Weaver Lapwai, ID

Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero *

Potter (southern stoneware tradition) Hamilton, AL Cherokee Musician/Dancer/ Teacher Cherokee, NC

Clyde Davenport * Appalachian Fiddler Jamestown, TN

Mexican American Singer/ Guitarist/Composer Cathedral City, CA

Belle Deacon *

Khamvong Insixiengmai

Nora Ezell *

Southeast Asian Lao Singer Fresno, CA

Athabascan Basketmaker Greyling, AK African American Quilter Five Points, TN

Gerald Hawpetoss *

Lakota Flute Player/Singer/ Dancer/Storyteller Wakpala, SD

Don King *

Western Saddlemaker Sheridan, WY

Menominee/Potowatomie Regalia Maker Neopit, WI

Marie McDonald *

Riley “B.B.” King *

Fatima Kuinova *

Wallace “Wally” McRae *

Esther Littlefield *

Hawaiian Lei Maker Kamuela, HI

Cowboy Poet Forsyth, MT

Art Moilanen *

Finnish Accordionist Mass City, MI

Emilio Rosado * Woodcarver Utado, PR

Robert Spicer *

Flatfoot and Buckdancer Dancer Dickson, TN

Douglas Wallin *

Applachian Ballad Singer Marshall, NC

Apache Fiddle Maker Tucson, AZ

African American Blues Musician/Singer/Bandleader Itta Bena, MS Alaskan Regalia Maker (Tlingit) Sitka, AK

Seisho “Harry” Nakasone *

Okinawan American Musician Honolulu, HI

Irvan Perez *

Isleno Singer (Canary Islands) Poydras, LA

Morgan Sexton *

Appalachian Banjo Player/ Singer Linefork, KY

Nikitas Tsimouris *

Greek American Bagpipe Player Tarpon Springs, FL

Gussie Wells *

African American Quilter Oakland, CA

Arbie Williams *

African American Quilter Oakland, CA

Melvin Wine *

Appalachian Fiddler Copen, WV

* Deceased

20

Afro-Cuban Drummer Los Angeles, CA

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Bukharan Jewish Singer Rego Park, NY

John Yoshio Naka * Bonsai Sculptor Whittier, CA

Marc Savoy

Cajun Accordion Player/ Builder Eunice, LA

Ng Sheung-Chi *

Chinese Toissan Muk’yu Folk Singer New York, NY

Othar Turner *

African American Fife Player Senatobia, MS

Tanjore Viswanathan * South Indian Flute Maker Middletown, CT

1993

1994

1995

1996

Santiago Almeida *

Liz Carroll

Bao Mo-Li

Obo Addy *

Kenny Baker *

Clarence Fountain * & The Blind Boys of Alabama

Mary Holiday Black *

Betty Pisio Christenson *

Lyman Enloe *

Paul Dahlin

Native American (Passamaquoddy) Basketmaker Princeton, ME

Donny Golden

Juan Gutiérrez

Johnny Gimble *

Wayne Henderson

Frances Varos Graves *

Bea Ellis Hensley *

Texas-Mexican Conjunto Musician Sunnyside, WA Bluegrass Fiddler Cottontown, TN

Inez Catalon *

French Creole Singer Kaplan, LA

Elena * & Nicholas Charles *

Yupik Woodcaver/Maskmaker/ Skin Sewer Bethel, AK

Charles Hankins * Boatbuilder Lavallette, NJ

Nalani Kanaka’ole & Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele Hula Masters Hilo, HI

Everett Kapayou * Native American Singer (Meskwaki) Tama, IA

McIntosh County Shouters

African American Spiritual/ Shout Ensemble St. Simons Island, GA

Elmer Miller *

Bit and Spur Maker/Silversmith Nampa, ID

Jack Owens *

Blues Singer/Guitarist Bentonia, MS

Mone & Vanxay Saenphimmachak

Lao Weaver/Needleworker and Loom Maker St. Louis, MO

Irish American Fiddler Mundelein, IL

African American Gospel Singers Atlanta, GA

Mary Mitchell Gabriel *

Chinese American Jing-Erhu Player Flushing, NY

African (Ghanaian) Master Drummer/Leader Portland, OR

Navajo Basketmaker Mexican Hat, UT Old-Time Fiddler Lee’s Summit, MO

Swedish American Fiddler Minneapolis, MN

Irish American Step Dancer Brooklyn, NY

Western Swing Fiddler Dripping Springs, TX Hispanic American “Colcha” Embroidery Rancho De Taos, NM

Violet Hilbert *

Native American (Skagit) Storyteller/Conservator Ca Conner, WA

Sosie Shizuye Matsumoto *

Japanese Tea Ceremony Master Los Angeles, CA

Appalachian Luthier, Musician Mouth of Wilson, VA Appalachian Blacksmith Spruce Pine, NC

Nathan Jackson

Tlingit Alaskan Woodcaver/ Metalsmith/Dancer Ketchikan, AK

Danongan Kalanduyan * Filipino American Kulintang Musician South San Francisco, CA

Robert Jr. Lockwood *

Cajun Musician/Songwriter Erath, LA

African American Delta Blues Singer/Guitarist Cleveland, OH

Simon Shaheen

Israel “Cachao” López *

D.l. Menard *

Ukranian American Pysanky Suring, WI

Puerto Rican Drummer/Leader (Bomba and Plena) New York, NY

Solomon * & Richard * Ho’opii Hawaiian Falsetto Singers/ Musicians Makawao, HI

Will Keys *

Anglo-American Banjo Player Gray, TN

Joaquin Lujan *

Chamorro Blacksmith Barrigada, GU

Eva McAdams *

Shoshone Crafts/Beadwork Fort Washakie, WY

John Mealing * & Cornelius Wright, Jr. *

African American Work Songs Birmingham, AL

Arab American Oud Player Brooklyn, NY

Afro-Cuban Bassist, Composer, and Bandleader Miami, FL

Vernon Owens

Lily Vorperian

Nellie Star Boy Menard *

Dolly Spencer *

Armenian (Marash-Style) Embroidery Glendale, CA

Elder Roma Wilson *

African American Harmonica Player Oxford, MS

Lakota Sioux Quiltmaker Rosebud, SD

Anglo-American Potter Seagrove, NC Inupiat Dollmaker Homer, AK

Buck Ramsey *

Anglo-American Cowboy Poet, Singer Amarillo, TX

Liang-Xing Tang

Chinese American Pipa (Lute) Player Bayside, NY

1996 Fellow

Vernon Owens

Tom Pich Photography

21

National Endowment for the Arts

1997

1998

1999

2000

Edward Babb *

Apsara Ensemble

Frisner Augustin *

Bounxou Chanthraphone

“Shout” Band Gospel Trombonist & Band Leader Jamaica, NY

Cambodian Musicians & Dancers Fort Washington, MD

Haitian Drummer New York, NY

Lao Weaver, Embroiderer Brookland Park, MN

Charles Brown *

Eddie Blazonczyk *

Lila Greengrass Blackdeer *

Gladys Leblanc Clark *

Bruce Caesar

Shirley Caesar

Felipe García Villamil

Georgia Harris *

Dale Calhoun *

Alfredo Campos

José González *

Mary Louise Defender Wilson

Nettie Jackson *

West Coast Blues Pianist & Composer Berkeley, CA Acadian (Cajun) Spinner & Weaver Duson, LA Catawba Potter Atlanta, GA

Wen-Yi Hua *

Chinese Kunqu Opera Singer Arcadia, CA

Polish Polka Musician/ Bandleader Bridgeview, IL

Sac Fox-Pawnee German Silversmith Anadarko, OK Boatbuilder (Reelfoot Lake Stumpjumper) Tiptonville, TN

Antonio De La Rosa *

Hocak Black Ash Basketmaker, Needleworker Black River Falls, WI Gospel Singer Durham, NC

Horsehair Hitcher Federal Way, WA

Tejano Conjunto Accordionist Riviera, TX

Dakota Hidatsa Traditionalist and Storyteller Shields, ND

North Indian Sarod Player & Raga Composer San Anselmo, CA

Epstein Brothers *

Jimmy “Slyde” Godbolt *

Ramón José López

Sophia George

Ali Akbar Khan *

Santero & Metalsmith Santa Fe, NM

Jim * & Jesse * McReynolds

Bluegrass Musician Gallatin, TN

Phong Nguyen

Vietnamese Musician/Scholar Kent, OH

Hystercine Rankin * African American Quilter Lorman, MS

Francis Whitaker *

Blacksmith/Ornamental Iron Work Carbondale, CO

Klezmer Musicians Sarasota, FL

African American Tap Dancer Hanson, MA

Yakima Colville Beadwork and Regalia Gresham, OR

Ulysses “Uly” Goode *

Nadjeschda Overgaard *

Bob Holt *

Western Mono Basketmaker North Fork, CA

Danish Hardanger Embroidery Kimballton, IA

Ozark Fiddler Ava, MO

Harilaos Papapostolou *

Zakir Hussain *

Byzantine Chant, Greek Orthodox Potomac, MD

Roebuck “Pops” Staples *

Gospel /Blues Musician Dalton, IL

Claude “The Fiddler” Williams * Jazz Swing Fiddler Kansas City, MO

North Indian Master Tabla Drummer San Anselmo, CA

Elliott “Ellie” Manette * Trinidadian Steel Pan Builder, Tuner, Performer Osage, WV

Mick Moloney * Irish Musician New York, NY

Eudokia Sorochaniuk *

Ukranian Weaver, Textile Artist, Embroidery Pennsuaken, NJ

Ralph Stanley *

Master Boatbuilder, (Friendship Sloop) Southwest Harbor, ME

* Deceased

22

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Dixie Hummingbirds * African American Gospel Quartet Philadelphia, PA

Afro-Cuban Drummer/Santero Los Angeles, CA Puerto Rican Hammock Weaver San Sebastián, PR Klickitat Basketmaker White Swan, WA

Santiago Jiménez, Jr

Tex-Mex Accordionist/Singer San Antonio, TX

Genoa Keawe *

Hawaiian Tto Singer/ Ukulele Player Honolulu, HI

Frankie Manning *

Lindy Hop Dancer Choreographer/Innovator Corona, NY

Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins * Blues Piano Player La Porte, IN

Konstantinos Pilarinos *

Orthodox Byzantine Icon Woodcarver Astoria, NY

Chris Strachwitz * BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Record Producer/Label Founder El Cerrito, CA

B. Dorothy Thompson * Appalachian Weaver Davis, WV

Don Walser *

Cowboy & Western Singer/ Guitarist/Composer Austin, TX

2001

2002

2003

2004

Celestino Avilés *

Ralph Blizard *

BASQUE “BERTSOLARI” POETS

Anjani Ambegaokar *

Santero Orocovis, PR

Mozell Benson *

African American Quilter Opelika, AL

Wilson “Boozoo” Chavis * Zydeco Accordionist Lake Charles, LA

Hazel Dickens * Appalachian Singer Washington, DC

Evalena Henry

Apache Basketweaver Peridot, AZ

Peter Kyvelos * Oud Builder Bedford, MA

João “João Grande” Olivera Dos Santos Capoeira Angola Master New York, NY

Eddie Pennington

Thumbpicking Style Guitarist Princeton, KY

Qi Shu Fang

Peking Opera Performer Woodhaven, NY

Seiichi Tanaka

Taiko Drummer Dojo Founder San Francisco, CA

Dorothy Trumpold *

Jesus Arriada

Old-Time Fiddler Blountville, TN

San Francisco, CA

Johnny Curutchet

Loren Bommelyn

Tolowa Singer, Tradition Bearer, Basketmaker Crescent City, CA

Rock Springs, WY

Rosa Elene Egipciaco *

Francis * & Rose Cree * Ojibwa Basketmakers/ Storytellers Dunseith, ND

Puerto Rican Bobbin Lace “Mundillo” New York, NY

Agnes Oshanee Kenmille *

Luderin Darbone */ Edwin Duhon *

Cajun Fiddler and Accordionist Sulphur/Westlake, LA

Salish Beadwork and Tanning Ronan, MT

Norman Kennedy Weaver/Ballad Singer Marshfield, VT

Nadim Dlaikan

Lebanese Nye (Reed Flute) Player Southgate, MI

Roberto * & Lorenzo Martinez

Hispanic Guitarist & Violinist Albuquerque, NM

David “Honeyboy” Edwards *

Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer Chicago, IL

Flory Jagoda *

Sephardic Musician/Composer Alexandria, VA

Losang Samten

Tibetan Sand Mandala Painter Philadelphia, PA

Bob McQuillen *

Norma Miller *

African American Jazz Dancer, Choreographer Cape Coral, FL

Carmencristina Moreno BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Mexican American Singer, Composer, Teacher Fresno, CA

Ron Poast

Fred Tsoodle *

Clara Neptune Keezer *

Joseph Wilson *

Jean Ritchie *

Hardanger Fiddle Luthier and Player Black Earth, WI

Passamaquoddy Basketmaker Perry, ME

Gospel Steel Guitarist Rochester, NY

Irish American Button Accordionist Randolph, MA

Jerry Douglas Dobro Player Nashville, TN

Gerald Subiyay Miller * Skokomish Tradition Bearer Shelton, WA

Milan Opacich *

Tamburitza Instrument Maker Schererville, IN

Eliseo & Paula Rodriguez *

Straw Applique Artists Santa Fe, NM

Koko Taylor *

Blues Musician Country Club Hills, IL

Yuqin Wang & Zhengli Xu

Chinese Rod Puppeteers Tigard, OR

Chum Ngek

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Cambodian Musician and Teacher Gaithersburg, MD

Felipe I. & Joseph K. Ruak

Carolinian Stick Dance Leaders Saipan, MP

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Appalachian Singer/Songwriter Dulcimer Player Port Washington, NY

Manoochehr Sadeghi

Domingo “Mingo” Saldivar

Nicholas Toth

Conjunto Accordionist San Antonio, TX

Charles “Chuck” T. Campbell Joe Derrane *

Reno, NV

Irish Fiddler Portland, OR

Rug Weaver High Amana, IA

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Folklorist/Advocate/Presenter Fries, VA

Martin Goicoechea Jesus Goni

Kevin Burke

Contra Dance Musician Composer Peterborough, NH

Kiowa Sacred Song Leader Mountain View, OK

South San Francisco, CA

Kathak Dancer Diamond Bar, CA

Persian Santour Player Sherman Oaks, CA Diving Helmet Builder Tarpon Springs, FL

2001 Fellow

Hazel Dickins

Tom Pich Photography

23

National Endowment for the Arts

2005

2006

2007

2008

Herminia Albarrán Romero

Charles M. Carrillo

Nicholas Benson

Horace P. Axtell *

Paper-Cutting Artist San Francisco, CA

Santero (Carver and Painter of Sacred Figures) Santa Fe, NM

Eldrid Skjold Arntzen *

Delores E. Churchill

Sidiki Conde

Dale Harwood

Henry Gray *

Violet De Cristoforo *

Bettye Kimbrell *

Doyle Lawson

Roland Freeman *

Jeronimo E. Lozano *

Norwegian American Rosemaler Watertown, CT

Earl Barthé *

Decorative Building Craftsman New Orleans, LA

Chuck Brown *

African American Musical Innovator Brandywine, MD

Janette Carter *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Appalachian Musician, Advocate Hiltons, VA

Michael Doucet

Cajun Fiddler, Composer, and Band Leader Lafayette, LA

Jerry Grcevich

Tamburitza Musician, Prim Player North Huntingdon, PA

Grace Henderson Nez * Navajo Weaver Ganado, AZ

Wanda Jackson

Early Country, Rockabilly, and Gospel Singer Oklahoma City, OK

Beyle SchaechterGottesman * Yiddish Singer, Poet, Songwriter Bronx, NY

Albertina Walker *

Haida (Native Alaskan) Weaver Ketchican, AK Blues Piano Player, Singer Baton Rouge, LA Gospel and Bluegrass Singer, Arranger, and Bandleader Bristol, TN

Esther Martinez *

Haiku Poet And Historian Salinas, CA

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Photo Documentarian, Author, and Exhibit Curator Washington, DC

Saddlemaker Shelley, ID Quilter Mt. Olive, AL

Retablo Maker Salt Lake City, UT

Walter Murray Chiesa *

Pat Courtney Gold *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Traditional Crafts Advocate Bayamón, PR

Diomedes Matos

Eddie Kamae *

Oneida Hymn Singers Of Wisconsin

Cuatro (10-String Puerto Rican Guitar) Maker Deltona, FL

George Na’ope *

Kumu Hula (Hula Master) Hilo, HI

Wilho Saari *

Wasco Sally Bag Weaver Scappoose, OR

Hawaiian Musician, Composer, Filmmaker Honolulu, HI

Agustin Lira

Chicano Singer, Musician, Composer Fresno, CA

Finnish Kantele (Lap-Harp) Player Naselle, WA

Julia Parker

Mavis Staples

Mary Jane Queen *

Gospel, Rhythm and Blues Singer Chicago, IL

Nancy Sweezy *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Advocate, Scholar, Presenter, and Preservationist Lexington, MA

Treme Brass Band

New Orleans Brass Band New Orleans, LA

Kashia Pomo Basketmaker Midpines, CA Appalachian Musician Cullowhee, NC

Joe Thompson *

African American String Band Musician Mebane, NC

Irvin L. Trujillo

Rio Grande Weaver Chimayo, NM

Elaine Hoffman Watts * Klezmer Musician Havertown, PA

James Ka’upena Wong * Hawaiian Chanter Waianae, HI

2008 Fellow

24

Guinean Dancer and Musician New York, NY

Nez Perce Elder, Spiritual Leader, and Drum Maker Lewiston, ID

Native American Linguist and Storyteller San Juan Pueblo, NM

Gospel Singer Chicago, IL

* Deceased

Stone Letter Carver and Calligrapher Newport, RI

Dale Harwood

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Hymn Singing Oneida, WI

Sue Yeon Park

Korean Dancer and Musician New York, NY

Moges Seyoum

Ethiopian Church Musician Alexandria, VA

Jelon Vieira

Capoeira Master New York, NY

Michael G. White

Jazz Clarinetist, Band Leader, Scholar New Orleans, LA

Mac Wiseman *

Bluegrass and Country Singer and Musician Nashville, TN

2009

2010

2011

2012

The Birmingham Sunlights

Yacub Addy *

Laverne Brackens

Mike Auldridge *

Edwin Colón Zayas

Jim “Texas Shorty” Chancellor

Bo Dollis *

Paul * & Darlene Bergren *

Chitresh Das *

Gladys Kukana Grace *

A Cappella Gospel Group Birmingham, AL Cuatro Player Orocovis, PR

Kathak Dancer and Choreographer San Francisco, CA

Leroy Graber *

German Russian Willow Basketmaker Freeman, SD

“Queen” Ida Guillory Zydeco Musician Daly City, CA

Dudley Laufman

Dance Caller and Musician Cantebury, NH

Amma D. McKen Yoruba Orisha Singer Brooklyn, NY

Joel Nelson Cowboy Poet Alpine, TX

Teri Rofkar *

Tlingit Weaver and Basketmaker Sitka, AK

Mike Seeger *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Musician, Cultural Scholar, and Advocate Lexington, VA

Ghanaian Drum Master Latham, NY

Fiddler Rockwall, TX

Quilter Fairfield, TX

Mardi Gras Indian Chief New Orleans, LA

Jim Griffith *

Lauhala (Palm Leaf) Weaver Honolulu, HI

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Folklorist Tuscon, AZ

Mary Jackson

Roy and Pj Hirabayashi

Sweetgrass Basketweaver Johns Island, SC

Del McCoury

Bluegrass Guitarist and Singer Hendersonville, TN

Judith McCulloh *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Folklorist and Editor Urbana, IL

Taiko Drum Leaders San Jose, CA

Ledward Kaapana Slack Key Guitarist Kaneohe, HI

Frank Newsome

Old Regular Baptist Singer Haysi, VA

Dobro Player Silver Spring, MD

Dog Sled and Snowshoe Designers and Builders Minot, ND

Harold A. Burnham Master Shipwright Essex, MA

Albert B. Head

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Traditional Arts Advocate Montgomery, AL

Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez *

Tejano Accordion Player San Antonio, TX

Carlinhos Pandeiro De Ouro

Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone *

Bharatanatyam Indian Dancer Mastic, NY

Frame Drum Player and Percussionist Los Angeles, CA

Mike Rafferty *

Warner Williams *

Molly Jeannette Neptune Parker *

Piedmont Blues Songster Gaithersburg, MD

Passamaquoddy Basket Maker Princeton, ME

Ezequiel Torres

Yuri Yunakov

The Paschall Brothers

Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan

Irish Flute Player Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Afro-Cuban Drummer and Drum Builder Miami, FL

Bulgarian Saxophonist Bloomfield, NJ

Okinawan Dancer Honolulu, HI

Tidewater Gospel Quartet Chesapeake, VA

Andy Statman

Klezmer Clarinetist, Mandolinist, and Composer Brooklyn, NY

Sophiline Cheam Shapiro

Cambodian Classical Dancer and Choreographer Long Beach, CA

2009 Fellow Teri Rofkar

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

2011 Fellow

Yuri Yunakov

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

25

National Endowment for the Arts

2013

2014

2015

2016

Sheila Kay Adams

Henry Arquette *

Rahim AlHaj

Bryan Akipa

Ralph Burns

Manuel “Cowboy” Donley *

Michael Alpert

Joseph Pierre “Big Chief Monk” Boudreaux

Kevin Doyle

Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway

Ballad Singer, Musician, & Storyteller Marshall, NC Storyteller, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Nixon, NV

Verónica Castillo

Ceramicist & Clay Sculptor San Antonio, TX

Séamus Connolly Irish Fiddler North Yarmouth, ME

Nicolae Feraru Cimbalom Player Chicago, IL

Carol Fran *

Swamp Blues Singer & Pianist Lafayette, LA

Pauline Hillaire *

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Tradition Bearer, Lummi Tribe Bellingham, WA

David Ivey

Sacred Harp Hymn Singer Huntsville, AL

Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez *

Chicano Musician & Culture Bearer San Diego, CA

Mohawk Basketmaker Hogansburg, NY

Tejano Musician and Singer Austin, TX Irish Step Dancer Barrington, RI THE HOLMES BROTHERS

Sherman Holmes Wendell Holmes * Popsy Dixon *

Blues, Gospel, and Rhythm and Blues Band Rosedale, MD Saluda, VA

Yvonne Walker Keshick Odawa Quillworker Petoskey, MI

Carolyn Mazloomi

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Quilting Community Advocate West Chester, OH

Vera Nakonechny

Ukrainian Embroiderer, Weaver and Beadworker Philadelphia, PA

Singing and Praying Bands of MD and DE

African American Religious Singers MD and DE

Rufus White

Omaha Traditional Singer and Drum Group Leader Walthill, NE

2015 Fellows

Mary Lee Bendolph and Lucy Mingo

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

* Deceased

26

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Oud Player & Composer Albuquerque, NM Yiddish Musician and Tradition Bearer New York, NY

Quilters of Gee’s Bend Boykin, AL

Dolly Jacobs Circus Aerialist Sarasota, FL

Yary Livan

Cambodian Ceramicist Lowell, MA

Daniel Sheehy

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Ethnomusicologist/Folklorist Falls Church, VA

Drink Small Blues Artist Columbia, SC

Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi

Japanese Classical Dancer Honolulu, HI

Sidonka Wadina

Slovak Straw Artist/Egg Decorator Lyons, WI

Dakota Flute Maker and Player Sisseton, SD

Mardi Gras Indian Craftsman and Musician New Orleans, LA

Billy McComiskey

Irish Button Accordionist Baltimore, MD

Artemio Posadas

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Master Huastecan Son Musician and Advocate San Jose, CA

Clarissa Rizal * Tlingit Ceremonial Regalia Maker Juneau, AK

Theresa Secord

Penobscot Nation Ash/ Sweetgrass Basketmaker Waterville, ME

Bounxeung Synanonh Laotian Khaen (free-reed mouth organ) Player Fresno, CA

Michael Vlahovich

Master Shipwright Tacoma, WA/St. Michaels, MD

Leona Waddell

White Oak Basketmaker Cecilia, KY

2017

2018

2019

2020

Norik Astvatsaturov *

Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim

Dan Ansotegui

William Bell

Anna Brown Ehlers

Eddie Bond

Armenian Repoussé Metal Artist Wahpeton, ND Chilkat Weaver Juneau, AK

Modesto Cepeda

Bomba and Plena Musician San Juan, PR

Ella Jenkins *

Palestinian Embroiderer Milwaukie, OR

Appalachian Old-Time Fiddler Fries, VA

Grant Bulltail *

Anishinabe (Gun Lake Band) Black Ash Basketmaker Allegan, MI

Bob Fulcher

Kelly Church

Children’s Folk Singer and Musician Chicago, IL

Marion Coleman *

Dwight Lamb *

Manuel Cuevas

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Danish Button Accordionist and Missouri-Style Fiddler Onawa, IA

Thomas Maupin

Old-time Buckdancer Murfreesboro, TN

Cyril Pahinui *

Hawaiian Slack-key Guitarist, Waipahu, HI

Phil Wiggins *

Acoustic Blues Harmonica Player Takoma Park, MD

Eva Ybarra

Conjunto Accordionist and Band Leader San Antonio, TX

Basque Musician and Tradition Bearer Boise, ID

African American Quilter Castro Valley, CA Rodeo Tailor Nashville, TN

Ofelia Esparza

Chicana Altarista (Day of the Dead Altar Maker) Los Angeles, CA

Barbara Lynn R&B Musician Beaumont, TX

Ethel Raim

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Folklorist and State Park Manager Clinton, TN

Linda Goss

African American Storyteller Baltimore, MD

James F. Jackson Leatherworker Sheridan, WY

Balla Kouyaté

Balafon Player and Djeli Medford, MA

Josephine Lobato

Spanish Colcha Embroiderer Westminster, CO

Rich Smoker

Don & Cindy Roy

LAS TESOROS DE SAN ANTONIO

Decoy Carver Marion Station, MD

Zakarya * and Naomi Diouf

West African Diasporic Dancers Oakland/Castro Valley, CA

Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin) Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker Stevens Point, WI

Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz de la Ladrillera

Traditional Religious Dancers Laredo, TX

Hugo N. Morales

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Radio Producer and Network Builder Fresno, CA

John Morris

Beatriz (La Paloma del Norte) Llamas * and Blanquita (Blanca Rosa) Rodríguez Tejano Singers San Antonio, TX

Onnik Dinkjian

Armenian Folk and Liturgical Singer Fort Lee, NJ

Crow Storyteller Crow Agency, MT

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Traditional Music and Dance Advocate New York, NY Franco-American Musicians Gorham, ME

Soul Singer and Songwriter Atlanta, GA

Old-Time Fiddler and Banjo Player Ivydale, WV

Suni Paz

Nueva Canción Singer and Songwriter Henderson, NV

Wayne Valliere (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) Birchbark Canoe Builder Waaswaaganing (Lac du Flambeau), WI

2020 Fellow

Wayne Valliere (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) Photo by Hypothetical Films

27

National Endowment for the Arts

2021

2022

2023

2024

Cedric Burnside

Michael Cleveland

R.L. Boyce *

Bril Barrett

Tom Davenport

Eva Enciñias

Ed Eugene Carriere (Suquamish)

Fabian Debora

Hill Country Blues Musician Ashland, MS BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Filmmaker, Documentarian, and Media Curator Delaplane, VA

Tagumpay Mendoza De Leon Rondalla Musician Burbank, CA

Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee) Osage Ribbon Worker Tulsa, OK

Los Lobos

Mexican American Band Los Angeles, CA

Joanie Madden Irish Flute Player Yonkers, NY

Reginald “Reggio the Hoofer” McLaughlin Tap Dancer Chicago, IL

Nellie Vera

Mundillo Master Weaver Moca, PR

Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble

Easter Rock Spiritual Ensemble Winnsboro, LA

Bluegrass Fiddler Charlestown, IN

Flamenco Artist Albuquerque, NM

Excelsior Band

Brass Band Musicians Mobile, AL

Stanley Jacobs

Quelbe Flute Player and Bandleader St. Croix, VI

The Legendary Ingramettes Gospel Artists Richmond, VA

TahNibaa Naataanii (Navajo/Diné) BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Navajo/Diné Textile Artist and Weaver Shiprock, NM

Francis P. Sinenci

Master Hawaiian Hale Builder Hāna, HI

Tsering Wangmo Satho

Tibetan Opera Singer & Dancer Richmond, CA

Hill Country Blues Musician Como, MS

Suquamish Basketmaker Indianola, WA

Michael A. Cummings Joe DeLeon “Little Joe” Hernández

Trimble Gilbert (Gwich’n)

Roen Hufford

Todd Goings

Elizabeth James-Perry (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah)

Susan Hudson (Navajo/Diné)

Wampum & Fiber Artist Dartmouth, MA

Quilter Sheep Springs, NM

Nick Spitzer

Pat Johnson

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Folklife Presenter, Educator, and Radio Producer New Orleans, LA

BESS LOMAX HAWES AWARD Community Activist and Organizer Pocahontas, AR

Luis Tapia

June Kuramoto

Tejano Music Performer Temple, TX Kapa Maker Waimea, HI

Shaka Zulu

Wu Man

Koto Musician Alhambra, CA

Sochietah Ung

Traditional Zuni Dancers and Singers Zuni, NM

Photo by Hypothetical Films

2024 Fellow

2025 National Heritage Fellowships

Carousel Carver and Restorationist Marion, OH

Zuni Olla Maidens

Los Lobos

28

Gwich’n Fiddler Arctic Village, AK

Cambodian Costume Maker and Dancer Washington, DC

Pipa Player Carlsbad, CA

2021 Fellows

* Deceased

Rosie Flores

Rockabilly and Country Musician Austin, TX

Step Artist and Producer Washington, DC New Orleans Black Masking Craftsman, Stilt Dancer, and Musician New Orleans, LA

Chicano Muralist Los Angeles, CA

African American Quilter New York, NY

Sculptor, Hispano Woodcarving Tradition Santa Fe, NM

C. Brian Williams

Tap Dancer Chicago, IL

June Kuramoto Photo by Tom Pich

Acknowledgments NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE TRADITIONAL ARTS

Established by Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.

Founded in 1933, the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is the nation’s oldest folk arts organization. The NCTA presents the nation’s finest traditional artists to the public in festivals, national and international tours, concerts, radio and television programs, films, recordings and other programs. For over 30 years, the NCTA has worked with the National Endowment for the Arts on a consulting basis to manage and coordinate the National Heritage Fellowships activities honoring the Fellowship recipients.

Mary Anne Carter, Senior Advisor Tony Chauveaux, Deputy Chairman for Programs & Partnerships Christine Gant, Advisor to the Director of Event Management & Development Allison Hill, Public Affairs Specialist Jennie Terman, Programs & Partnerships Specialist (Folk & Traditional Arts) Erin Jenkins Waylor, Programs & Partnerships Coordinator Elizabeth Auclair, Assistant Director of Public Affairs (Press) Diane Biddle, Senior Lead Grants Management Specialist Carolyn Coons, Public Affairs Specialist Jean Choi, Attorney Advisor Lauren DeMarco, Programs & Partnerships Assistant Grants Management Specialist Kimberly Jefferson, Council Coordinator William Langer, Attorney Advisor Kelli Rogowski, Visual Information Specialist The National Endowment for the Arts expresses its appreciation to the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) for its assistance in planning and producing the 2025 National Heritage Fellowships events, which were produced and managed for the NCTA by Senior Associate Director Madeleine Remez and Program Logistics Coordinator Becky Hill.

Blaine Waide, Executive Director Madeleine Remez, Senior Associate Director Colleen Arnerich, Director of Production and Operations Colleen (CJ) Holroyd, Program Services Manager Víctor Hernández-Sang, Programming Manager Bridgette Hammond, Festival Logistics Coordinator Kayt Novak, Programming and Marketing Coordinator Carrie Randall, Production Assistant Deirdre Whitty, Finance Manager Vitoria Ido, Accounting Associate Lynn Witherspoon, National Folk Festival Technical Director Elaine Randolph, Administrative Specialist

2025 National Heritage Fellowships Program Staff Becky Hill, Program Logistics Coordinator Amy Millin, Program Support Eddie Mendoza, Ground Transportation Coordinator Miako Villanueva, Sign Language Interpreter Olivia Merrion/Hypothetical Films, Producer Tom Pich, Edwin Remsberg, Documentation Paul Douglas Michnewicz, Valerie Carlson, David Peters, Bruce Loughry, Awards Presentation Staff Special thanks to The staff at the Library of Congress and American Folklife Center Mid South Audio Old Town Trolleys Canopy by Hilton, the Wharf Program design by Fletcher Design, Inc./Washington, DC

Above: “Alicia’s” Warriors of The Plains by Steven Tamayo Photo by Alexis Westphal/Sicangu Lakota Artist

Tribute films for each of the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows will be available on NEA’s YouTube channel in early 2026.

To learn more about the NEA National Heritage Fellowships, visit arts.gov/Heritage.

2025 NEA NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOWS Carmen Baron

Edward Poullard

Peniel Guerrier

Steven Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota)

Mexican Folk Costume Maker and Dancer

Haitian Dancer, Drummer, and Educator

Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga

Bon Odori Dancer, Teacher, and ChoreographeR

Creole Musician

Traditional Lakota Artist & Educator

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America

Men’s Choral & Bandura Ensemble

Ernie Marsh

Bit & Spur Maker and Silversmith

Carmen Baron, photo by John Baron; Peniel Guerrier, photo courtesy of Peniel Guerrier; Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga, photo credit lwanaga Family; Ernie Marsh, photo by Teresa Marsh; Edward Poullard, photo by Mark Marcin; Steve Tamayo Ancestral Voices Mural, South Omaha, Nebraska, Photo

by Ryan Soderlin for the Flatwater Free Press; Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America, photo by Stefan Iwaskewycz