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Washington, D.C. 20560-0001

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A Great Nation Deserves Great Art. 
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence

in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing

leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of

the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts,

bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. 
N AT IONAL HERITAGE FELLO W S H I PS

1 9 8 2 - 2 0 0 7

2 5 t h

A n n i v e r s a r y

C H A I R M A N ’ S M E S S A G E

For the past 25 ye a rs , the National Endowment for the Arts has awa rded NEA

National Heritage Fe l l owships—the nation’s highest honor in the folk and tra d i t i o n a l

a r t s — to artists whose exce l l e n ce and dedication enriches the dynamic and va r i e d

c u l t u re of the United State s .

The NEA National Heritage Fe l l owship pro g ram is one of our most important

i n i t i a t ive s . Each ye a r,the pro g ram honors 10-12 individuals or groups who have been

n o m i n a ted by the public as master artists. S i n ce the pro g ram began in 1982,the Arts

E n d owment has given this prestigious awa rd to 327 artists from all over the co u n t r y —

ranging from craftspeople such asNative -American we ave rs and Hispanic s a n t e ro s ( s a i n t

c a r ve rs) to performers such as Cajun fiddlers and African-American blues guitarists.

O ver the next ye a r,the NEA will be ce l e b rating the pro g ram’s silver annive rs a r y

with special performances and educational activities featuring NEA National Heritage

Fe l l ow s .F rom the American Folk Fe s t ival in Bango r,M a i n e ,to the Port Tow n s e n d

Country Blues Fe s t ival in Port Tow n s e n d ,Wa s h i n g to n ,NEA National Heritage Fe l l ow s

will be presenting their art to appre c i a t ive audiences all across the co u n t r y.

We at the Arts Endowment also would like to thank the Darden Restaura n t s

Foundation for its ge n e rous support of the NEA National Heritage Fe l l owship pro g ra m

and its 25th annive rsary activ i t i e s .D a rden’s visionary commitment to the pro g ram will

e n h a n ce the re cognition and appreciation of these artistsin the coming ye a rs .

We inv i te you to join us in ce l e b rating these exceptional artists,who have draw n

f rom their ethnic and cultural traditions to co n t r i b u te ge n e ro u s ly to our nation’s culture .

They not only share their art with all of us but ensure the pre s e r vation of these price l e s s

t raditions by passing them down to the next ge n e ra t i o n .

Dana Gioia

C h a i r m a n

National Endowment for the Arts
Special Thanks:

• AlanGove n a r,Alan Hatc h e t t ,a n dJ ay F.

B ra kefield of DocumentaryArts for

p roviding many of the photo g raphic image s

for this publication aswellas prov i d i n g

much of the biographical information,as we l l

as producing the DVD-Rom at the end of

the publication.

• TomPich for the use of his photo g raphs on

the coverand throughout the publication.

• B a r ry Berge y forthe introduction to

publication and the introductions to all

the ye a rs ’ e n t r i e s .

The NationalCouncilfor the Traditional Arts

( N CTA ) ,wo rking through a co o p e ra t ive

a g reementwith the National Endowment forthe

A r t s ,has pro d u ced the ce remonies and eve n t s

a s s o c i a tedwith theNational Heritage

Fe l l owships since 1984.In particular,theNEA

would like to thank Julia Olin, M a d e l e i n e

R e m e z ,and the entire staff ofNCTA fortheir

h a rdwo rk and dedication to making theNEA

National Heritage Fe l l owship eventssucce s s f u l

each ye a r.

P h o tos by Carol Edison co u r tesy of Utah Arts

C o u n c i l .P h o to by PatriciaCro s by co u r tesy of

Mississippi Cultural Cro s s ro a d s .P h o tos by

MarthaCooper co u r tesy ofCityl o re .P h o tos by

Michel Monteaux co u r tesy of Museum of

I n ternational Folk Arts.P h o to by T.H a r m o n

Pa rk h u rst co u r tesy of Museum of New Mex i co .

P h o tos by H.JaneNauman co u r tesy of South

D a kota Folk Arts Pro g ra m .P h o to byErik Berg

co u r tesy ofVermont FolklifeCente r.P h o to by

Troyd Geist co u r tesy ofNorthDakota Council

on theArts.

E m cees at the co n cert presentations have

included folk singe rs Pe te Seege randT h e o d o re

B i ke l ,a c t resses M a r go Albert,R u by Dee,a n d

C e l e s teHolm,author Studs Te rke l ,w r i terand

television journalistC h a rles Kura l t ,authorand

television co m m e n t a torR o ger We l s c h , N a t i o n a l

PublicRadio re p o r terA l ex Chadw i c k ,a n d

PublicRadio International host ofA m e r i c a n

R o u t e s ,Nick Spitzer.

F rom 1986 through 1995,W ETA-FM radio

of Arl i n g to n ,Vi r g i n i a ,p ro d u ced an edite d

b roadcast of theNational Heritage Fe l l ow s h i p s

co n ce r t . F rom 1996 to the pre s e n t ,W D U Q - F M

of Pittsburgh,Pe n n s ylva n i a ,has broadcast an

e d i ted ve rsion of the co n ce r t , carried by most

public radio stations onThanksgiving Day.

Contributing to the success of the fellow s h i p

ce l e b rations has been foundation and co r p o ra te

s u p p o r t . Fu n d e rs have includedC o n t i n e n t a l

Te l e co m ,Inc (CONTEL), Music Pe r f o r m a n ce

Trust Fu n d s ,Joseph Martinson Memorial

Fu n d ,PhilipSchoch Bequest,J. C .Pe n n e y

C o . ,Ta r get Sto re s ,andC ra c ker Barrel Old

C o u n t ry Sto re ,I n c .In 2006,the D a rd e n

R e s t a u rants Fo u n d a t i o n of Orl a n d o , F l o r i d a ,

a g reed to supportNEANational Heritage

Fe l l owship events forfive ye a rs .

This publication was printed on re c ycled paper.

Ac k n ow l e d g m e n t s

This publication is published by :

National EndowmentfortheArts

O f f i ce ofCommunications

Felicia K.K n i g h t , D i re c to r

Don Ball, Publications Manage r / E d i to r

Designed by: Fletcher Design,Wa s h i n g ton DC

S e cond Edition,June 2007

Vo i ce / T T Y: (202) 682-5496 For indiv i d u a l s

who are deaf or hard - o f - h e a r i n g .

I n d ividualswho do not use co nventional print

m ay contact the Arts Endowment’s Office for

A ccessAbility to obtain this publication in an

a l te r n a te format.

Telephone:(202) 682-5532

The NEA Web site , w w w. a r t s . gov,a l s o

contains interviews with and artwo rk of the

NEA National Heritage Fe l l ows from 1996 to

the pre s e n t .Additional copies of this

publication can be obtained free of charge by

the contacting theNEA Web site .

National EndowmentfortheArts

1100 Pe n n s ylvania Ave n u e ,N. W.

Wa s h i n g to n ,D . C . 2 0 5 0 6 - 0 0 0 1

(202) 682-5400

TheNational Endowment fortheArts ex tendsits heartfelt thanksto the Darden Restaura n t s

Foundation and the Darden fa m i ly ofre s t a u rantsfor their ge n e roussupport of theNEA

NationalHeritage Fe l l owship pro g ra m . D a rden’s commitmentwill enhance the re cognition

and appreciation of these artists andwill play a significantrole in observing the pro g ram’s

25th annive rs a r y.
C o n te n ts

I n t ro d u c t i o n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

NEA NAT IONAL HERITAGE FELLOW S

(by year awa rds give n )

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Bess LomaxHawesAwa rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 2

S t a teList ofNEANationalHeritage

Fe l l owshipRecipients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 1
Nu e s t ra Señora del Pueblito de Quere ta ro

(Our Lady of the Vi l l a ge of Quere ta ro) bulto

by 2006 NEA National Herita ge Fe l low

Charles M. Carrillo. 

P h o to by Ron Behrmann,co u r tesy of www. n m s a n to s . co m
The birth of the National

E n d owment for the Arts

(NEA) National Heritage Fe l l ow s h i p

p ro g ram in 1982, 25 ye a rs ago , c a m e

a f ter a pro l o n ged ge s t a t i o n .O ver a

f ive - year period,t h e re wasa vigo ro u s

discussion about how the federa l

government might appro p r i a te ly honor

and support master folk and tra d i t i o n a l

a r t i s t s .Bess Lomax Hawe s , h i red to

d i rect a nascent Folk Arts Pro g ram at

the NEA,recalls that in her very firs t

co nve rsation with Chairman Nancy

Hanks in 1977,Hanks asked if the

U n i ted States might develop a sys tem of

re cognition for folk artists similar to the

Japanese Living Tre a s u res pro g ra m .

H awes later re m i n i s ced that she,a ge n c y

s t a f f ,and National Council members

spent the next five ye a rs worrying ove r

what type of pro g ram might be

a p p ro p r i a te: they worried about the size

of the awa rd (just $5,000 for the first 11

ye a rs); they worried about whether the

awa rd would cre a te jealousy among

artists; they worried about how to

choose individual artists who wo rked in

an art form,the folk arts,that wa s

i n g rained in the cultural possession of

g roups not indiv i d u a l s .

As it was finally co n ce ive d ,t h e

NEA National Heritage Fe l l ow s h i p s

p ro g ram took on its own distinct

d e m o c ratic chara c te r.H o n o rees are

n o m i n a ted by individual citizens and are

re commended each year by a ro t a t i n g

panel of specialists, including one

l ay p e rs o n ,re p resenting a variety of

I N T R O D U C T I O N

forms of cultural ex p e r t i s e .The slate of

c a n d i d a te s , chosen from a list of ove r

250 nominees in an ave ra ge ye a r, is then

re v i e wed by the National Council on the

A r t s ,and ultimate ly the awa rd is made

by theNEA Chairman.The amount of

the awa rd was eve n t u a l ly changed to

$10,000 in 1993, enough to make a

d i f f e re n ce but not enough to go to

a nyone’s head,and in 2003 the

f e l l owship was increased to $20,000.

Guidelines and nomination

information for the NEA National

H e r i t a ge Fe l l owships—as well as

b i o g raphies and photo g raphic portra i t s

of previous fellow s , i n terviews with

re cent re c i p i e n t s ,and presentations of

s e l e c ted wo rk — a re available on the NEA

Web site atw w w. a r t s . gov. Eve r yone is

e n co u ra ged to consider nominations for

t h i s , the highest form of federa l

re cognition of folk and traditional artists.

The ye a rly ce l e b ration of the NEA

National Heritage Fe l l ows has elements

that encompass the three dimensions of

life in our nation’s capital – the pers o n a l ,

the political,and the public.Artists are

“Of all activities assisted

by the Folk Ar ts pro g ram,

these Fe l l owships are among

the most apprec i a t ed and

a p pl a u d ed, perhaps beca u s e

t h ey present to Am e r i cans a

vision of themselves and of their

co u n t ry, a vision somew h a t

i d ea l i z ed but pro fo u n d ly longed

for and so, in significant ways ,

p ro fo u n d ly true.”

Bess Lomax Hawes, Director,

NEA Folk &Traditional A rt s ,

19 7 7- 19 9 2

2006 NEA National Herita ge Fe l low Mavis Staples with Folk and Traditional Arts Director Barry

B e r gey at the awa rdsconcert re h e a rs a l .

P h o to by Tom Pich
b rought to Wa s h i n g to n , D C , in the fa l l

of each year for an awa rd ce re m o ny held

either on Capitol Hill or at the White

H o u s e .Each recipient re ce ives a

ce r t i f i c a te ,a cash awa rd ,and a

co n g ra t u l a tory letter from the Pre s i d e n t .

H o n o rees are also feted with a banquet,

and they participate in a ce l e b ra to r y

co n cert open to the public.For the past

23 ye a rs , the National Council for the

Traditional Arts,a nonpro f i t

o r ganization founded in 1933 that

p ro d u ces the National Folk Fe s t ival and

a variety of pro g rams around the

co u n t r y, has managed the eve n t s

s u r rounding the ce re m o n i e s .

O ver the past 25 ye a rs ,t h e

NEA National Heritage

Fe l l owships have grown to

b e come much gre a te r

than the sum of their

p a r t s .In effect the

ce re m o ny and the

a cco m p a nying events have provided the

opportunity for our gove r n m e n t ,and in

turn our citizenry,to ce l e b ra te and to

co n te m p l a te who we are asa nation.

Each panel, in re commending a gro u p

of master artists re p resenting a variety of

c u l t u ral traditions and artistic ge n re s ,re -

imagine their particular vision of e

pluribus unum.

Some ye a rs ago ,I attended a high

school graduation ce re m o ny in my

h o m e tow n ,a small river town in ce n t ra l

M i s s o u r i .The salutatory speake r

opened her address by saying: “We are

all to t a l ly unique ... just like eve r yb o dy

e l s e .”For a momentI mused on the

i n h e rent co n t radiction embedded in

that state m e n t , but I also realized that

t h e re was a profound truth.Most of us

s i m u l t a n e o u s ly strive to assert our

i n d ividual chara c ter and affirm our

m e m b e rship in any number of gro u p s ,

as defined by co m m u n i t y, e t h n i c i t y,

“While the Heritage Fe l l ows

come from a wide ra n ge of

b a c k g rounds and ca r ry on 

quite diffe rent forms of artistic

ex p ression, they all share this

same ded i cation to ex ce l l e n ce,

to tradition, and to the dee p

c u l t u ral values which they

e m b o dy and uph ol d .”

Dan Sheehy, Director, 

NEA Folk &Traditional A rts,

19 9 2 - 2 000

2006 NEA National Herita ge Fe l low Delo res E. Churchill is welcomed to the sta ge by her gra n d d a u gh t e rs singing a traditional Haida song.

P h o to by Tom Pich

Navajo basket we ave by 1995

National Herita ge Fe l low

M a ryHoliday Black.

P h o to by Carol Edison
o cc u p a t i o n , b e l i e f s ,and nationality.

NEA National Heritage Fe l l ow s

re p resent the best of that which is

unique combined with the most

enduring of that which is common to us

a l l .C o l l e c t ive ly their stories remind us

of our artistic co m m o nwe a l t h ;

i n d iv i d u a l ly their lives narra te tales of

p e rs i s te n ce , of ste wa rd s h i p ,and of

c re a t iv i t y.

The confines of the space in this

publication do not allow us to feature all

of the 327 recipients of NEA National

H e r i t a ge Fe l l owships over the past 25

ye a rs .It is our hope that by highlighting

just a few of the artists each ye a r,t h e

c u m u l a t ive picture will reflect the

b readth and depth of our nation’s

c u l t u ral assets,assets not always

p ro p e rly re co g n i z e d .A story about one

of the early Fe l l ows illustra tes this: Ye a rs

a go ,a we l l - k n own American te l e v i s i o n

host visited Ire l a n d ,and upon entering a

pub he noticed a photo g ra p h

d i s p l ayed in a place of

p ro m i n e n ce behind the bar.

“Who’s that?” he aske d .T h e

b a r tenderre p l i e d , “ W hy that’s Joe

H e a n e y,the gre a test singer to co m e

f rom here .He lives inNew Yo rk .”T h e

American thought to himself,Yes, and

he also operates my elevator andwo r ks as

my doorman. When he returned to the

U n i ted State s , Merv Griffin inv i te d

f u t u re NEA National Heritage Fe l l ow

Joe Heaney to appear on his te l e v i s i o n

p ro g ra m .

With these awa rd s ,we honor and

re cognize individual exce l l e n ce and the

co n t i n u a n ce of our rich artistic and

c u l t u ral heritage , ensuring that these

m a s te rs of traditional arts do not re m a i n

among us mere ly as faded photo g ra p h s

or as distant memories.And these

a r t i s t s , in turn, honor and re co g n i z e

those that influenced and inspired them.

In the second year of the

National Heritage

Fe l l owship Awa rd s ,L e m

Wa rd ,a decoy carve r

f rom the Chesapeake Bay

region of easte r n

M a r yl a n d ,wastoo ill to

a t tend the ce re m o n i e s ,s o

he asked his grandson to

read a statement to the

a u d i e n ce: “Whate ve r

good I have done in my

86 ye a rs ,I owe to others .

F i rst to my father who unders tood that a

young boy’s curiosity can be shaped

with love and patience; second to nature

which has provided me the gre a te s t

studio and the most perfect models any

artist may ever imagine; and last of all to

God who taught me that faith is the

foundation of all know l e d ge .T h ro u g h

all thre e ,I have learned that man has the

p ower both to destroy and to cre a te

b e a u t y,and since there can never be to o

much beauty in the wo rl d ,man’s co r re c t

c h o i ce is ete r n a l ... ”

We at the National Endowment for

the Arts are thankful that these artists

h ave chosen to cre a te , to strive for

b e a u t y,to honor the past,and to te a c h

o t h e rs what they have learned.We are

most of all happy to have had the

opportunity to draw atte n t i o n , h owe ve r

so brief and inadequate , to the lives and

a ccomplishments of these master artists.

Barry Berge y

D i re c to r

Folk & Traditional Arts Pro g ra m

1982 NEA Na t i o n a l

H e r i ta ge Fe l low Jo e

H e a n ey at the 1966

Newport Folk Fe s t ival.

P h o to by Diana Dav i e s , co u r te s y

of the Ralph Rinzler Fo l k l i f e

A rc h ivesand Collections,C e n te r

for Folklife and Cultural Heritage ,

Smithsonian Institution

1983 Fe l low Lem Wa rd’s first duck decoy, 1918.

P h o to co u r tesy of Lem Wa rd
D ewey Balfa

C A J U N F I D D L E R

Born in 1927 in rural Louisiana,D e wey Balfa was instilled with

a love of Cajun music since he was child.

B a l fa began learning the fiddle from his

father at the age 13. “The fiddle wa s

a lways laying around the house,”B a l fa

s a i d , “and it was just as natural to learn

to play an instrument or to fiddle as it

was to pick up your spoon for you to

e a t .” In addition to his fa t h e r,s e ve ra l

other musicians influenced him: J. B .

Fu s i l e r,Leo Soileau, Harry Choate s ,a n d

Bob Wi l l s .

In the 1940s, B a l fa formed a band

with his bro t h e rs and became ve r y

popular in the dance halls of

s o u t hwe s tern Louisiana.The band

s t a r ted getting national re cognition in

the 1960s after playing the Newport

1 9 8 2

T he first NEA N a t i o n a l

Heritage Fellowship

ceremonies were held in

conjunction with the Festival of

American Folklife, an annual event

presented on the National Mall in

Washington, DC, by the Smithsonian

Institution over a two-week period

around July 4th. The list of recipients

included many musical artists who were

known to broader audiences as a result

of the popular interest in folk music

during the 1960s and 1970s, including

Cajun fiddler and cultural activist Dewey

Balfa, Irish-American master of

unaccompanied song Joe Heaney, North

Carolina fiddler Tommy Jarrell, Georgia

Sea Island song leader Bessie Jones,

blues artists Sonny Terry and Brownie

McGhee, and bluegrass founding father

Bill Monroe.

While the awards were presented

to the artists on July 3rd, daily concerts

at the festival honored the recipients,

featuring such future Heritage Fellows as

Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens and

Irish musician Mick Moloney. In addition,

an exhibition of crafts by Heritage

Fellows was mounted at the National

Museum of American History.

In her introduction to the festival

program, Bess Lomax Hawes—Director

of the Folk Arts Program—laid out her

vision for the future of the NEA National

Heritage Fellowships: “Each year, we will

greet, salute, and honor just a few

examples of the dazzling array of artistic

traditions we have inherited throughout

our nation’s fortunate history....We

believe that this can continue far into the

future, each year’s group of artists

demonstrating yet other distinctive art

forms from the American experience.”

Folk Fe s t iva l .The Balfa Bro t h e rs playe d

to gether until 1978,when Dewe y ’ s

b ro t h e rs Will and Rodney we re killed in

an automobile acc i d e n t . B a l fa co n t i n u e d

to play, i n co r p o rating his son and

d a u g h te rs into the gro u p .

In chara c terizing his distinctive

Cajun fiddle styl e ,B a l fa said, “ [ M y

fiddling has] a lot of double-sto p s ,a lot

of dro n e ,a lot of unisons.T h e re’s a lot

of lonelinessand a lot of hurt in Cajun

fiddling in spite of the fact that the

rhythm is upte m p o .”

In 1968,when the Council for the

D e velopment of French in Louisiana

was cre a te d , he became active ly invo lve d

in using music as a vehicle for te a c h i n g

about Cajun culture ,and continuing that

c u l t u ral pre s e r vation into the 1970s.

P h o to by Robert Barc l ay
Bessie Jones was born in 1902

and grew up in a large

ex tended fa m i ly that included her

s te p father James Sampson and his

p a rents Jet and Julia.It was from the

S a m p s o n s , e s p e c i a l ly Jet, that Jones firs t

learned about slavery and the “old

ways .” Music was as important as

s to r y telling in her fa m i ly,with all the

men playing guitar or banjo and singing.

In the 1920s,Jones became a

m i g rant wo rker with her seco n d

h u s b a n d ,G e o r ge Jones,and followe d

the crop harvests from Florida to

C o n n e c t i c u t .During these ye a rs ,s h e

also traveled to Brunswick,G e o r g i a ,

and St. Simons Island, visiting both her

husband’s fa m i ly and her deceased firs t

husband’s pare n t s .By 1933,the Joneses

settled on St. Simons Island while

continuing to do migrant wo rk .B e s s i e

wo rked as a maid, co o k ,and nurse in

the off-season,and joined Lydia

Parish’s Spiritual Singe rs Society of

Coastal Georgia.

In the mid-1950s,Jones met

folklorist Alan Lomax,who wa s

conducting fieldwo rk in the Georgia sea

islands and wo rking to collect the music

of the Spiritual Singe rs Society.L o m a x

made a film of the gro u p , in which Jones

b e gan to share the stories and songs of

s l avery she heard from her gra n d fa t h e r

as a child.O ver the next seve ral ye a rs ,

Jones to u red ex te n s ive ly around the

country and teamed up with a group of

other singe rs to form The Georgia Sea

Island Singe rs ,whom Alan Lomax

f i l m e d .Jones co - w ro te a book with Bess

Lomax Hawe s , Step It Dow n, in 1972

and began making solo albums

t h e re a f te r, continuing to perform

at schools and festivals throughout

the 1970s.

M a ryElizabeth “Bessie” Jo n e s

G E O R G I A S E A I S L A N D S I N G E R

G e o r geLópez

S A N T O S C A R V E R

other religious scenes and Bible sto r i e s

and chara c te rs .

Although López liked whittling as a

b oy, he did not pursue a career as a

s a n t e ro until 1952. He wo rked mostly

with a penknife, h a n d s aw,a n d

sandpaper to make his figure s . “It’s part

of my life,and part of my name...I’m a

s i x t h - ge n e rations a n te ro,” he said, “but I

guess I’m the last because I’ve got no

kids of my ow n .”To perpetuate this

ve n e rable tra d i t i o n , h owe ve r, L ó p e z

passed on his skills to his nieces and

n e p h e w s .He viewed his wo rk asa

distinct mix of Catholic tra d i t i o n ,

P h o to co u r tesy of Smithsonian Institution

P h o to by T.Harmon Pa rk h u rs t

Ge o r ge López was born in

1900 in the New Mex i co

v i l l a ge of Cord ova , one of the early

Spanish settlements dating from the

16th ce n t u r y.The area has beco m e

w i d e ly known throughout the Unite d

S t a tes and Europe for its tradition of

religious wood carving,and López gre w

up wa tching his father carving s a n t o s i n

the manner he had learned from earl i e r

ge n e rations of the López fa m i ly. S a n to s,

l i te ra l ly “saints” in Spanish, include

not only images of saints but also

apparitions of the Virgin Mary,

depictions of the life ofChrist,and
Bill Monroe is the father of

b l u e g rass music.He inve n te d

the styl e , named it,and was the leading

performer in the music for much of the

20th ce n t u r y.Not only did he invent the

s o u n d , he was the mentor for seve ra l

ge n e rations of musicians, including Earl

S c r u g g s , L e s ter Flatt,Vassar Clements,

and Carter Stanley.

M o n roe was born in 1911 near

R o s i n e ,K e n t u c ky,the yo u n gest of eight

c h i l d re n .His mother sang and playe d

the fiddle, h a r m o n i c a ,and acco rd i o n ,

and her bro t h e r,Pe n d l e ton Va n d e r ve r,

was a fiddler of co n s i d e rable talent and

local re n ow n .Both of his parents died

when he was 11 ye a rs old and Monro e

was raised by Uncle Pe n ,who taught

him the essentials of the mandolin,

f i d d l e ,and guitar.M o n roe often playe d

guitar at local dances while his uncle

f i d d l e d . M o n roe later paid tribute to his

m e n tor with the song “Uncle Pe n ,” o n e

of his most popular numbers .He also

a ccompanied local African-A m e r i c a n

fiddler and

guitarist Arnold

S c h u l t z ,w h o s e

bluesy sound

i n f l u e n ced the

young Monro e .

In 1929,M o n ro e

joined his bro t h e rs

C h a rlie and Birch in

I n d i a n a ,w h e re they

wo rked at an oil

refinery during

the day and as

BillMonro e

B L U E G R A S S M A N D O L I N P L A Y E R A N D B A N D L E A D E R

P h o to by Michel Monte a u x

P h o to co u r tesy of Smithsonian Institution

m e d i e val Spanish art,m o u n t a i n

i s o l a t i o n ,and Pe n i t e n t e r i t u a l ,w h e re

Catholic lay members attend the sick,

bury the dead,and hold devo t i o n a l

s e r v i ces in places where there are no

resident priests.Of these,the influence

of the Pe n t i te n te s was perhaps the

most pro n o u n ce d .

“All my life,I ’ ve seen Pe n i te n te

p ro cessions pass my house,”López

s a i d . “In the old days , they’d have a

p ro cession when somebody died or

e ven to say praye rs at a sick pers o n ’ s

h o m e .N owa d ays ,they just have

p ro cessions in Holy We e k .”

a musical group at night.Eve n t u a l ly

C h a rlie and Bill formed the Monro e

B ro t h e rs ,and began touring and

re co rd i n g .In 1938,the bro t h e rs parte d

ways ,and Monroe formed the Blue

G rass Boys , debuting at the Grand Ole

Opry the following year with his new

s o u n d , blending old-time music with a

soloing structure that seemed shaped

by jazz.

The Blue Grass Boys ’music wa s

the quintessential bluegrass sound:

b a n j o , g u i t a r,m a n d o l i n , f i d d l e ,and bass

p l aying ra p i d ly and trading solos,w i t h

vocals sung in what Monroe called the

“high lonesome” s t yl e . During the

1 9 4 0 s ,the band perfected their sound,

and by 1946 the classic Blue Grass Boys

line-up was in place: Monroe on

mandolin and vo c a l s , f u t u re NEA

National Heritage Fe l l ow Earl Scruggs

on banjo,L e s ter Flatt on guitar,C h u b by

Wise on fiddle,and Howa rd Watts on

b a s s .This band re co rded many of the

most popular Monroe songs, b e co m i n g

one of the most popular groups in

country music and landing numero u s

Top 20 hits.

T h roughout the rest of his care e r,

M o n roe to u red re l e n t l e s s ly,s p re a d i n g

the music throughout the co u n t r y.I n

1 9 6 8 , he established his own bluegra s s

f e s t ival at Bean Blossom,I n d i a n a ,w h i c h

became an ex t re m e ly popular eve n t ,

and in 1970 he was inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fa m e .H e

re ce ived a Lifetime Achievement Awa rd

f rom the Gra m mys in 1993.
Philip Simmons was born in

1912 and grew up in

C h a rl e s to n ,South Caro l i n a ,w h e re at the

a ge of 13 he caught the blacksmith feve r.

A p p renticing himself to Pe ter Simmons,

who was born a slave in 1855 and had

learned the trade from his fa t h e r,

Simmons acq u i red the skills that

sustained him throughout his long

m e t a lwo rking life.

“It wasaction that brought me to

the shop,” he said. “I liked to see spark s

and the fire ,and hear the hammer ring.”

In the 1930s, he became a full-fledge d

blacksmith and began to turn his

a t tention to deco ra t ive wrought iro n .

The first deco ra t ive piece Simmons

c re a ted in Charl e s ton is installed at 9

S tolls Alley,and it exemplifies the local

s t yle of ornamental wrought iro nwo rk in

the city.Topped by an ove r t h row of

spear points, it has S and C scro l l s , t wo

of the major motifs in the Charl e s to n

t ra d i t i o n .

In some instance s , Simmons used

s c u l p t u ral motifs,such as those found in

his “snake ga te ,”w h e re he prov i d e d

realistic eyes to make the snake appear

a l ive ,and his “star and fish ga te ” —

made in 1976 for the Smithsonian

Institution—which is cra f ted fro m

s e ve ral pieces of curved iron so as to

appear as though it we re underwa te r.

In 1991,his friends formed the

Philip Simmons Fo u n d a t i o n ,a nonpro f i t

o r ganization to develop and maintain the

ga rden co m m e m o rating his wo rk on the

g rounds of his churc h , S t .J o h n ’ s

Reformed Episcopal Churc h , i n

d ow n town Charl e s to n .

Philip Simmons

B L A C K S M I T H A N D O R N A M E N T A L I R O N W O R K E R

1 9 8 2

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

D e wey Balfa *

Cajun Fiddler

Basile, LA

Joe Heaney *

Irish Singer

Brooklyn, NY

To m my Ja rrell *

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Mt. A i r y, NC

Bessie Jones *

Georgia Sea Island Singer

B r u n s w i ck, GA

G e o rge López *

SantosWo o d c a r v e r

C o r d ova, NM

B rownie McGhee *

Blues Guitarist/Singer

Oakland, CA

Hugh McGraw

Shape Note Singer

Bremen, GA

Lydia Mendoza

Mexican-American Singer

Houston,T X

Bill Monroe *

Bluegrass Musician

Nashville,T N

Elijah Pierce *

C a r v e r / Pa i n t e r

Columbus, OH

Adam Po p ov i ch *

Tamburitza Musician

Dolton, IL

G e o rgeann Robinson *

Osage Ribbonw o r ke r

B a rtlesville, OK

D u ff Seve re *

Western Sa d d l e m a ke r

Pendleton, OR

Philip Simmons

Ornamental Ironw o r ke r

Charleston, SC

Sanders “ S o n ny ”Te rry *

Blues Harmonica Player/

S i n g e r

Holliswood, NY

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich
1 9 8 3

I

n 1983, sixteen artists were

honored with NEA National

Heritage Fellowships. Again,

the award ceremonies took place

concurrently with the Smithsonian

Folklife Festival, with the special concert

program emceed by popular folk singer

Pete Seeger.

Bess Lomax Hawes, Director of the

Folk Arts Program, and Joseph Wilson,

Director of the National Council for the

Traditional Arts, on three-days notice

flew to Bristol, Tennessee, rented a car,

and drove cousins Ray and Stanley

Hicks from Beech Mountain in western

North Carolina to Washington, DC, for

the event. Ray, a master storyteller, and

S t a n l e y, an instrument maker, musician,

and dancer, and not so bad at decorating

the truth himself, ping-ponged stories,

songs, and jokes back and forth for the

entire journey to the capital. Joe Wilson,

later to receive a NEA National Heritage

Fellowship himself, recalled that it was

the best road trip of his long career

working with traditional artists.

A statement by President Ronald

Reagan on June 21, 1983, noted that the

fellowships “offer us a unique

opportunity to honor the cultural

contributions of the best of today’s

traditional artists and through them,

countless others who have preceded

t h e m . ”

R ay Hicks

A P P A L A C H I A N S T O R Y T E L L E R

Ray Hicks was born in 1922in Banner Elk,N o r t h

C a ro l i n a ,a few miles from the North

C a ro l i n a - Tennessee bord e r,the fourth

of 11 childre n .As a young boy, he wo u l d

sit by the potbellied stove in the fro n t

room and listen to his gra n d fa t h e r ’ s

t a l e s .When he was about five ye a rs

o l d , he began telling stories himself,

b e coming the eighth ge n e ration of

Hicks sto r y te l l e rs on Beech Mountain.

Wo rking most of his life as a fa r m e r,

sometimes supplementing his inco m e

with wo rk as a mechanic,Hicks found

that sto r y telling could help to get the

c h o res done. “Used to be,w h e n e ver we

had a long,s l ow job to be done,” h e

s a i d , “ l i ke corn husking or something,

we’d just gather all the young ‘uns

a round and put them to wo rk .W hy,

them kids would wo rk for hours and

n e ver a sound out of them, long as I’d

keep telling them tales.”

H i c k s ’s to r y telling re p e r to i re

included ro u g h ly 40 “Jack” t a l e s , 12 of

which he learned dire c t ly from his

g ra n d father and eight of which are

o r i g i n a l .H i c k s ’Jack tales are about the

antics of a poor mountain boy who

outwits thieve s , g i a n t s ,w i tc h e s ,w i l d

h o g s ,and ogres to win fa m e , f o r t u n e ,

and love .

The dialect in his tales originate d

m o re than 200 ye a rs ago ,and some have

called his dialect the purest example of

the speech of the Sco tch-Irish and

English pioneers who settled in

Appalachia in the 1700s. O n ce

d i s cove red by folklorists,Hicks wa s

i nv i ted to the annual sto r y telling festiva l

in Jonesboro ,Te n n e s s e e ,and has

re co rded an album ofsto r y telling called

R ay Hicks Tells Four Jack Ta l e s on Fo l k

L e gacy Reco rd s .

P h o to by Tom Pich
JohnLeeHooke r

B L U E S G U I T A R I S T A N D S I N G E R

Miguel “Mike”Manteo

S I C I L I A N M A R I O N E T T I S T

When John Lee Hookerfirs th e a rd blues music, p l aye d

by hisste p father William Moore , he wa s

h o o ke d . “ N o b o dy can teach yo u ,”

H o o ker said, “butI wa tched him night

and day and I played like him.”

Born in 1917 inCoahoma County,

M i s s i s s i p p i ,H o o ker asa child learned the

rudiments of blues on Moore’s guitar.B y

1929 he playedwell enough towo rk with

M o o re at local country suppersand

d a n cesin the are a .At 14,H o o kerra n

away from home andwent to Memphis,

w h e re hewo rked asan usher in a mov i e

t h e a ter onBeale Stre e t , f requenting house

parties in his spare time and enco u n te r i n g

blues musicianssuch as Robert

N i g h t h awk and Eddie Love .

By the 1940s,H o o ker had move d

to Detroit and formed his own gro u p ,

wo rking at local clubs. “ You had to play

electric in those clubs,they we re so

n o i s y,” H o o ker re c a l l e d . “But the sounds

you could make! Ilove electricity.Yo u

b a re ly have to touch the guitar,and the

sound comes outso silky.Electric sound

is so love ly.I felt drawn to it.”

In 1948, black re co rd sto re ow n e r

Bernie Bessman helped Hooker to

re co rd his first re co rd , “Boogie Chillen,”

which became a huge succe s s .H e

f o l l owed itwith seve ral more hits:

“Hobo Blues,” “ C rawling King Snake

B l u e s ,” and “I’m in the Mood.”D u r i n g

these early ye a rs ,H o o ker re co rded with

o n ly his electric guitar and stomping foot

as acco m p a n i m e n t , but eve n t u a l ly

re co rded with bands.

He re co rded for numerouslabels

t h roughout the 1950s,

experimentingwith a variety of

s t yl e s ,including folk and ro c k .

Hisinfluence was pro f o u n d :

English groupssuch asthe

Ya rd b i rdsand theAnimals as

well asAmerican rock gro u p s

CannedHeat and ZZ To p

copied hisstyle in the 1960sand

1 9 7 0 s ,and Van Morrison

p ra c t i c a l ly made a career by

s t ylizing his vocals onHooke r ’ s .

Yo u n ger blues artists such as

G e o r geThoro good and RobertCray

we re also inspired by hissound.In the

1 9 9 0 s ,H o o ker gained awideraudience

when he released TheHealer,w i t h

a p p e a ra n ces by star musicians he had

i n f l u e n ce d ,such asBonnieRa i t t ,C a rl o s

S a n t a n a ,Los Lobos,andCharl i e

M u s s e lw h i te .The album won a Gra m my

and increased the major re co rd labels’

i n te rest in Hooke r,which allowed him

to live out the remainder of hislife fa r

m o re co m f o r t a b ly than his early

s h a re c ropper days .

Mi ke Manteo’s parents move d

f rom Catania,S i c i ly,to

M e d o s a ,A r ge n t i n a , in 1900, b r i n g i n g

with them the marionette theater they

i n h e r i ted from their fore b e a rs .In 1919,

when Manteo was te n , the fa m i ly move d

to New Yo rk City.T h e re they opened

the theater “Papa Manteo’s Life-Sized

M a r i o n e t te s ” in Little Italy.M a n te o ’ s

g ra n d father Agrippino ran an electrical

business by day and staged marionette

p e r f o r m a n ces by night. “I started out as

a kid cranking the pianola—an old

h u rdy- g u rdy,”M a n teo said. “ B u t

w h e n e ver my gra n d father wa s n ’ t

a ro u n d ,I’d pra c t i ce handling the

p u p p e t s ... Eve n t u a l ly,I was allowed to

m a n i p u l a te the marionettes onstage ,a n d

my father came down to direct the show

f rom the wings.”

For more than a ce n t u r y, f ive

ge n e rations of the Manteo fa m i ly

P h o to by Marina Fu s co

P h o to by Martha Cooper
performed episodes from Un Av ve n t u ra

d’Orlando Furioso,the epic adve n t u re s

of the knight Roland in defense of

C h a rlemagne’s empire ,with life-sized

m a r i o n e t te s .To co m p l e te the Orl a n d o

c yc l e , 394 episodes are performed ove r

13 months.This distinctive form of

m a r i o n e t te theater emerged in Sicily in

the early 19th ce n t u r y,though the

t radition of performing the Orl a n d o

c ycle with marionettes was known as

e a rly as the 16th ce n t u r y.

M a n teo enlarged the fa m i ly ’ s

collection of marionettes from about

5 0 , b rought by his gra n d father fro m

A r ge n t i n a , to more than 200,m a k i n g

new wooden figures out of mahoga ny,

o a k ,and cherry. “ T h e y ’ re wo rks of art,”

he said. “No machine can make them.

They we re made with the hands and

with the heart.”

The method for constructing the

m a r i o n e t te s , o f ten four to five feet high

and weighing well over 100 pounds

e a c h , is based on “rod co n t ro l .”One

rod co n t rols the marionette’s head

m ovements with a second rod attached

to the right arm.The legs,which swing

f re e , m ove by their own we i g h t .I n

addition to building the puppets,

M a n teo also cre a ted the dialogue for the

p l ays , based on the stories he had heard

f rom his father and gra n d fa t h e r.

Na rcisoMartínez

C O N J U N T O A C C O R D I O N I S T A N D C O M P O S E R

Co n s i d e red the father ofc o n j u n t o m u s i c ,N a rc i s o

Martínez established the fra m e wo rk for

the small-group dance music, d r iven by

a cco rdion and bajo sexto(a Mexican 12-

string bass guitar),that is native to Tex a s

and northern Mex i co .

Born in Mex i co in 1911,M a r t í n e z ’ s

fa m i ly moved to Texas while he was

still an infa n t ,seeking wo rk in the citrus

and ve getable fields of the Rio Gra n d e

Va l l e y.As a young man,Martínez

b e gan adapting the tunes he heard

the Mex i c a n -American fa r mwo rke rs

whistling to his brother’s butto n

a cco rd i o n .He began wo rking dances

in the late 1920s using a one-row butto n

a cco rd i o n ,which he called “u n a

m u r g r i ta” (a little piece of junk).

Eve n t u a l ly, he was able to buy a new

Hohnertwo - row button acco rdion

and co l l a b o ra ted with Santiago Almeida

on bajo sex to.Under a re co rd i n g

co n t ract with Bluebird Reco rd s ,t h e y

re co rded “La Chicharro n e ra” and “E l

Tro n c o n a l,”which we re immediate hits.

B e t ween 1935 and 1938,M a r t í n e z

earned his reputation as “Hurricane of

the Va l l e y ” by making 59 re co rds with

A l m e i d a , including polkas,re d owa s,

valses altos, vals bajitos, h u a p a n go s,

s c h o t t i s c h e s ,and mazurk a s .In addition

to his co n j u n to re co rd i n g s , M a r t í n e z

re co rded Cajun music as Louisiana 

Pe te and Polish music as Polski Kwa r te t

for Bluebird’s Louisiana Cajun and

Polish series.

In the 1940s, Martínez acq u i red

the now standard thre e - row butto n

a cco rd i o n ,and began to co n ce n t ra te

on a right-hand virtuosity that gave his

sound a tre b l e ,s t a cc a to quality in

m a rked co n t rast to the Germanic style

of play i n g ,which relied heav i ly on lefthand accompaniment on the bass ke ys .

With the success of his re co rdings

came increased demand for public

p e r f o r m a n ce s ,and Martínez to u red the

s o u t hwe s tern United States while still

earning his living as a fa r mwo rke r.

P h o to by Martha Cooper

Na rciso Martínez with Antonio Ramirez, 1986.
Lem Wa rd

D E C O Y C A R V E R A N D P A I N T E R

Lem Wa rd was bornin 1896 and grew up

in the Chesapeake Bay re g i o n

of Crisfield,M a r yl a n d ,w h e re

he and his brother Ste ve

learned to carve wo rking duck

d e coys from their fa t h e r,w h o

also trained them as barb e rs .

Although “duck coys ” a n d

“duck cages and tra p s ” a re

k n own to have been employe d

in bird hunting in Europe and

E n g l a n d , it wasin North

America that artificial lure s

resembling birds in va r i o u s

n a t u ral posesfirst came into

common use.Carving decoys flourished

as a folk art form during the last half of

the 19th ce n t u r y,when “marke t

g u n n i n g ” ( u n re s t r i c ted hunting) cre a te d

a demand for large numbers of these

l u re s .

By the 1930s,the Wa rd bro t h e rs

had brought the distinctive Crisfield

d e coy type—flat botto m , ex a g ge ra te d

head shape,and simple painte d

p a t te r n s — to a new level of perfection.

With Ste ve doing pra c t i c a l ly all the

carving by hand and Lem most of the

p a i n t i n g ,the bro t h e rs ex p e r i m e n te d

with varying poses, p o s i t i o n s ,a n d

shapes; developed the technique of

“ s t i p p l i n g ,” or applying paint in dots or

short stro ke s , the decoy’s surfa ce; and

e m p l oyed an impressionistic painting

s t yle in order to cre a te decoys far more

l i f e l i ke than those typical of the period.

The pursuit ofrealism in their

d e coys also led the Wa rd bro t h e rs

towa rd deco ra t ive bird carving, b r i n g i n g

them their gre a test re co g n i t i o n .L e m ’ s

experimentations with techniques such

as feather insertion, by which re a l

f e a t h e rs are added to the wo o d c a r v i n g ,

became the basis for much of the

d e co ra t ive bird carving that followe d .I n

the late 1950s, the Wa rd bro t h e rs

s topped cutting hair and became fulltime wood carve rs , d e voting themselve s

to deco ra t ive bird s .They co n t i n u e d

until Ste ve’s death in 1976 and Lem’s

c a t a racts forced him to re t i re in 1978.

1 9 8 3

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

S i s ter Mildred Barker *

S h a ker Singer

Poland Springs, ME

R a fael Cepeda *

Bomba Musician/Dancer

Santurce, PR

R ay Hicks *

A p p a l a chian Storyteller

Banner Elk, NC

S t a n l ey Hicks *

A p p a l a chian Musician/

Storyteller/Instrument Make r

Vilas, NC

John Lee Hooker *

Blues Guitarist/Singer

San Carlos, CA

M i ke Manteo *

Sicilian Marionett i s t

Staten Island, NY

N a rciso Martínez *

Conjunto A c c o r d i o n i s t /

C o m p o s e r

San Benito,T X

Lanier Meaders *

Po tt e r

Cleveland, GA

Almeda Riddle *

Ballad Singer

G r e e rsFe rr y, A R

Simon St. P i e rre

Fr e n ch-American Fiddler

S myrna Mills, ME

Joe Shannon *

Irish Piper

Chicago, IL

Alex Ste wa rt *

C o o p e r / Wo o d w o r ke r

Sneedville,T N

AdaThomas *

C h i t i m a cha Baske t m a ke r

Charenton, LA

LucindaToomer *

African-American Quilter

Columbus, GA

LemWa rd *

Decoy Carver/Pa i n t e r

Crisfield, MD

D e weyWilliams *

Shape Note Singer

Ozark, A L

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to co u r tesy of Maryland Historical Society
1 9 8 4

The third year of the program

saw the most awards given

out: 17. A nascent program

with a year-to-year life cycle, it seemed

almost as if the panel wanted to honor

as many individuals and as many

artistic traditions as possible. Bess

Lomax Hawes later recalled that staff

subsequently recommended reducing

the numbers of artists each year to

around a dozen because there was a

law of diminishing returns for each

individual artist, with so many awards

presented in a given year. Bluegrass

banjo player Ralph Stanley, currently

enjoying a resurgence in his long and

distinguished career, commented at the

time that this award was the greatest

honor of his lifetime. The celebratory

concert, now held in the fall of the year

and not in conjunction with the

Smithsonian festival, was moved to the

historic Ford’s Theater. Gaining more

national attention, the event was

covered in the “Talk of the To w n ”

section of The New Yo r k e r.

CliftonChenier

Z Y D E C O A C C O R D I O N I S T

Blending the tra d i t i o n a l ,a co u s t i csounds of French Creole music

f rom southwe s tern Louisiana with New

O rleans electric rhythm and blues,

C l i f ton Chenier cre a ted the modern

d a n ce music now known as zyd e co .

Born in 1925 in Opelousas, S t .

Landry Pa r i s h ,L o u i s i a n a ,C h e n i e r

learned the basics of acco rdion play i n g

f rom his fa t h e r,a local musician who

p l ayed at dances known as fais dos dos.

By the time he was 16, he playe d

a cco rdion with his brother Cleveland on

f ro t t o i r(a wa s h b o a rd played with a

metal object, l i ke a spoon or bottle

o p e n e r,to pro d u ce a perc u s s ive sound)

at local house parties.

As he mature d ,Chenier deve l o p e d

his own musical style and shifted fro m

the small diatonic acco rdion his fa t h e r

had taught him to play to the large r,

m o re flexible piano acco rd i o n .T h e

p e rcussion in his bands grew more

co m p l ex as we l l ,and he added electric

g u i t a rs , b a s s ,d r u m s ,and saxo p h o n e

when playing larger clubs, d a n ce halls,

and juke joints between Houston and

New Orl e a n s .

In 1946,Chenier moved to

H o u s to n ,Tex a s ,to wo rk in the postwa r

boom and began performing at are a

d a n ces with his bro t h e r.In 1954,t h e

Chenier bro t h e rs released their firs t

re co rd i n g , “Louisiana Sto m p ” b a c ke d

with “Clifton’s Blues,”which are

co n s i d e red the earliest re co rd e d

examples of zyd e co music.

In 1955,Chenier came to national

a t tention with his hit on Specialty

R e co rd s , “Ay ‘Tit Fille( H e y,Little Girl ) ,”

a cover of a Professor Longhair song.

Chenier decided to focus full-time on

m u s i c , l e aving his day job and to u r i n g

n a t i o n a l ly with his band,the Zyd e co

Ra m b l e rs .The turning point in his

c a reer occ u r red in 1963,when he

signed with the California-based label

A rh o o l i e , q u i c k ly becoming the label’s

top-selling artist.

F rom the 1960s to the 1980s,

Chenier to u red widely, forming a new

band in 1976, the Red Hot Louisiana

Band featuring tenor saxophonist Blind

John Hart and guitarist Paul Senega l .

His later ye a rs we re plagued by diabete s

and kidney pro b l e m s . “Sometimes I ge t

t i red a little,” he said, “but I’m a pers o n

l i ke this: When I’m play i n g ,I’m play i n g .

Ain’t no tired there .One speed: let’s go .”

P h o to by Chris Stra c hw i t z
MartinMulv i h i l l

I R I S H - A M E R I C A N F I D D L E R A N D T E A C H E R

Born in Ballygo u g h l i n ,C o u n t yL i m e r i c k ,I re l a n d ,in 1919,

Martin Mulvihill re ce ived his firs t

instruction in playing the fiddle from his

m o t h e r.By the time he was 10 ye a rs old,

he had become an acco m p l i s h e d

t raditional fiddler, e ve n t u a l ly learning the

piano and button acco rdion as we l l .I n

1 9 5 1 , he moved to Northampto n ,

E n g l a n d ,and started a fa m i ly.

In 1971,M u lvihill and his fa m i ly

e m i g ra ted to New Yo rk City,w h e re he

b e gan teaching Irish music to a few

B ronx neighborhood childre n .H i s

ve rsatility and superb tra d i t i o n a l

re p e r to i re soon attra c ted so many

students that he quit his regular job to

teach full-time, opening the Martin

M u lvihill School.The school taught

Ralph Sta n l ey

B L U E G R A S S B A N J O P L A Y E R A N D B A N D L E A D E R

Ralph Stanleywas born in

1927 in the Clinch

Mountains of Vi r g i n i a ,

which inspired much of

his music.He and his

b rother Carter learned

ballad singing and clawh a m m e r - s t yle banjo play i n g

f rom their mother,w h o s e

re p e r to i re ra n ged from tra d i t i o n a l

n a r ra t ive songs to 19th-ce n t u r y

hy m n s .The Stanley bro t h e rs bega n

performing with Roy Sykes and the Blue

R i d ge Mountain Boys in 1946.T h e y

soon formed their own band,the Stanley

B ro t h e rs and the Clinch Mountain Boys ,

and gained a following due to their

b roadcasts on WCYB in Bristo l ,

Vi r g i n i a ,which reached a five - s t a te are a :

K e n t u c ky,North Caro l i n a ,Te n n e s s e e ,

Vi r g i n i a ,and West Vi r g i n i a .

F rom 1947 to 1958,the Stanley

B ro t h e rs re co rded with Rich-R-To n e ,

C o l u m b i a ,and Mercury re co rd labels,

w h e re they defined their signature

s o u n d ,which re vo lved around Ra l p h ’ s

mournful vocals and claw-hammer

banjo play i n g .In 1966,C a r ter died,

and after much co n s i d e ra t i o n ,Ra l p h

continued his musical career and

formed a new band.

Although Stanley has playe d

p r i m a r i ly a traditional re p e r to i re , he has

also written his own songs. “It just hits

yo u , comes on your mind,” he said.

“ I ’ ve got up at three or four o’clock in

the morning,w ro te a song or two ,

c h i l d ren 6 to 18 ye a rs old the basics of

music notations and the traditional Irish

instruments: fiddle,tin whistle, d r u m s ,

p i a n o ,and acco rd i o n .O ver the ye a rs , h i s

reputation ste a d i ly grew and hundre d s

of his pupils have achieved re m a rk a b l e

s u ccess in competitions and festivals in

both the United States and Ire l a n d .

M u lvihill continued to perform as

well as te a c h , using the long-bow i n g

technique common to southern Ire l a n d ,

p l aying rolls instead of triplets,a n d

holding to the long, e l e gant lines of the

old melodies.He was often joined in

p e r f o r m a n ce by his four childre n .

P h o to by Jesse Wi n c h
Paul Tiulana was born in

1921 on King Island in

the Bering Stra i t , just off the

Alaskan Sewa rd Pe n i n s u l a .A s

an Inupiaq Native , he was taught

at an early age how to survive in

n a t u re , h ow to hunt,and where

to go on the ice floes to look for

s e a l s .When Tiulana was nine

ye a rs old, hisfather died and his

u n c l e ,John Olarra n a , b e c a m e

his mento r.Under his tute l a ge ,

Tiulana grew up to become a

leader in the pre s e r vation of

Inupiaq tra d i t i o n s .He was an

a ccomplished ivory carve r,

m a s k m a ke r,s i n ge r,a n d

d r u m m e r,and devo ted much

of his life to the perpetuation

of King Island culture

and heritage .

In the 1950s,King Island

Eskimos we re forced to leave

their island and we re re s e t t l e d

t h roughout Alaska.M a ny settled

in nearby Nome, but Tiulana

ended up in Anchora ge ,

w h e re he taught carving classes

and wo rkshops and was a

member of the King Island

d a n ce rs for more than 40

ye a rs ,and their leader since

1 9 5 6 .He to u red ex te n s ive ly

with the group throughout Alaska

and the lower United State s .He also

p l ayed a key role in the re v ival of the

ce remonial Wolf Dance ,which wa s

f i n a l ly performed in 1982 for the firs t

time in more than 50 ye a rs .

PaulTi u l a n a

I N U P I A Q E S K I M O M A S K M A K E R , D A N C E R , A N D S I N G E R

In 1983,Tiulana was named

Citizen of the Year by the state w i d e

Alaska Fe d e ration of Natives for his wo rk

p romoting cultural heritage .Ra re ly had a

c ivic awa rd of this nature been pre s e n te d

to a practicing artist.

P h o to co u r tesy of Alaska State Council on the Arts

P h o to co u r tesy of Alaska

S t a te Council on the Arts

m aybe wro te three before I went back to

b e d .If I didn’t get up and write them

d ow n ,I wouldn’t have re m e m b e re d

them the next day.”Stanley was also

responsible forthe re v ival of a cappella

singing in co n te m p o rary bluegra s s

m u s i c , continuing the tradition he had

learned from his mother.

M a ny co n te m p o rary bluegra s s

artists have come up through the Clinch

Mountain Boys band, including Ricky

S k a g g s ,Keith Whitley,and Roy Lee

C e n te rs . Stanley has seen a re s u r ge n t

i n te rest in his music after some of his

songs we re used on the multi-platinum

s o u n d t rack for the mov i e ,O Bro t h e r ,

W h e re Art Th o u ?,released in 2000.
E m i ly Zutte r m e i s te r

was born Emily

Ka u i o m a k awe l i n a l a n i o k amanookalanipo in 1909 on

the Island of Oahu to Native

H awaiian pare n t s .T h e y

f o l l owed the pra c t i ce of the

time and gave Emily to her

kahu hanai( m a te r n a l

g ra n d p a rents) to ra i s e .

T h rough them,she learned

the old Hawaiian custo m s .

Her uncle Sam Pua Ha’aheo

was a policeman and elder in

the churc h , but also knew the

hula tradition and the ancient

c h a n t s ,which he kept secre t

until he was an old man.

In 1933,H a ’ a h e o

decided it was time to pass

on his know l e d ge of those

vital Hawaiian tra d i t i o n s ,a n d

he opened a hula halau (hula house) on

the shore of Kahana Bay beside his

fishing shack.By then, his niece Emily

had married Ka rl Zutte r m e i s te r,a U. S .

s e r v i ceman stationed in Hawaii who

u r ged his wife to learn the old hula

t ra d i t i o n s . She re l u c t a n t ly agreed and

b e gan studying with her uncle,

p racticing six nights a week forthre e

ye a rs . She was forced to memorize each

d a n ce and the chant associated with it,

as well as the many rules,such as

k n owing which hula could not be

d a n ced with thep a h u drum and which

g reenery was appro p r i a te for the altar.

E m i lyKau’i Zu t t e r m e i s t e r

H U L A M A S T E R

In 1936,Z u t te r m e i s te r, n i c k n a m e d

Aunty Ka u ’ i , opened her own school for

h u l a , called the Ilima Hula Hale. S h e

continued teaching hula,t ra d i t i o n a l

c h a n t s ,and p a h u drumming in the

Ha’aheo style for more than 50 ye a rs .A s

she stated in an address about Nana E.

Na Hula Loea,a project of the Ka l i h i -

Palama Culture and Arts Society, “ M y

uncle told me the only way the culture is

going to live is if the dance is kept pure .”

1 9 8 4

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

C l i fton Chenier *

Zydeco A c c o r d i o n i s t

L a f a y e tte, LA

B e rtha Cook *

K n o tted Bedspread Make r

Boone, NC

Joseph Cormi e r

Cape BretonVi o l i n i s t

Waltham, MA

Elizabeth Cotten *

African-American Singer/

So n g w r i t e r

Syracuse, NY

B u rlon Craig *

Po tt e r

Vale, NC

A l b e rt Fa h l b u s ch *

Hammered Dulcimer Make r /

P l a y e r

Sc o tt s b l u ff, NE

Janie Hunter *

African-American Singer/

S t o r y t e l l e r

Johns Island, SC

Mary Jane Maniga u l t

African-American Se a g r a s s

B a s ke t m a ke r

Mt. Pleasant, SC

G e n e v i e ve Mougin *

Lebanese-American Lacemake r

B e tt e n d o r f, IA

M a rtin Mulvihill *

Irish-American Fiddler

Bronx, NY

H owa rd “ S a n d m a n” Sims *

Tap Dancer

NewYork, NY

Ralph Stanley

Bluegrass Banjo Player/Singer

Coeburn,VA

M a rga retTa foya *

Santa Clara Pueblo Po tt e r

Espanola, NM

DaveTa rras *

Klezmer Clarinetist

Brooklyn, NY

PaulTiulana *

Inupiaq Eskimo Maskmake r /

D a n c e r / S i n g e r

A n chorage, A K

C l e o fesVigil *

Hispanic Storyteller/Singer

San Cristobal, NM

Emily Kau’i Zutterme i s ter *

Hula Master

Kaneohe, HI

* D e c e a s e d

1984 National Heritage Fe l l owships Conce r t ,NEA file photo
the communist Pathet Lao.A f ter the

U n i ted States pulled out of Laos in

1 9 7 3 , M u a , his wife,and two of his

c h i l d ren fled their homeland for fear

of communist re p r i s a l s .A f ter two

ye a rs in a re f u gee camp, Mua and his

fa m i ly immigra ted to the United State s

in 1978.

Mua wo rked hard to maintain his

c u l t u ral traditions in his new home in

Po r t l a n d ,O re go n , d e s p i te the initial

discrimination he and his fa m i ly fa ce d .

He participated in an appre n t i ce s h i p

p ro g ram for Asian re f u ge e s .In addition

to his wo rk with young Hmong,M u a

also visited schools to explain the

u n familiar ways of Southeast Asia to

the schoolchildren of Po r t l a n d , o f te n

using song and dance to demonstra te

the culture .

Bua Xou Mua was born in 1915in Ban Whoi Na,a village in

n o r t h e a s tern Laos where his fa m i ly had

l ived for ge n e ra t i o n s .When he was 15,

he began studying the oral history of his

p e o p l e , the Hmong,with an uncle.M u a

also learned to play the ga e n g,a mouth

o r gan consisting of six curved bamboo

pipes inserted into a wooden wind

c h e s t ,which is unique to Hmong

c u l t u re .The instrument is used to

a cco m p a ny both funeral texts and New

Year’s ce l e b ra t i o n s .Mua also learned the

t raditional courtship and wedding songs

and shamanistic healing rituals.

The Hmong had no writte n

l a n g u a ge until the 1950s,so history wa s

passed on primarily through the ora l

t ra d i t i o n . Mua learned to re c i te fro m

memory the story of his people’s

m i g ration from China to Vietnam and

Laos and their re s i s t a n ce to Chinese

o p p re s s i o n .He became known as a lega l

and religious pra c t i t i o n e r,and in 1960

became chief of his clan of about 400

p e o p l e .

In the 1960s,Mua and two of his

sons we re re c r u i ted into the U. S .C e n t ra l

I n te l l i ge n ce Agency’s secret war aga i n s t

1 9 8 5

The Heritage ceremonies

became the first celebratory

event marking the occasion

of the 20th anniversary of the National

Endowment for the Arts. Roger

Welsch—folklorist, television personality

on Charles Kuralt’s CBS Sunday

M o r n i n g , and Folk Arts Program

panelist—visited recipient Lief

Melgaard, a Norwegian woodcarver

from Minnesota, and commented after

his visit: “I have come to think of

Heritage awards—perhaps

incorrectly—as a recognition of a kind of

spirit as well as of a degree of skill.

Unselfconscious, unassuming,

dedicated, philosophical, Leif Melgaard

is the kind of citizen artist who deserves

this unrequested recognition.”

The 1985 roster presented art forms

perhaps less widely known to the public,

such as Basque accordion music,

Hmong ritual performance, Norwegian

woodcarving, and Puerto Rican

instrument making. Recognition of the

distinct style of Hawaiian quilting

through an award to Meali’i Kalama

reflects the fact that panelists, at this

point, are receiving nominations and

considering some of the “small

community” traditions. Quilting may not

be the best known art form in Hawaii

(such as hula or slack-key guitar), but it

is an important one for the particular

community in which it is practiced.

BuaXouMua

H M O N G M U S I C I A N A N D S P I R I T U A L L E A D E R

P h o to by Alan Gove n a r
AliceNewHolyBlue Legs

L A K O T A S I O U X Q U I L L A R T I S T

Born in 1925,A l i ce Blue Legs’mother died when she wa s

yo u n g ,and her fa t h e r,Joseph New Holy,

i n s t r u c ted her in quillwo rk and other

s k i l l s . “He didn’t show me,” she said.

“He just told me what to do...It wa s

something I had to learn.Every Indian

g i rl was supposed to learn how to do

q u i l lwo rk and beadwo rk and tanning

h i d e s ,so they will know rather than

going to tra d e rs and buying them.”

Q u i l lwo rk , using porcupine quills

to deco ra te clothing and other re ga l i a ,

was re l a t ive ly common among the

woodland and plains Indians, but wa s

e s p e c i a l ly prominent among the Lako t a

S i o u x .The wo rk was ex t re m e ly

co m p l ex ,and as trade beads became

m o re re a d i ly available from Euro p e a n

s e t t l e rs , easier beadwo rk te c h n i q u e s

re p l a ced quilling.

Most of Blue Legs’wo rk is

w rapped orstitc h e d .In the wra p p i n g

te c h n i q u e ,the flattened quills are wo u n d

a round a strip of buckskin.This is used

for fringes and jewe l r y.The stitc h i n g

method is used for deco rating buckskin

d resses and other flat surfa ce s .

Blue Legs and her

husband live on the Pine

R i d ge Sioux re s e r vation in

South Dako t a ,and make their

l iving from cra f t s .The wo rk is

long and difficult, b u t

re wa rd i n g . “This is a dy i n g

art which I am trying to

re v ive ,” she said.Blue Legs

has taught the art to her

h u s b a n d , f ive daughte rs ,a n d

t h ree of her gra n d c h i l d re n .

1 9 8 5

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

EppieA rch u l e t a

HispanicWe a v e r

San LuisVa l l e y, CO

Alice New Holy Blue Legs

Lakota Sioux Quill A rt i s t

Oglala, SD

Pe riklis Halkias *

Greek Clarinetist

Astoria, NY

J i m my Ja u s o ro *

Basque A c c o r d i o n i s t

Boise, ID

Meali’i Kalama *

H a waiian Quilter

Honolulu, HI

Lily May Ledfo rd *

A p p a l a chian Musician/Singer

Lexington, KY

Leif Melga a rd *

N o r w e g i a n - A m e r i c a n

Wo o d c a r v e r

Minneapolis, MN

Bua Xou Mua

Hmong Musician

Po rtland, OR

Julio Negrón-Rive ra

Pu e rto Rican Instrument

M a ke r

M o r ovis, PR

Glenn Ohrl i n

Cowboy Singer/

S t o r y t e l l e r / I l l u s t r a t o r

MountainVi e w, A R

HenryTownsend *

Blues Musician/So n g w r i t e r

St. Louis, MO

H o race “ S p o o n s ”Williams *

Pe r c u s s i o n i s t / Po e t

Philadelphia, PA

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by H.Jane Nauman
1 9 8 6

An award given to Khatna Peou, a

master of Khmer dance who

was living in Maryland,

illustrates several points about the NEA

National Heritage Fellowships. Born in

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, she began her

dance training in the Royal Court at the

age of seven and grew to be a master

d a n c e r. Following her retirement at the

age of 30, she became a teacher,

c h o r e o g r a p h e r, and costumer for the

royal troupe. With the downfall of the

regime, this palace dancer and teacher

fled to a refugee camp in Thailand where

she began to re-form and develop a

group of dancers. With the assistance of

the State Department, international

refugee organizations, and the National

Council for the Traditional Arts, she came

to the United States and began to reassemble a group of dancers that later

toured the country. Recognition of the

role of significant master artists in more

recently settled immigrant communities

is a common thread in the NEA N a t i o n a l

Heritage Fellowship history.

Having outgrown the smaller venue

of Ford’s Theater, the celebratory concert

moved to the more commodious Lisner

Auditorium on the campus of George

Washington University.

HelenCord e ro

C O C H I T I P U E B L O P O T T E R

Helen Cord e ro was born in1915 in Cochiti Pueblo,N e w

M ex i co ,at a time when the area’s rich

p o t tery tradition was in decline.In the

l a te 1950s,she and her co u s i n ,a n

a ccomplished potte r,b e gan making

p o t tery as an alte r n a t ive to leather and

b e a dwo rk .Not satisfied with her bow l s

and pitc h e rs ,C o rd e ro began to make

f i g u res inste a d ,and through this she

found her calling.

One of the traditional figurine forms

was a seated female figure holding a

c h i l d , k n own asthe Singing Mother.

When Cord e ro tried thisform,she ke p t

seeing her gra n d father inste a d . “He wa s

a re a l ly good sto r y te l l e r,” she said, “ a n d

t h e re was always lots of us gra n d c h i l d re n

a round him.”When she shaped the firs t

p o r t rait of her paternal gra n d fa t h e r,s h e

used the traditional design,making the

f i g u re male and surrounding him with

c h i l d re n . She called the piece

“ S to r y te l l e r.”

The figure brought Cord e ro to

public atte n t i o n ,w i n n i n g

awa rds at the New Mex i co

S t a te Fairand Indian

M a rket and the Heard

Museum’s Annual Indian

Arts and Crafts Show.

Herfigures have been

ex h i b i ted in museums

a c ross the United State s

and Canada.

C o rd e ro’s wo rk ,which hasinitiate d

a re volution in co n te m p o rary Pueblo

ce ramics with its re i nvention of Cochiti

f i g u ra t ive pottery tra d i t i o n s ,re m a i n s

d i s t i n c t ive .No two Sto r y teller figures are

a l i ke ,and she has made other figure s ,

such as the Wa ter Carrier,the Drummer,

the Mother withChildre n ,and the

Tu r t l e .The Sto r y te l l e r, h owe ve r,re m a i n s

the favo r i te .She didn’t wo rk in a studio,

i n s tead covering each piece of clay with

cow manure and firing it on an open

i ron gra te behind her house. “ To

m a ke good potte r i e s , you have to

do it the rightway,the old way,”

she said.

P h o to by Tom Pich

P h o to co u r tesy of Helen Cord e ro
Joyce DocTateNeva q u aya

C O M A N C H E F L U T E P L A Y E R

Joyce Doc Ta te Neva q u aya was bornin 1932 in Fletc h e r,O k l a h o m a ,

d e l ive red by Dr.C . W.J oyce afte r

whom he was named,although “Joyce ”

was re p l a ced by “Doc” at an early age .

The name “Ta te ”wastaken from his

g ra n d father’s partner when a Christian

name wasre q u i red upon entering the

Fort Sill Indian School.His Comanche

n a m e , “ N e va q u aya ,”means “we l l -

d re s s e d ” inEnglish.

G rowing up,N e va q u ayalearned to

m a ke traditionalComanche crafts and

became inte re s ted in the courting flute ,a

t raditional instrument common to many

N a t ive American tribes.The co u r t i n g

f l u te isan end-blown instrument

ge n e ra l ly made ofwood and co n s t r u c te d

with a movable block through which the

musical intonation can be change d .It is

one of the fewNative American

instrumentsre s e r ved for solo

p e r f o r m a n ce ,a n d

t ra d i t i o n a l ly is playe d

o n ly by men in

co n texts of

co u r t s h i p ,l ove ,

m a g i c , o r

fertility rituals.

A round the turn of the ce n t u r y,t h e

t raditionalrole of the courting flute bega n

to wa n e ,and flute music was ra re ly heard

outside the home or atan occ a s i o n a l

p ow wow.In the 1970s, h owe ve r,a few

N a t ive American musicians began to

bring the flute tradition to wider public

a t te n t i o n .N e va q u aya was one of the

l e a d e rs of this re v iva l ,re s e a rc h i n g

construction and playing te c h n i q u e s ,

learning the old re p e r to i re ,a n d

d e veloping new compositionalstyl e s ,o n e

of which isa cre a t ive mode thro u g h

which an individual musician can

i m p rovise while remainingwithin the

aesthetic para m e te rs of PlainsIndian

musical forms.

N e va q u aya released two re co rd i n g s ,

Indian Flute Songs from Comanche Land

(1976) and Comanche Flute Music

( 1 9 7 9 ) ,and appeared in numero u s

p e r f o r m a n cesaround the United State s

and abro a d .He taught his three sons

h ow to make and play the

courting flute ,and allare

co m m i t ted to ke e p i n g

the tradition alive .

1 9 8 6

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

A l fonse “Bois Sec”A rd o i n

Creole A c c o r d i o n i s t

Eunice, LA

E a rnest Bennett *

Anglo-AmericanWo o d c a r v e r

Indianapolis, IN

Helen Cord e ro *

Pueblo Po tt e r

C o chiti Pueblo, NM

Sonia Domsch

C ze ch-American Bobbin

L a c e m a ke r

Atwood, KS

C a n ray Fo n tenot *

Creole Fiddler

Welsh, LA

John Ja ckson *

African-American Singer/

G u i t a r i s t

Fairfax Station,VA

Khatna Peou *

Cambodian Court Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r

Silver Spring, MD

Va l e rio Longo ria *

M e x i c a n - A m e r i c a n

A c c o r d i o n i s t

San Antonio,T X

Joyce DocTa te Neva q u aya *

C o m a n che Flutist

A p a che, OK

Luis Orte ga *

Hispanic-American Ra w h i d e

Wo r ke r

Paradise, CA

Ola Belle Reed *

A p p a l a chian Banjo Picke r /

S i n g e r

Rising Sun, MD

Je n nyThlunaut *

Tlingit Chilkat Blanke t w e a v e r

Haines, A K

N i m rodWo rkman *

A p p a l a chian Ballad Singer

Mascot,T N / C h a tt a r o y,W V

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Alan Gove n a r
1 9 87

The 1987 NEA National

Heritage Fellowships seemed

to take particular note of

the various forms of cultural and

calendrical forms of celebration. Among

the honorees were Juan Alindato, a

c a r n a v a l mask-maker from Ponce,

Puerto Rico, who makes papier maché

masks noted both for their brilliant and

variegated color and their fearsome and

plentiful horns; Sylvester McIntosh from

St. Croix, Virgin Islands, whose bands

accompany quadrilles and masquerades

during c a r n a v a l ; Allison “To o t i e ”

Montana, an African-American costume

maker from New Orleans who is Big

Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas Tribe and

continues the age-old tradition of making

elaborate costumes and parading during

Mardi Gras; and Genoveva Castellanoz

from Nyssa, Oregon, who makes

c o r o n a s (wax and paper crowns) and

other items for use at weddings and

q u i n c e a n e r a (fifteenth birthday)

celebrations. These artists all illustrate

the importance of ceremony, of rites of

passage, and public display within

communities. Often these seemingly

ephemeral trappings of celebration,

formed from commonly found materials

in uncommonly beautiful ways, endure in

social memory with a permanence lent

by shared social meaning.

LouisBashell

S L O V E N I A N - A M E R I C A N P O L K A A C C O R D I O N I S T / B A N D L E A D E R

Louis Bashell was born in 1914in Milwa u ke e ,Wi s co n s i n , to a

fa m i ly that had re ce n t ly emigra ted fro m

S l ove n i a ,then a part of the Au s t ro -

H u n garian empire .Bashell’s father had

learned to make good wine and beer in

his homeland and was a master of the

d i a tonic button acco rd i o n .Both skills

s e r ved him well when he opened his

own cornertavern in the Wa l ker’s Po i n t

n e i g h b o rh o o d ,w h e re he settled with

his fa m i ly.

By the age of seve n ,Bashell wa s

p l aying the button acco rdion himself,

learning the basics from his fa t h e r.In the

1 9 3 0 s , he formed a trio, hiring a

drummer and saxophonist who doubled

on clarinet and violin.By the late 1940s,

he had his own five - p i e ce band and

re co rded a Slovenian folk song, “Z i d a n a

M a rela (Silk Umbre l l a ) ,”which was an

i m m e d i a te succe s s . “It sold out as fast as

they could make the re co rd s ,” h e

re c a l l e d .

For more than 50 ye a rs ,Bashell and

his band played in his father’s tave r n .

“ We played polkas and wa l t z e s ,” he said,

“and a lot of Slovenian music my fa t h e r

p l ayed...I try and hang onto the

S l ovenian heritage because a lot of things

a re slipping away.”O ver the ye a rs ,

Bashell played mostly in Wi s co n s i n ,

p referring to perform in neighborh o o d

c l u b s ,t ave r n s ,VFW halls,as well asat

p r iva te parties and co m m u n i t y- b a s e d

e ve n t s .Though he didn’t like trave l i n g

too far away from home, he did

p e r i o d i c a l ly tour the so-called “polka

b e l t ,” running north to Buffa l o ,N e w

Yo rk , east to Newa rk ,New Jers e y,s o u t h

to the Pe n n s ylvania line,and we s t

t h rough Michiga n ,Wi s co n s i n ,I owa ,t h e

D a ko t a s ,and Nebra s k a . Dozens of

yo u n ger musicians who have either

wo rked with or followed Bashell’s band

h ave gone on to form groups of their

ow n .

P h o to by Tom Pich
Newton Wa s h b u r n

S P L I T A S H B A S K E T M A K E R

Ne w ton Washburn was bornin 1915 in Stowe ,Ve r m o n t ,

the grandson of Gilman Swe e t s e r.

The Swe e t s e rs have been known for

their brown ash split baskets since at

least 1850.

When Washburn was eight ye a rs

o l d , he began to learn to make baske t s .

“Dad showed us how to get it off the

l o g ,” he said. “Then it was up to

Mother....She’d tell me, ‘ M a ke it right,

or make it ove r.’ ” By the age of nine,

Washburn was able to make a go o d

b a s ke t ,as we re his co u s i n s .At one time,

t h e re we re 17 different branches of the

fa m i ly making baske t s ,and they ofte n

assembled for basketmaking parties.

H owe ve r, b a s ketmaking was neve r

taught to anyone outside of the fa m i ly.

Until the 1930s, S weetser baske t s

we re used by wo rking fa r m e rs , but with

the advent of re a d i ly ga lva n i z e d

co n t a i n e rs , the demand for baske t s

d e c l i n e d . P r i ces dropped and the older

ge n e ration eve n t u a l ly stopped making

b a s kets for such little pay.

Washburn ended up wo rking at an

a u to body shop for 20 ye a rs follow i n g

the end of Wo rld War II,and put aside

b a s ketmaking until two heart attacks

f o rced him to slow dow n .During his

re cove r y, he decided to make his wife a

laundry baske t ,and then two sewing

b a s ke t s .B e f o re long, his friends and

fa m i ly we re asking for more .

As the last Sweetser baske t m a ke r,

Washburn was in a unique position.

M a ny of the people who bought the

b a s kets we re eager to learn to make

t h e m , but at first he didn’t want to

v i o l a te the tradition of keeping the

b a s ketmaking in the fa m i ly.G ra d u a l ly,

to keep the art alive , he acce p te d

young people who wa n ted to learn

the Sweetser style of baske t m a k i n g ,

and over the ye a rs he has taught more

than 80 appre n t i ce s .

1 9 8 7

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

JuanA l i n d a to

C a r n ival Maskmake r

Ponce, PR

Louis Bashell

S l ovenian-American Po l ka

A c c o r d i o n i s t

Greenfield,W I

G e n ove va Caste l l a n o z

Mexican-American Corona

M a ke r

Nyssa, OR

Thomas Edison “ B row n i e” Fo rd *

A n g l o - C o m a n che Cowboy

S i n g e r / S t o r y t e l l e r

H e b e rt, LA

Kansuma Fu j i m a

Japanese-American Dancer

Los Angeles, CA

Claude Joseph Johnson *

African-American Re l i g i o u s

S i n g e r / O r a t o r

Atlanta, GA

R aymond Kane

H a waiian Slack - Ke y

G u i t a r i s t / S i n g e r

Wai’anae, HI

Wade Mainer

A p p a l a chian Banjo

P i cke r / S i n g e r

Flint, MI

Sy l ve s ter McInto s h

Crucian Singer/Bandleader

St. Croix,V I

Allison “ To o t i e” Montana *

Mardi Gras Chief/Costume

M a ke r

New Orleans, LA

Alex Moore , S r. * Blues Pianist

Dallas,T X

Emilio * and Senaida

R o m e ro *

H i s p a n i c - A m e r i c a n

C r a ft s w o r ke rs inTi n

E m b r o i d e r y

Santa Fe, NM

N e w tonWa s h b u rn

Split Ash Baske t m a ke r

L i ttleton, NH

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich
1 9 8 8

Reflecting on the NEA National

Heritage Fellowships, Bess

Lomax Hawes, Director of Folk

Arts, and Frank Hodsoll, Chairman of the

National Endowment for the Arts, stated

in 1988: “Overall, it came to seem that

this American program should be

conducted gently and slowly, including

ever more artists and art forms, more

home towns, more cities, more

languages, more cultures and

occupations, recognizing that traditional

skills in our far-flung nation are more

often features on a local landscape than

widely acclaimed monuments.”

The age of recipients became a little

more far-flung as well, with 97-year- o l d

Sister Rosita Haberl, a bobbin lace

maker from Hankinson, North Dakota,

joining 30-year-old Michael Flatley, the

youngest recipient to that point, on the

celebratory concert stage.

Michael Flatley

I R I S H - A M E R I C A N S T E P D A N C E R

Michael Flatley’s pare n t s ,i m m i g rantsfrom County

S l i go ,I re l a n d , instilled in their children a

l ove and respect for the traditions of

their homeland, e s p e c i a l ly music and

d a n ce .He learned from his mother the

rudiments of Irish ste p d a n ce—a highly

s t ylized form in which the upper body is

held rigid while the legs and feet

perform with athletic and rhy t h m i c

v i r t u o s i t y.

Flatley was born in 1958 in

C h i c a go ,I l l i n o i s .At the age of 11 Flatley

tried to take formal dance lessons, b u t

was told that he wasalre a dy too old to

learn pro p e rly.I n s te a d , he spent hours

on his own pra c t i c i n g . “And then I

s t a r ted adding my own ste p s ,” he said.

“It wasthe only way to win.” Irish ste p -

dancing is highly co m p e t i t ive ,w i t h

co n tests beginning on the local level and

ending in the annual All-Wo rl d

Championships in Ire l a n d .At 17,

Flatley became the first American to win

the championship while also winning

the All-Ireland Concert Flute

Championship for three co n s e c u t ive

ye a rs for his Irish flute play i n g .

Flatley was a Golden Gloves box i n g

champion as well and co n s i d e re d

b e coming a professional boxe r.An offer

f rom the Irish musical ensemble the

Chieftans made him re co n s i d e r,and he

joined them for a wo rl dwide to u r.By

the time Flatley re ce ived his National

H e r i t a ge awa rd in 1988, he had virtually

re t i red from public performance .H e

wo rked up a short pro g ram forthe

awa rd ce l e b ration co n ce r t ,a n d , based on

the enthusiastic audience re s p o n s e , h e

decided to take up dancing aga i n .

In 1994,Flatley cre a te d

R ive rd a n c e, o r i g i n a l ly an inte r val act

for the Eurovision Song Conte s t .T h e

popularity of his performance caused

him to develop it into a full-length show,

which re ce ived critical and popular

a cc l a i m .Two ye a rs late r, he developed a

new show,L o rd of the Dance,which he

c h o re o g ra p h e d , p ro d u ce d , d i re c te d ,a n d

s t a r red in.The show again re ce ive d

a cclaim inte r n a t i o n a l ly,as Flatley has

b rought the traditional Irish dance to

wo rl dwide atte n t i o n .

When asked about his performing,

Flatley said, “I wonder if my legs are

going to be there when I get dow n ... I ’ m

d e f i n i te ly setting out to prove thatI’m

still the best dancer in the wo rl d .”
Arthel “Doc” Wa t s o n

A P P A L A C H I A N G U I T A R I S T A N D S I N G E R

Doc Watson was born in 1923in Stoney Fo rk ,N o r t h

C a ro l i n a , the sixth of nine childre n .H e

co n t ra c ted glaucoma when he was an

i n fa n t , causing him to lose his sight by

the age of two .Watson ente red the

Raleigh School for the Blind at the age

of 10,s t aying four ye a rs .While there ,h e

h e a rd a classmate playing a guitar and

learned a few chords himself.When he

returned home that summer, he wa s

e a ger to play guitar and his bro t h e r

L i n ny borrowed a cousin’s guitar on

which Wa t s o n

p ra c t i ce d .

“ D a d dy heard

me messing with it

one morning,”

Wa t s o n

re m e m b e re d , “ a n d

s a i d , ‘ S o n , if yo u

can learn a tune on

that by the time I

get back from wo rk

this eve n i n g ,we ’ l l

go find you a guitar

of some kind.’ ”B y

the time his fa t h e r

returned home, he was picking the

c h o rds to “When the Roses Bloom in

D i x i e l a n d ,” and as pro m i s e d ,they we n t

and got his first guitar,a $12 Ste l l a .

When Watson was 18, he joined a

g roup that sometimes played on local

radio stations.B e f o re a re m o te ra d i o

b roadcast at a furniture sto re , t h e

a n n o u n cer decided that “A r t h e l ”was to o

c u m b e rsome to use on the air.A wo m a n

in the crowd sugge s te d , “Call him

‘ D o c ,’ ” and the name stuck.

To support his wife and two

c h i l d re n , M e rle and Nancy,Wa t s o n

tuned pianos and played music

w h e n e ver he co u l d , for local dances and

on the ra d i o .In 1953, he joined pianist

Jack Wi l l i a m s ’ b a n d , p l aying lead guitar

in the country swing and ro c k a b i l ly

b a n d , for which he bought his firs t

electric guitar.He remained with the

band for eight ye a rs , doubling as lead

fiddler and vocalist when the band

p l ayed for square dance s ,t rave l i n g

t h roughout eastern Tennessee and

North Caro l i n a .

In 1960,Watson joined Clare n ce

“ To m ”Ashley on a re co rding session,

p l aying the aco u s t i c

old-time music

they performed

to gether at each

other’s homes as

n e i g h b o rs in North

C a ro l i n a .T h e

resulting albums,

OldTime Music at

C l a rence Ashley ’ s ,

Volumes 1 &2,

we re highly

a cclaimed and

helped launch

Wa t s o n ’ s

p rofessional care e r.

Watson’s son Merle began play i n g

guitar with his father in 1964, ga t h e r i n g

re n own for his playing prowe s s .

To ge t h e r,they re co rded and to u re d

n a t i o n a l ly for more than 20 ye a rs , u n t i l

M e rle’s untimely death in 1985 in a

t ra c tor acc i d e n t .In 1988,Watson put

to gether a festival in NorthCarolina to

honor his son. S i n ce then,M e rlefest

has become one of the most critically

a cclaimed acoustic music festivalsin

the wo rl d , featuring the old-time music

that Watson loves and continues to

p e r f o r m .

1 9 8 8

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Pe d ro Ayala *

M e x i c a n - A m e r i c a n

A c c o r d i o n i s t

Donna,T X

Ke p ka Belto n

C ze ch-American Egg Pa i n t e r

E l l s w o rth, KS

Amber Densmore *

Q u i l t e r / N e e d l e w o r ke r

Chelsea,V T

M i chael Flatley

Irish-American Stepdancer

Palos Park, IL

S i s ter Rosalia Haberl *

German-American Bobbin

L a c e m a ke r

Hankinson, ND

John Dee Holeman

African-American Dancer/

M u s i c i a n / S i n g e r

Durham, NC

A l b e rt “ S u n nyland Slim” L u a n d rew *

African-American Blues

P i a n i s t / S i n g e r

Chicago, IL

Yang Fang Nhu

HmongWe a v e r / E m b r o i d e r e r

Detroit, MI

Ke n ny Sidle

Anglo-American Fiddler

N e wark, OH

Willie Mae Fo rd Smith *

African-American Gospel

S i n g e r

St. Louis, MO

C l yde “ K i n d y ”S p ro a t

H a waiian Cowboy Singer/

Ukulele Player

Kapa’au, HI

A rthel “ D o c ”Wa t s o n

A p p a l a chian Guitarist/Singer

Deep Gap, NC

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Pe ter Fige n
1 9 8 9

While NEA National Heritage

Fellowships were intended

to honor individual artists,

certain genres by nature involve group

participation. Gospel music is one such

artistic tradition. The year 1989 marked

the first year that a group was honored.

The Fairfield Four, an ensemble of

members ranging in number from four to

seven at various times, was recognized.

First organized in the 1920s this group

has endured to this day, enjoying a

resurgence of popularity with recent

appearances on recordings of popular

Nashville country artists and in the movie

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

In 1989, Charles Kuralt, the C B S

Sunday Morning host, emceed the NEA

National Heritage Fellowships concert.

Opening the program, he pointed out that

through the years he had encountered

many of the previous fellows in his

journeys “on the road.” Kuralt hosted

the event for four years until health

problems prevented further participation.

R i c h a rdHago p i a n

A R M E N I A N - A M E R I C A N O U D P L A Y E R

Ri c h a rd Hagopian was born in1937 to Armenian pare n t s

in the small town of Fowler in the

ce n t ral valley of California.H e

s h owed musical inte restand

talent early,s t u dying the violin

at age nine and the clarineta

year late r.At 11, he took up

the o u d,a plucked lute that is

a direct ance s tor of the

E u ropean lute .It is the

principal instrument of the Ara b

wo rl d ,and isalso important in

Tu rke y,I ra n ,A z e rb a i j a n ,a n d

A r m e n i a .

At 13,H a gopian began study i n g

the o u d with inte r n a t i o n a l ly re n ow n e d

Armenian artist Kanuni Garb i s

B a k i r g i a n .He also learned the clarinet,

d u m b e g,and ka n o u n, essential elements

in a traditional Near Eastern orc h e s t ra ,

and he maste red the acco m p a ny i n g

musical theory, notation te c h n i q u e s ,a n d

both the classical and folk re p e r to i re s .

H a gopian learned not just the

m u s i c , but the entire tra d i t i o n ,

questioning his elders about life in

A r m e n i a , h ow they ce l e b ra te d , h ow they

wo rs h i p p e d ,and what new elements

had been added in the United State s .

He examined millennia-old liturgical

music of the Armenia Church to see

if the modes used there we re the

same as those of the folk music,and

he learned the dance steps that

a ccompanied the tunes.

H a gopian has released seve ra l

albums of Armenian music,and wo rke d

h a rd to keep the cultural traditions of his

a n ce s to rs alive .He was given the title

“O u d i” in 1969 by the inte r n a t i o n a l ly

famous virtuoso Oudi Hra n t , the highest

honor an oud player can re ce ive .

P h o to by Alan Gove n a r
Mabel E. Murphy

Q U I L T E R

Mabel Murphy was born in1907 in Callaway County,

the agricultural heartland of Missouri.

When she was eight ye a rs old,s h e

p i e ced her first quilt top—a Four Pa tc h

p a t te r n ,the standard design taught to

c h i l d ren in those days .F rom then on,

M u r p hy made quilting an inte g ral part

of her daily life,making more than 100

q u i l t s ,all in the same basic patte r n .A f te r

deciding on the ge n e ra l

idea of the quilt she

wa n ted to make ,s h e

s e l e c ted the design and

the materials needed,

then started piecing the

quilt to ge t h e r.W h e n

that was co m p l e te d ,s h e

would call her

n e i g h b o rs and friends

to help with the lengthy

job of quilting.E a c h

finished quilt is a kind

of map of the social

relationships that

c re a ted it, b e t ween the

i n d ividual artist and the

supporting fa m i ly or

co m m u n i t y.

M u r p hy taught hundreds of

women to quilt,and opened her home

e very Thurs d ay and Friday morning to

quilting circles for many ye a rs . She neve r

re ce ived any compensation for her

s e r v i ces or adv i ce , nor did she ever sell

one of her co m p l e ted quilts, i n s te a d

g iving them to her children and

g ra n d c h i l d re n . Each re ce ived a quilt

upon graduation from co l l e ge and two

m a tching quilts upon his or her we d d i n g

d ay.The boys in the fa m i ly re ce ived a

B ow Tie quilt when they turned 21,

signifying theirattainment of manhood.

In explaining her motivations for

spending so much of her time quilting,

M u r p hy said, “I just don’t like to sit and

hold my hands.”

1 9 8 9

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

John Cephas

Piedmont Blues Guitarist/

S i n g e r

Woodford,VA

Fairfield Fo u r

African-American Gospel

S i n g e rs

Nashville,T N

José Gutiérre z

Mexican Ja r o cho Musician/

S i n g e r

N o r walk, CA

R i ch a rdAvedis Hago p i a n

Armenian Oud Player

Visalia, CA

C h risty Henge l

German-American Concert i n a

M a ke r

New Ulm, MN

Vanessa Pa u ke i go p e

Je n n i n g s

K i o wa Re galia Make r

Anadarko, OK

Ilias Kementzides *

Pontic Greek Lyra Player

N o r walk, CT

Ethel Kva l h e i m

Norwegian Ro s e m a l e r

Stoughton,W I

Mabel E. M u rp hy *

Anglo-American Quilter

Fulton, MO

L a Vaughn E. R o b i n s o n

Tap Dancer

Philadelphia, PA

E a rl Scru g g s

Bluegrass Banjo Player

Madison,T N

H a rryV. S h o u rd s

Wildfowl Decoy Carver

Seaville, NJ

C h e s l ey GoseyunW i l s o n

A p a che Fiddle Make r

Tucson, A Z

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Jerry Baumeiste r
1 99 0

While 1989 witnessed the

first award for a group, the

award process had found

no way to honor a community. In the

early years of the nomination process

someone had nominated the SodomLaurel area of Madison County, North

Carolina, an area at one time rife with

unaccompanied ballad singers in the

Anglo tradition. Ballad collector Cecil

Sharp visited this region over eighty-five

years ago and described it as “a

community in which singing was as

common and almost as universal a

practice as speaking.” Douglas Wa l l i n ,

whose mother had been documented

by Sharp, served as a representative of

this tradition as he received a Fellowship

in 1990.

Na t ividad Cano

M A R I A C H I M U S I C I A N

Na t ividad Cano was born in1933 in the small village of

A h u i s c i l co ,M ex i co , in the region where

the musical tradition known as mariachi

o r i g i n a ted in the 16th and 17th

centuries using stringed instruments

b rought from Spain.Cano’s fa m i ly we re

j o r n a l e ro s ( d ay labore rs) who playe d

mariachi music in their free time.I n

1 9 3 9 ,Cano’s father began teaching him

to play thev i h u e l a,a small rhy t h m

g u i t a r.Two ye a rs late r,Cano enrolled at

the Academia de Música in Guadalajara

to study the violin.A f ter six ye a rs at the

A c a d e m i a ,Cano returned home to help

support his fa m i ly by playing with his

father in local cantinas and cafes.

In 1950,Cano persuaded his fa t h e r

to let him travel to the border town of

M exicali to join the Mariachi Chapala,

w h e re he soon became the band’s

musical arra n ge r.He stayed with

the band until he emigra ted to

Los Ange l e s ,C a l i f o r n i a .T h e re

he joined Mariachi Ag u i l a ,t h e

house ensemble at the famous Million

Dollar Theatre ,a major stopping point

on the Mexican professional circ u i t .

Upon the death of the group’s dire c to r,

Cano became the new leader and

renamed the band Los Campero s .

A f terspending seve ral ye a rs to u r i n g

the United State s , Los Campero s

opened a re s t a u ra n t ,La Fo n d a ,in Los

A n geles in 1967 where they have

performed five nights a week ever since .

La Fonda soon gained a reputation as an

important ce n ter of Mexican culture in

Los Ange l e s .In the 1990s,C a n o

d e vo ted himself to sharing his musical

k n ow l e d ge with young people and

c u l t ivating gre a ter know l e d ge and

respect in the ge n e ral public for the

m u s i c .His co l l a b o rations with Linda

Ronstadt brought even wider

re cognition of tra d i t i o n a l

mariachi music.

P h o to by Tom Pich
Wallace McRae

C O W B O Y P O E T

Wa l l a ce McRae is theson of a seco n d -

ge n e ration rancher from the

Rosebud Creek area near

C o l s t r i p , M o n t a n a .Both of his

p a rents we re born and raised on

Rosebud Cre e k ,and his fa m i ly

has raised sheep and cattle in this

region since 1885.

M c Rae was born in 1936

and as a youth wo rked on his

fa m i ly’s ra n c h ,spending much of

his time as a cow b oy.He re ce ive d

a bachelor’s degree in zoology

f rom Montana State Unive rs i t y

and was a naval officer in the

Atlantic and Medite r ranean fleets

b e f o re taking over the operation of

the fa m i ly ranch upon the death

of his father in 1960.

G rowing up in Montana,

M c Rae was fa s c i n a ted by the

re co rds left by early settlers —

d i a r i e s , l e t te rs , j o u r n a l s ,and a distinctive

s t yle of poetry that re co u n ted their

a dve n t u resand day- to - d ay life in their

s e t t l e m e n t s .A tradition of public

recitations aro s e , featuring narra t ive

ve rse that is known as the “fro n t i e r ” s t yl e

of poetry and was carried on in the ora l

t radition among wo rking cow b oys and

ra n c h e rs .The writings of Robert W.

S e r v i ce are often cited as the best

example of this styl e .

M c Rae has written more than 100

of these fro n t i e r - s t yle poems,a m o n g

them the enormously succe s s f u l

“ R e i n c a r n a t i o n ,”which has alre a dy

b e come part of the oral tradition and is

re c i ted by cow b oysaround the co u n t r y

who have never met the author.He has

published four books of poetry: It’s Just

G rass and Water, Up North and Dow n

the Crick,Th i n gs of Intrinsic Worth,a n d

C owboy Curmudge o n.He has written not

o n ly on humorous and romantic to p i c s

but on matte rs of public co n cern as we l l ,

such as the need for env i ro n m e n t a l

p ro te c t i o n . M c Rae’s wo rk pre s e r ves

the tradition of oral narra t ive poetry

and infuses it with originality and

u n f o r gettable turns of language and

i n s p i ra t i o n . M c Rae served on the

N E A’s National Council on the Arts

f rom 1996-98.

1 9 9 0

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

H owa rdA rm s t rong *

African-American String Band

M u s i c i a n

Detroit, MI

Em Bun

Cambodian SilkWe a v e r

H a rrisburg, PA

Natividad Cano

Mexican-American Mariach i

M u s i c i a n

Monterey Park, CA

Giuseppe and Raffa e l a

D e Fra n c o

Southern Italian Musicians

and Dancers

Belleville, NJ

Maude Kegg *

OjibweTradition Bearer

Onamie, MN

Kevin Locke

Lakota Flute Player/Singer/

D a n c e r / S t o r y t e l l e r

Mobridge, SD

M a rie McDonald

H a waiian Lei Make r

Kamuela, HI

Wallace McRae

Cowboy Po e t

Fo rsyth, MT

A rt Moilanen *

Finnish A c c o r d i o n i s t

Mass City, MI

Emilio Rosado *

Wo o d c a r v e r

Utuado, PR

R o b e rt Spicer *

Flatfoot Dancer

D i ckson,T N

DouglasWallin *

A p p a l a chian Ballad Singer

M a rshall, NC

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich
1 99 1

By the tenth anniversary of the

NEA National Heritage

Fellowships nearly 150 artists

had received awards, representing 37

states and special jurisdictions. Tw o -

thirds of the recipients were musicians

and singers, while one-third represented

crafts and other forms such as

storytelling and dance, reflecting roughly

the proportions of the pool of nominees.

The program book pointed out: “As we

begin the second decade of the National

Heritage Fellowships, it is apparent that

the especial responsibility of the Folk

Arts Program is... to make sure that

artistry is celebrated across the nation

but even more plainly recognized in the

place where it counts—back home—

thus assuring opportunities for senior

artists to carry on their essential work of

nourishing the generations to come.”

The January issue of N a t i o n a l

G e o g r a p h i c published a photo-illustrated

retrospective article on the NEA N a t i o n a l

Heritage Fellowships entitled “Masters

of Traditional Arts.” Writers Marjorie

Hunt and Boris Weintraub describe

these artists as masters who “by

diligently tending their own traditions

and passing them along to the

succeeding generations, have kept the

big tree of American culture flourishing.”

DonKing

W E S T E R N S A D D L E M A K E R

Don King was born in 1923 inD o u g l a s ,Wyo m i n g , on the

North Platte River about 100 miles

north of Lara m i e .His father was a

cow b oy and itinerant ranch hand who

t raveled all overthe we s ternUnite d

S t a te s .By the age of 14,King wa s

beginning to support himself doing odd

jobs on ranches and at ro d e o s ,a n d

trying to learn to tool leather in his spare

t i m e .Within a ye a r, he was selling and

t rading belts,wa l l e t s ,and various small

gear of his own making.

A f ter wo rking in saddle shops in

C a l i f o r n i a , M o n t a n a ,and Arizona,K i n g

returned to Wyoming and became an

a p p re n t i ce to his friend Rudy Mudra ,

an expert saddlemake r.In 1957,

King devo ted himself full-time to

saddlemaking and leather to o l i n g ,

focusing primarily on highly ornamental

t ro p hy saddles,which are given as

prizes in rodeo co m p e t i t i o n s .H e

d e veloped his own style of to o l i n g ,

c h a ra c terized by wild roses with a

d i s t i n c t ive shape and arra n ged in

co m p l ex ,s c ro l l - l i ke patterns of

i n te rlocking circ l e s .

King became known for his

i m p e ccable cra f t s m a n s h i p ,

d e veloping what is now

k n own asthe

“ S h e r i d a n - s t yl e ”

s a d d l e ,a classic high plains ro p i n g

s a d d l e .King was one of seve ra l

s a d d l e m a ke rs who we re responsible for

the increasing popularity of this saddle.

O verthe ye a rs ,King’s saddles have

been acq u i red by wo rking cow b oys and

celebrities such as Queen Elizabeth,

Ronald Reaga n ,and the Crown Prince

of Saudi Ara b i a .He has made tro p hy

saddles for virtually every rodeo eve n t .

His wo rk has been ex h i b i ted widely in

m u s e u m s , including the Edwa rd - D e a n

Museum of Deco ra t ive Arts in Cherry

Va l l e y,C a l i f o r n i a ,and the Pro

Rodeo Hall of Fame in

C o l o rado Springs,

C o l o ra d o .

P h o to by Debbie King

P h o to co u r tesy of Don King
R i l ey “B.B.”King

B L U E S G U I T A R I S T A N D S I N G E R

Riley King was born on aco t ton plantation in

n o r t hwest Mississippi between the

towns of Indianola and Itta Bena in

1 9 2 5 .His schooling wa s

s p o radic; like many other

A f r i c a n -A m e r i c a n

c h i l d ren in the rura l

Mississippi Delta

re g i o n , he wo rked in

the fields when he

was needed.

King wa s

i n te re s ted in music at

an early age ,singing in

local churches and

learning chords on the

guitar as soon as he was able to

hold it.His aunt had an old

Vi c t ro l a ,and he listened to the 78 rpm

re co rdings of Blind Lemon Jeffers o n ,

Lonnie Johnson,Peetie Wheatstraw,a n d

L e a d b e l ly,along with the re co rdings of

his older co u s i n , B o o ker “Bukka”

W h i te , famous for his bottleneck-styl e

guitar playing in which the neck of a

bottle on the guitarist’sfinger is used asa

slide to bend and slurthe note s .

In the early 1940s,King honed his

guitar and vocal skills,singing in go s p e l

g ro u p s ,and after serving in the U. S .

A r my during Wo rld War II he moved to

Memphis and stayed with White .H e

performed on the radio as the “Beale

S t reet Blues Boy,” l a ter shortening it to

“Blues Boy ” b e f o re settling on B.B.a s

his monike r.

In the early 1950s he bega n

re co rd i n g ,s coring a hitwith his cover of

“ T h ree O’Clock Blues,” a song

o r i g i n a l ly re co rded by Lowell Fu l s o n .

He continued to have hits on the R&B

charts with songssuch as “You Upset

Me Baby,” “ Wo keUp This Morning,”

and “Sweet Little Ange l ,” re co rd i n g

m o re than 200 songs between 1950 and

1 9 6 1 .It was during

this time that

he fa m o u s ly named his guitar Lucille

a f ter a woman who started a fight in a

bar where he was play i n g .

In 1969,his re co rding of the “The

Thrill is Gone”wasa cro s s over hit,

appealing to black and white audience s .

“My audiences had starting mixing

b e f o re that,”King said, “but thatre a l ly

pushed it over the top...It was soon

a f ter that the Rolling Stones inv i ted me

to tour with them...A lot of people

h e a rd me on that Rolling Stones to u r

that hadn’t heard of me before .”

O verthe last four decades,King has

been a profound influence on both ro c k

and roll and rhythm and blues. M a ny

i m i t a te his economical phra s i n g ,p re c i s e

s l u r red or bent note s ,and unique lefthand vibra to .C o n te m p o rary electric

blues guitar solos almost inevitably will

contain re cognizable bent-note licks

i n s p i red by King.

1 9 9 1

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

E tta Baker *

African-American Guitarist

M o r gantown, NC

G e o rge Blake

H u p a - Yurok Craft s m a n

Hoopa, CA

Ja ck Coen

Irish-American Flautist

Bronx, NY

Rose Frank *

Nez Perce CornhuskWe a v e r

L a p wai, ID

E d u a rdo “ L a l o” G u e rre ro *

Mexican-American Singer/

G u i t a r i s t / C o m p o s e r

Cathedral City, CA

K h a m vong Insixiengmai

Laotian Singer

Fresno, CA

Don King

Western Sa d d l e m a ke r

Sheridan,W Y

R i l ey “ B. B.” K i n g

Blues Guitarist/Singer

I tta Bena, MS/LasVe gas, NV

Esther Littlefield *

Tlingit Re galia Make r

S i t ka, A K

Seisho “ H a rr y ” N a ka s o n e

O k i n a wan-American Musician

Honolulu, HI

I r van Pe re z

Isleno (Canary Islands) Singer

Poydras, LA

M o rgan Sexton *

A p p a l a chian Banjo Player/

S i n g e r

Linefork, KY

NikitasT s i m o u ris *

Greek-American Bagpipe

P l a y e r

Tarpon Springs, FL

GussieWells *

African-American Quilter

Oakland, CA

ArbieWilliams *

African-American Quilter

Oakland, CA

MelvinWine *

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Copen,W V

* D e c e a s e d
1 99 2

This year, Ng Sheung-Ch, an

immigrant from Canton,

China, and master of m u k - y u

singing, received a fellowship. This

improvised form of unaccompanied

singing comments about everyday life

and often is performed on the streets or

in parks in rural villages. At the Heritage

concert he delivered his two songs, and

during the second he improvised verses

that stated how much he appreciated

the award. The song continued by

conveying his wish that every

government worker who had anything

to do with the receipt of this award

would get a significant raise. The

Washington, DC, audience greeted this

suggestion with a mixture of laughter

and spirited applause.

The 1992 NEA National Heritage

Fellows received a special tour of the

White House. At the end of visit, they

encountered President George Bush,

First Lady Barbara Bush, and their dog,

Millie, in the hall. The President and First

Lady stopped and visited with the fellows

and their families.

In 1992, the Museum of International

Folk Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico,

mounted a touring exhibition entitled

A m e r i c a ’s Living Folk Tr a d i t i o n s. This

retrospective of the first ten years of

the awards opened in New Mexico and

toured to eight states: Alaska, Arizona,

California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South

Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Accompanying the exhibition, Harry N.

Abrams published a coffee-table size

book by Steve Siporin entitled A m e r i c a n

Folk Masters: The National Heritage

Fellows.

Wa l ker Calhoun

C H E R O K E E M U S I C I A N A N D D A N C E R

Wa l ker Calhoun was bornabout 1915 in the Gre a t

S m o ky Mountains of we s tern North

C a ro l i n a , near the town of Chero ke e , o n

the Qualla Boundary Chero kee Indian

R e s e r va t i o n .For the first 12 ye a rs of his

l i f e ,Calhoun heard only Chero ke e

l a n g u a ge spoken and sung.When he

joined the armed forces in Wo rld War II,

he spoke little English but was fluent by

the end of his tour of duty.

Calhoun recalled listening to his

fa t h e r,who died when he was nine

ye a rs old, p l aying “Shoo Fly ” on a

fa c to r y-made banjo.When Calhoun

was 13 ye a rs old,a f ter listening to

o t h e rs play the banjo, he starte d

teaching himself to play using his older

b rother’s instrument. Eve n t u a l ly he

learned some of the songs he heard

o t h e rs perform,such as “Cripple

C re e k ,” d e veloping a modified thre e -

f i n ger picking style and sometimes

using a drop-thumb rapping style he

re m e m b e red hearing his father play.

In addition to playing the banjo,

Calhoun is co m m i t ted to perpetuating

C h e ro kee music and dance . D a n ces and

songs ce l e b ra ted almost every aspect of

life for Calhoun’s fa m i ly and his

C h e ro kee neighbors .F rom harvest and

hunt to spiritual pro te c t i o n , the songs

va l i d a ted and strengthened eve r yd ay

l iv i n g .In the 1980s,Calhoun founded

the Raven Rock Dance rs with his fa m i ly

m e m b e rs to keep the traditional dance s

and songs a part of his community’s life.

Calhoun is widely re cognized as a

keeper of ancient Chero kee tra d i t i o n s ,

and fre q u e n t ly travels to Oklahoma to

s h a re his know l e d ge with the we s te r n

C h e ro kee tribe.He has been pre s e n te d

the Sequoyah Awa rd in re cognition of

his contributions to the folklife of the

C h e ro kee nation.

1992 National Heritage Fe l l owships ce re m o n i e s ,NEA file photo
John YoshioNa ka

B O N S A I S C U L P T O R

J ohn Yoshio Naka was born in 1914in Ft .L u p to n ,C o l o ra d o , but at

eight ye a rs old moved with hisfa m i ly

to Fu ku o k a ,J a p a n , to care for his aging

g ra n d fa t h e r.While there , he learned

about bonsai (miniature tre e s ) ,an art

form that dates back to as early as 700

AD in China.The Chinese form,

p e n j i n g, is still in use though there are

significant differe n ces between the two

t ra d i t i o n s .In the early ye a rs in Japan,

bonsai was the sole property of the

s a m u raiaristo c ra c y, but by the 1800s it

had become a widely acce p ted art form.

Naka returned to the United State s

in 1935 and settled in Wa t te n b e r g ,

C o l o ra d o ,w h e re he wo rked asa fa r m e r

with his brother Sadao, then moved to

Los Angeles in 1946.T h e re he live d

n ext door to a disciple of the bonsai

teacher Sam Ta kekichi Doi,and under

Doi’s tute l a ge he studied all fa cets of the

art form.

In the early 1950s, he bega n

exhibiting his wo rks to great acclaim and

l e c t u red widely on bonsai in Japanese

and English.In 1973,a f ter 14 ye a rs of

p re p a ra t i o n ,

his book

Bonsai Te c h n i q u e s was published,a n d

t h ree ye a rs later he helped launch the

National Bonsai Foundation to establish

a permanent public display of North

American bonsai at the National

A rb o retum in Wa s h i n g to n , D C .

Naka published a second book,

Bonsai TechniquesIIin 1982,and in

1985 the emperor of Japan co n f e r re d

upon him that country’s highest awa rd

g iven to a noncitizen,The Fifth Class

O rder of the Rising Sun.T h ro u g h o u t

his life, he continued to teach and

p ro m o te his art. “What I like about

bonsai is that it has a beginning, but no

e n d ,” he said. “A bud to d ay becomes a

b ranch to m o r row.It’s like searching for

the ra i n b ow’s end: the farther it is

p u rs u e d , the farther away it is.”

1 9 9 2

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

FranciscoAg u a b e l l a

Afro-Cuban Drummer

M a n h a ttan Beach, CA

Je rry Brow n

S t o n e ware Po tt e r

Hamilton, A L

Wa l ker Calhoun

C h e r o kee Musician/Dancer/

Te a ch e r

C h e r o kee, NC

C l yde Dave n p o rt

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Monticello, KY

Belle Deacon *

Athabascan Baske t m a ke r

Grayling, A K

N o ra Eze l l

African-American Quilter

E u t a w, A L

G e rald R. H aw p e to s s

M e n o m i n e e / Po t o wa t o m i

Re galia Make r

M i l wa u kee,W I

Fatima Ku i n ova

Bukharan Jewish Singer

Rego Park, NY

JohnYoshio Naka *

Bonsai Sc u l p t o r

Los Angeles, CA

Ng Sheung-Chi

ChineseToissan Muk-yu

Folk Singer

NewYork, NY

M a rc Savoy

Cajun Accordion Make r /

M u s i c i a n

Eunice, LA

OtharTu rner *

African-American Fife Player

Senatobia, MS

Ta n j o reVi s wanathan *

South Indian Flute Master

Middletown, CT

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to co u r tesy of LA Times

P h o to co u r tesy of John Yoshio Naka
1 99 3

Presenting master crafts artists

at the NEA National Heritage

Fellowships programs has

always proven to be a challenge. While

musicians are used to the stage and

their performances play naturally beyond

the footlights, the master of crafts often

works alone with neither the need nor

often the desire for an audience. Skills

such as needlework, basketweaving,

and woodcarving are performed on or

near one’s lap, in dimensions that do not

carry across a stage. Not so with boats.

The audience at the Heritage concert

broke into spontaneous applause as

Charles Hankins’ 18-foot Sea Bright skiff

was wheeled onto the stage for his

presentation at Lisner Auditorium. As

years went on, the presentation of crafts

at the ceremonies took more and more

advantage of video, slides, and mini-cam

live projection to complement the live

interviews with the craft artists.

I n ez Cata lo n

C R E O L E S I N G E R

I nez Catalon was born in 1918 inKa p l a n ,L o u i s i a n a ,the yo u n gest of

10 childre n . “My gra n d d a d dy on my

father’s side was Spanish,” she said, “ s o n

of a Spanish father and black mother,

who was a slave . My gre a t - g ra n d fa t h e r

had bought him 1,000 acres of land at

25 cents an acre ,and he married a

woman from Fra n ce , M a rce l l e te

Bouquet...My mother’s father [a

German] married a Bro u s s a rd . S o , yo u

s e e ,we are a very cultura l ly mixe d - u p

fa m i ly.”

Catalon began singing at an early

a ge ,singing along with her mother, e ve n

though her mother was sometimes

critical of her. “She would say, ‘Oh Lord ,

you don’t know how to sing.Yo u r

tongue is too heav y,’ ”Catalon said. “ S h e

had a beautiful vo i ce , but I told my

mother I liked to sing.And I liked to

hear myself sing,and I like the

way I sound when I sing,

but my mother co u l d

speak bette r

F rench than I could because she didn’t

speak English. She was Fre n c h .”

Catalon learned most of the songs

with French lyrics that her mother knew.

In both Fra n ce and Louisiana they are

k n own asc a n t i q u e s,sometimes te l l i n g

h u m o rous stories or re counting tales of

l ove .In addition,Catalon sings lullabies,

b a l l a d s ,and historical songs.Her artistry

e p i tomizes genuine folk song, in which

the singer learns the song assomething

i n s e p a rable from lifestyl e , fa m i ly,a n d

community associations. She re p re s e n t s

the rich tradition of home singing, i n

sharp co n t rast to Creole zyd e co and

Cajun dance hall music,which until

re ce n t ly was performed almost

exc l u s ive ly by men.

I n ez Cata lon with her daughter Mary .
CharlesHankins

B O A T B U I L D E R

Ch a rles Hankins was born in1925 and grew up along the

New Jersey shore .At an early age , h e

helped his father make Sea Bright skiffs,

a type of wooden boat well suited for the

coastal area in which they live d .The Sea

Bright skiff, f i rst built in the 1830s in the

a rea known as Sea Bright, has a flat

b o t tom with curved ro c ker and ro u n d e d

orsheer sides to let it skid over the sand

and turn easily in the wa ter instead of

u p s e t t i n g .

H a n k i n s ’ father established a

boatbuilding businessin 1912, c re a t i n g

an identity as a skilled craftsman who

met the needs of his cliente l e ,whether it

was a 33-foot skiff for fishermen to ge t

out beyond the breaking waves or a

m o re ve rsatile 28-foot skiff for the rumr u n n e rs .The fa m i ly sometimes built

p u rsuit boats forthe Coast Guard so

they we re able to chase the rum-runners .

The business began supplying the

L i f e g u a rd Service with skiffs in the

1 9 2 0 s .

Hankins took over the fa m i ly

business after the death of his father and

b ro t h e r.O ver the ye a rs , he made some

subtle but important changes to the

s k i f f’s design to meet the changing

needs of lifeguard s ,such as designing a

new oarlock to re p l a ce the more

d a n ge rous horseshoe prongs of older

o a rl o c k s .H a n k i n s ’reputation as a

boatbuilder was co n s i d e ra b l e ,w i t h

o rd e rs coming from as far away as

A l a s k a , South America,E u ro p e ,a n d

G re e n l a n d .He made more than a

thousand boats since 1945,and two

Hankins boats (one by him and the

other by his father) are on permanent

d i s p l ay at the Mystic Seaport Museum

in Connecticut.

1 9 9 3

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

S a n t i a goAlmeida *

Conjunto Musician

S u n nyside,WA

Ke n ny Bake r

Bluegrass Fiddler

C o ttontown,T N

Inez Catalon *

Fr e n ch Creole Singer

Kaplan, LA

N i cholas * & Elena Charl e s

YupikWo o d c a r v e rs /

M a s k m a ke rs / S k i n s e w e rs

Bethel, A K

C h a rles Hankins *

B o a t b u i l d e r

L a v a l l e tte, NJ

Nalani Kanaka’ole &

Pualani Kanaka ’ o l e

K a n a h e l e

Hula Masters

Hilo, HI

E ve re tt Kapayou *

Mesquakie Singer

Tama, IA

M c I n tosh County Shoute r s

A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n

Spiritual/Shout Pe r f o r m e rs

Townsend, GA

Elmer Miller *

Bit & Spur Make r / S i l v e rs m i t h

Nampa, ID

Ja ck Owens *

Blues Singer/Guitarist

Bentonia, MS

Mone &Va n x ay

S a e n p h i m m a ch a k

LaotianWe a v e rs /

N e e d l e w o r ke rs / Lo o m m a ke rs

St. Louis, MO

Liang-xingTa n g

Chinese-American Pipa (lute)

P l a y e r

Bayside, NY

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich
1 99 4

Coming full circle in a sense, in

the summer of 1994 the

Smithsonian Festival of

American Folklife presented a

retrospective of the NEA N a t i o n a l

Heritage Fellowships. In the festival

program book Dan Sheehy, who became

director of NEA’s Folk & Traditional Arts

program after Bess Hawes’ retirement,

described the fellowships as fitting

within three key concepts: 1) frames –

drawing attention to the artist, putting a

frame around the individual; 2) fames –

bringing the master artist attention and

enhancing the artist’s role within his or

her own community; and 3) aims –

demonstrating for our nation our diverse

and democratic living cultural heritage.

At the awards banquet We s t e r n

Swing fiddler and longtime studio

accompanist for Willie Nelson, Johnny

Gimble, related that when he got the call

from Dan Sheehy about a $10,000

fellowship from the government, he

paused for a moment, caught his breath,

and in a soft voice asked: “Well, can I

pay it off in installments, or do I have to

give you a lump sum?”

In 1994 the Great Performances

series on public television broadcast a

90-minute program entitled “Songs of Six

Families” about NEA National Heritage

Fellows. Featured artists included Cajun

fiddler Dewey Balfa, Inupiaq elder and

musician Paul Tiulana, Irish flute player

Jack Coen, mariachi leader Natividad

Cano, Mardi Gras costume maker To o t i e

Montana, and bluesman B.B. King.

C l a rence Fo u n tain&

TheBlind Boys of Alabama

G O S P E L S I N G E R S

Cl a re n ce Fountain grew up in ac h u rc h going and musical

fa m i ly in Selma,A l a b a m a .He lost his

sight at the age of two ,and enrolled in

the Ta l l a d e ga Institute for the Deaf and

Blind at eight ye a rs old,w h e re he joined

the boys choir and learned to read music

in Bra i l l e .I n s p i red by the we e k ly ra d i o

b roadcasts of the Golden Gate Quarte t ,

a popular gospel group at the time, h e

and his friends decided to form their

own gospel singing gro u p .They bega n

singing to gether as a sex tet in 1939,

calling themselves the Blind Boys .T h e y

m oved to Birmingham and performed

d a i ly on the radio station WKAX.

The Blind Boys we re at the

f o re f ront of the transition from the

“jubilee harmony styl e ” of go s p e l

s i n g i n g ,a re l a t ive ly re s t rained style that

o r i g i n a ted in the 19th century among

m i n s t rels and black co l l e ge quarte t s ,to

the gospel group styl e ,which featured a

shouting and preaching lead singe r,

u s u a l ly accompanied by rhy t h m - a n d -

blues-based instrumentation.T h e y

q u i c k ly rose to pro m i n e n ce as pre m i e r

i n te r p re te rs of this postwar “hard ”

gospel sound, o f ten stirring their

l i s te n e rs into states of spiritual ecstasy.

“ You have to feel the spirit deep in

your gut,”Fountain said, “and yo u

h ave to know how to make someone

else feel it.”

By the late 1940s,the Blind Boys

we re touring full-time.A f ter the

a ccidental death of lead singer Ve l m a

Trailer in 1947,Fountain took ove r

lead vocals and leaders h i p

of the gro u p .A l t h o u g h

t h e re we re pre s s u res to

perform pop and ro c k

s o n g s ,the group co n t i n u e d

to focus on go s p e l .

Fountain said, “ S e e ,I wa s

head of the Blind Boys ,I

was the lead singe r.A n d

t h e re was no way we we re

going pop or ro c k .W h o

needed it? Our bellies

we re full,we had no

h e a d a c h e s ,we we re happy.

At leastI was happy

singing real go s p e l .”

O verthe ye a rs , the gro u p

modernized its sound as needed,

adding more vo c a l i s t s , g u i t a r i s t s ,and a

d r u m m e r, but essentially they

continued to play the hard - d r iv i n g

t raditional gospel sound they have

a lways playe d .Four of the members —

Fo u n t a i n , G e o r ge Sco t t ,J o h n ny

F i e l d s ,and Jimmy Carte r — h ave been

with the group since its ince p t i o n .I n

2 0 0 1 , the group released Spirit of the

C e n t u ry,which forthe first time

f e a t u red co n te m p o rary songs (albeit

in a religious vein) from rock artists

such as Ben Harper,Tom Wa i t s ,a n d

the Rolling Sto n e s .

P h o to co u r tesy of C l a re n ce Fountain and The Blind Boys
L i ly Vo r p e r i a n

M A R A S H - S T Y L E E M B R O I D E R E R

Li ly Kambourian was born in1919 in Aleppo, S y r i a , t h re e

ye a rs after her parents had fled the

Armenian city of Mara s h .Raised in the

re f u gee community of Aleppo,s h e

married Haroutioun Vo r p e r i a n ,a

p rominent community leader and

b u s i n e s s m a n , in 1937.A f ter the death of

her husband in 1953,she eve n t u a l ly

i m m i g ra ted to the United Statesin

1 9 7 8 ,settling in southern California

w h e re more than 300,000 Armenians

l ive to d ay.

Vorperian began embroidering at

the age of 12, learning from the elderly

M a rash women who ga t h e red at her

house daily to wait for the re f u gee aid

her father distributed for a missionary

o r ga n i z a t i o n .T h o u g h

she is familiar with 18

other re g i o n a l

Armenian embro i d e r y

s t yl e s ,Vorperian said

she pre f e r red the

M a rash embro i d e r y

“because it was the

h a rd e s t .”

M a rash embro i dery is known forits

color co m b i n a t i o n s ,

i n t r i c a te designs,a n d

co m p l ex , d e m a n d i n g

s t i tc h i n g .T h e re are

t h ree fundamental stitches in Mara s h

e m b roidery: the h a r ta ga r ors u n t o u s i

ga rand go d tgars t i tc h e s ,which use

p a t terns of bird s , f l owe rs , t re e s , l e ave s , o r

fruits in rich multico l o red silk, h i g h ly

t w i s ted mercerized co t to n , or go l d

t h read; and the heusvadz ga rs t i tc h ,

which uses an intricate we aving style and

geometric patte r n s ,such as cro s s e s ,

c i rc l e s ,and square s .Tra d i t i o n a l ly,

M a rash embroidery is done on dark

ve lvet so that the co l o rsstand out.

Vorperian inco r p o ra ted tra d i t i o n a l

designs she recalled from childhood in

her piece s ,as well as adapting the

M a rash stitch to cre a te lette rs and wo rd s

and unique images of Armenian culture

and histo r y. She signs each piece with a

h a n d - s t i tched signature in Armenian

and English lette rs .

1 9 9 4

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Liz Carro l l

Irish-American Fiddler

Chicago, IL

C l a rence Fountain &

The Blind Boy s

African-American Gospel

S i n g e rs

Atlanta, GA

Mary Mitchell Gabriel *

Passamaquoddy Baske t m a ke r

Princeton, ME

Jo h n ny Gimble

Western Swing Fiddler

Dripping Springs,T X

FrancesVa ros Graves *

Hispanic-American Colch a

E m b r o i d e r e r

Ra n chos deTaos, NM

Violet Hilbert

S kagit Storyteller

Se a ttle,WA

Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto

JapaneseTea Ceremony

M a s t e r

Los Angeles, CA

D. L . M e n a rd

Cajun Musician/So n g w r i t e r

Erath, LA

Simon Shaheen

Arab-American Oud Player

Brooklyn, NY

LilyVo rp e ri a n

Armenian Marash-Style

E m b r o i d e r e r

Glendale, CA

Elder RomaW i l s o n

African-American Harmonica

P l a y e r

Blue Springs, MS

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich
1 99 5

I

n 1994, in a first for the NEA

National Heritage Fellowships,

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton

went to the historic Senate Caucus

Room in the Russell Senate Office

Building to present the certificates to the

National Heritage Fellows. Chairman

Jane Alexander recalled that after the

event the First Lady expressed her

pleasure with the proceedings and offhandedly asked “Why can’t we do this at

the White House?” In another first for

the awards, the 1995 ceremony was

hosted at the White House. Previous

recipients Clarence Fountain and The

Blind Boys entertained prior to the

c e r e m o n y. The First Lady, after pointing

out that the East Room in which the

ceremony was held was used by Abigail

Adams to hang laundry, was the site of

raucous parties during the administration

of Andrew Jackson, and housed balls

during the Lincoln presidency, went on to

observe: “But I doubt that there have

been many occasions where more

people who represent the kind of cultural

richness that makes America great have

been gathered together. ”

M a ry Holiday Black

N A V A J O B A S K E T W E A V E R

Mary Holiday Black wa sborn atop the Douglas

Mesa in 1934, near the northern

boundary of the Nava j o

re s e r vation in Utah’s Monument

Va l l e y.A member of the Bitte r

Wa ter Clan,she was raised in a

community of traditional Nava j o

artistsand religious pra c t i t i o n e rs using

the Navajo language exc l u s ive ly.At age

1 1 ,she learned to we ave rugs from her

mother and baskets from a friend of her

g ra n d m o t h e r ’ s .

Beginning in the late 19th ce n t u r y,

N avajo baske t we aving went into a seve re

d e c l i n e ,and the tribe became

a cc u s tomed to buying ce re m o n i a l

b a s kets from their Ute and Pa i u te

n e i g h b o rs .In the 1970s, i n n ovations in

b a s ket design, fa b r i c a t i o n ,and use—led

by women such as Black—sparked a

re n a i s s a n ce of we aving Navajo baske t s .

Black focused her cre a t ive wo rk on

b a s ke t we av i n g ,s t re tching the tra d i t i o n a l

limitations of design by keeping the

b l a c k ,w h i te ,

and red co l o r

scheme but

ex p a n d i n g

the baske t s

b e yond the

s i z e

a p p ro p r i a te for

ce remonial use.

L a te r,Black to o k

up the ve getable dyesshe learned to use

f rom her mother, c reating subtle hues

and shades not possible with artificial

dye s . She intro d u ced new motifs

gleaned from pre h i s toric Anasazi and

M i m b res pottery and rock art and fro m

other tribes of the Southwe s t . She also

b o r rowed imagery from other Nava j o

c ra f t s , e s p e c i a l ly sand painting and rug

we av i n g , i n co r p o rating both ge o m e t r i c

designs and images with re l i g i o u s

s i g n i f i c a n ce .

In many instance s ,this picto r i a l

s t yle alludes to mythological sce n e s ,

spiritual figure s , l e ge n d s ,and sce n e s

f rom eve r yd ay life, leading many to label

these creations “story baske t s .”B y

pushing the para m e te rs of te c h n i q u e ,

a e s t h e t i c s ,and custo m ,Black has led a

co n te m p o rary re v ival of Navajo baske t r y.

“ T h e re are many basket sto r i e s ,” s h e

s a i d . “If we stop making the baske t s ,we

lose the sto r i e s .”

P h o to by Carol Edison

P h o to by Carol Edison
I s rael “Cachao” López

A F R O - C U B A N B A S S I S T , C O M P O S E R , A N D B A N D L E A D E R

Is rael López was born in 1918 inH ava n a ,C u b a , i n to a fa m i ly of

m u s i c i a n s .At least 35 fa m i ly members

p l ayed the bass,which became López’s

primary instrument.As a young boy,

López gained re cognition as a

p e r f o r m e r. When he was 13, he joined

the Havana Philharmonic,w h e re he

remained as a bass player for 31 ye a rs .

While in his te e n s ,he also became a

member of the pioneering o rc h e s t ra

t i p i c a A rcaño y Sus Marav i l l a s ,wo rk i n g

as a bass playe r, co m p o s e r,and arra n ge r.

His brother Ore s tes served as co -

d i re c tor of the gro u p .

T h rough his co m p o s i t i o n s ,L ó p e z

i n t ro d u ced seve ral new elements into

d a n z ó n,a Cuban ballroom dance ,a n d

with his brother Ore s tes cre a ted the

musical form known as them a m b oi n

1 9 3 7 . G ra d u a l ly,the public acce p te d

this ge n e ral Africanization of Cuban

m u s i c ,and Afro-Cuban music emerge d .

In 1957,López again had a

p rofound influence on traditional Cuban

music when he intro d u ced jazz-like

i m p rovisation into the highly structure d

format of the traditional re p e r to i re .I n

1 9 6 2 , he left Cuba, e ve n t u a l ly settling in

New Yo rk City,wo rking with seve ral of

the leading Latin or salsa bands.

In 1983,he moved to Miami,w h e re

he decreased his performing to only

we d d i n g s , c h r i s te n i n g s ,and bar

m i t z vahs for seve ral ye a rs .In the 1990s,

he became more active in re co rd i n g ,a n d

was featured in a documentary by

C u b a n -American actor Andy Garc i a ,

entitled Cachao—como su ritmo no hay

d o s ( C a c h a o — L i ke His Rhythm There

Is No Other).The film focused

p r i m a r i ly on the July 1992 “Cachao

Mambo & Descarga ” co n cert in Miami,

but also ex p l o red López’s role as an

i n n ova tor in the development of Cuban

m u s i c .The film earned positive re v i e w s ,

e s p e c i a l ly for the music.In 1994,

López’s compositions and arra n ge m e n t s

we re featured on the first of a

m u l t ivolume series calledM a s t e r

Session, Volume 1,which won a Gra m my

Awa rd ,the first of three he has re ce ive d

to date .

1 9 9 5

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Bao Mo-Li

Chinese-American Jing Erhu

P l a y e r

Flushing, NY

Mary Holiday Black

Navajo Baske t w e a v e r

Mexican Hat, UT

Lyman Enloe *

O l d - Time Fiddler

Lees Summit, MO

D o n ny Golden

Irish-American Stepdancer

Brooklyn, NY

Wayne Henderson

A p p a l a chian Luthier/Musician

Mouth ofWilson,VA

Bea Ellis Hensley

B l a ck s m i t h

Spruce Pine, NC

Nathan Ja ck s o n

TlingitWo o d c a r v e r /

M e t a l s m i t h / D a n c e r

Ke t ch i kan, A K

Da n o n gan Kalanduya n

Filipino-American Ku l i n t a n g

M u s i c i a n

San Francisco, CA

R o b e rt Lock wo o d , J r. * Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer

Cleveland, OH

I s rael “ C a ch a o” L ó p e z

Afro-Cuban B a s s i s t / C o m p o s e r /

B a n d l e a d e r

Miami, FL

Nellie Star Boy Menard *

Lakota Sioux Quiltmake r

Rosebud, SD

B u ck Ramsey *

Cowboy Po e t / S i n g e r

Amarillo,T X

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to co u r testy of I s rael López
1 99 6

Occupational traditions, from

coopers and saddlemakers 

to boatbuilders and

blanketweavers, have been recognized

by the NEA National Heritage

Fellowships and 1996 was no exception.

In that year both a blacksmith and a

pair of railroad work song singers were

honored. John Henry Mealing and

Cornelius Wright, Jr. represented the

disappearing tradition of “gandy

dancers,” men who worked in groups to

lay and straighten railroad tracks and

who used rhythmic singing to coordinate

their efforts and shorten the day.

NEA National Heritage Fellows

frequently act as ambassadors for their

art form and cultural ambassadors for

our country abroad. Fellows such as

bluesmen John Cephas, John D.

Holeman, and John Jackson; Puerto

Rican musician Juan Gutiérrez; and

Cajun performer D. L. Menard have

toured in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the

Middle East, and Russia as part of the

Arts America program of the U. S.

Information Agency. It was perhaps

fitting, then, that the NEA National

Heritage Fellowship banquet moved in

1996 to the Benjamin Franklin State

Dining Room at the State Department.

This venue, filled with magnificent art

work and historical items—including the

desk on which Franklin signed the Tr e a t y

of Paris—was to be the site of the

Heritage banquet for four years.

JuanGutiérrez

P U E R T O R I C A N P E R C U S S I O N I S T A N D B A N D L E A D E R

Juan Gutiérrez was born in 1951 inS a n t u rce , P u e r to Rico , g rowing up

in Caparra Heights,a suburb of San

J u a n .As a boy, he was drawn to the

A f ro - P u e r to Rican percussion music

that surrounded him. His father bought

him a set of timbales when he wa s

s e ve n ,and he later went on to

s t u dy Caribbean percussion at

the Escuela Libra de Música.

He wasfirst attra c ted to

thep l e n a,a popular form of

P u e r to Rican urban music—

based on the inte rl o c k i n g

rhythms of three or more

p a n d e re ta s ( ro u n d - f ra m e

drums)—that alte r n a tes a gro u p

re f rain with solo quatra i n s .

G u t i é r rez moved to New Yo rk City

to continue his studies,wo rking with the

l e gendaryp l e n e ro M a rcial Reyes Ave l o ,

who intro d u ced him to other maste r

p l e n e ro sin the city.L a te r,G u t i é r re z

focused his attention on the b o m b a,a

s t yle featuring underlying drum patte r n s

over which a lead drum “co nve rs e s ”

with improvised solo dancing,a

d e c l a m a tory vocal styl e ,and sometimes

spiritual ove r to n e s .

As Gutiérrez’s invo lvement with

music gre w,so did his vision of what

could be done through music for the

benefit of his co m m u n i t y.In 1983, h e

and Reyes formed the ensemble Los

P l e n e ros de la 21, named after a

n e i g h b o rhood in Santurce famed for its

p l e n e ro s.The group has become one of

the most ce l e b ra ted of New Yo rk ’ s

t raditional music ensembles.U n d e r

G u t i é r rez’s guidance , it has performed

re g u l a rly in urban public schoolsfor

over a decade.

“When I demonstra teb o m b aand

p l e n a music in the schools,” he said,

“I ask the students to reach out and

t a ke our traditions in.”

Los Pleneros de la 21 has

performed throughout the United State s

and has to u red abroad to Puerto Rico

and Russia,making Gutiérrez’s vision a

reality by promoting the re co g n i t i o n ,

ce l e b ra t i o n ,and pra c t i ce of Afro - P u e r to

Rican music and dance .
Joaquin “Jack” Lujan

G U A M A N I A N C H A M O R R O B L A C K S M I T H

Joaquin Lujan, nicknamed Jack,wa sborn in 1920 in Guam and learned

hisforging techniques from his

fa t h e r,the only child in his fa m i ly to

learn these skills.He maste red the

g ra ceful lines and fine finishes of the

short Guamanian machete with inlaid

b u f falo horn or imported Philippine

h a rdwood handles.

“ We we re basically a fa r m i n g

co m m u n i t y,and the people needed to o l s

to aid them during wo rk ,”Lujan said.

“ T h e re was always a great demand for

basic toolssuch as machete s , fo s i n o s

( h o e s ) ,and ka myo s ( co conut gra te rs ) .”

Lujan is one of the sole surviving links to

Guam’s blacksmithing past,an aspect of

the island’s Chamorro culture that

combines Spanish colonial and

local influence s .The timeconsuming wo rk and

diminishing eco n o m i c

i n ce n t ives to pro d u ce handf o r ged tools disco u ra ge d

o t h e rs from taking it up as a

p ro f e s s i o n .

Lujan himself made a

l iving as a welder and didn’t

resume blacksmithing until he

re t i re d .To demonstra te the

beauty of Guam’s culture , he wo u l d

hold demonstrations of his blacksmithing at schools, f e s t iva l s ,and other

public eve n t s .In 1985, he took on thre e

a p p re n t i ce s ,all members of the Guam

F i re Department who had developed a

passion for Lujan’s art afterseeing him at

a demonstra t i o n . “ Without Jack here

guiding us,” said appre n t i ce Fra n k

L i z a m a , “this art would have died.

H o p e f u l ly,we’ll continue to move on.

The more we make , the more we want

to do.”

Lujan re ce ived the annual

G overnor’s Art Awa rd on numero u s

o ccasions and the Governor’s Lifetime

C u l t u ral Achievement Awa rd in 1996

for his wo rk .

1 9 9 6

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

OboAd d y

Ghanian-American Drummer

Po rtland, OR

B e tty Pisio Chri s te n s o n

Ukranian-American Egg

D e c o r a t i o n

Suring,W I

Paul Da h l i n

Swedish-American Fiddler

Minneapolis, MN

Juan Gutiérre z

Pu e rto Rican Drummer

NewYork, NY

Solomon * & Rich a rd

H o’ o p i ’ i

H a waiian Fa l s e tto Singers /

M u s i c i a n s

Pu kalani andWailuku, HI

Will Keys *

A p p a l a chian Banjo Player

G r a y,T N

Joaquin “ Ja ck ” L u j a n

C h a m o rro Black s m i t h

B a rr i gada, GU

E va McAd a m s

Shoshone Re galia Make r

Fo rtWashakie,W Y

John Mealing * & Corn e l i u s

Wri g h t , J r. * African-American Ra i l r o a d

Work Song Singers

Birmingham, A L

Ve rnon Owe n s

S t o n e ware Po tt e r

Se a g r ove, NC

Dolly Spencer *

Inupiat Dollmake r

H o m e r, A K

* D e c e a s e d
1 997

Popular artists Bonnie Raitt and

Herbie Hancock witnessed the

awarding of the NEA N a t i o n a l

Heritage Fellowships at the White House

in 1997. Prior to the ceremony the walls

of the historic Gold Room rocked with

the sounds of recipient Edward Babb

and the McCullough Sons of Thunder, a

“shout gospel” band from Harlem’s

United House of Prayer, featuring a

trombone chorus accompanied by drum

and cymbal. The First Lady commented

after the performance: “I believe we

have set a new record, unlikely ever to

be broken, for the number of trombones

in the White House at one time.”

Persistence and determination are

themes that run through the biographies

of NEA National Heritage Fellows.

Francis Whitaker, a 90-year- o l d

blacksmith when received the award,

had been given worldwide recognition

for his artwork, but he referred to the

fellowship as “the diamond in the

crown.” He often illustrated his belief in

finishing a job by presenting his students

with this dilemma: “Say you’re doing a

forge weld and you take it out and put it

on the anvil. You hit a couple of licks and

a piece of molten steel gets between

your thumb and your hammer handle. Do

you drop the hammer or do you finish the

forge weld?” Two years after the award

c e r e m o n y, as he lay in the hospital, he

asked friends to bring him his hammer so

that he could fulfill his lifelong wish to die

with his hammer in his hand.

Ali AkbarKhan

S A R O D P L A Y E R A N D R A G A C O M P O S E R

Ali Akbar Khan,p ro p e rly known as

K h a n s a h i b ,was born in in

1922 in Shiv p u r,B a n g l a d e s h ,

son to one of the Indian

s u b continent’s gre a te s t

m u s i c i a n s ,Allaudin Khan.

Khan’s fa m i ly tra ces its

a n cestry to Mian Ta n s e n ,a

1 6 t h - century musician for the

e m p e ror Akbar.

Khan began his musical

t raining at the age of thre e ,

s t u dying under his fa t h e r,w h o

also taught other ce l e b ra te d

Indian artists such as sitarist

Ravi Shankar and flutist Pa n n a l l a l

G h o s h .Khan first learned vocal music,

then studied drums with his uncle

b e f o re taking up the s a ro d,a 25-string

l u te - l i ke instrument.Melodies are

p l ayed on the primary 10 strings with a

co conut shell plectrum,while the

remaining 15 strings cre a te a dro n i n g

a cco m p a n i m e n t .The s a ro d has two

resonating chambers that pro d u ce

co n t rasting types of sounds.

O verthe co u rse of 20 ye a rs ,K h a n

learned more than 75,000 ra ga s f ro m

his fa t h e r.Ra ga sa re the melodic motifs

that form the basis of Indian music,

ke yed to a particulartime of day or ye a r.

A primary component of disciplined

i m p rov i s a t i o n ,the musician must learn

the techniquesto improvise from them.

L i ke most Eastern musical tra d i t i o n s ,

Indian music is intimate ly co n n e c te d

with religious meditation and spiritual

h e a l i n g .

Khan gave his first public perform a n ce when he was 14,and in his early

t wenties became the court musician for

the Maharaja of Jodhpur. He soon

a cq u i red the title “U s ta d,” the Pe rs i a n

wo rd meaning “master musician.”

He first visited the United States in

1955 at the request of the classical

musician Yehudi Menuhin and settled in

California in the 1960s with hisfa m i ly.

In 1967,i n s p i red by the incre a s i n g

i n te rest in Indian music by American

s t u d e n t s , he founded the Ali Akbar

C o l l e ge of Music in San Ra fa e l ,

C a l i f o r n i a .T h rough the co l l e ge ,m o re

than 7,000 American devo tees have

s e r i o u s ly pursued North Indian music.

“If you pra c t i ce for 10 ye a rs , you may

please yo u rs e l f ,”Khan said. “A f ter 20

ye a rs , you may become a performer and

please youraudience .A f ter 30 ye a rs , yo u

m ay please even your guru.But yo u

must pra c t i ce for many more ye a rs

b e f o re you finally become a true artist—

then you may please even God.”

P h o to by Kamal Bakshi
H ys t e rcineRankin

A F R I C A N - A M E R I C A N Q U I L T E R

Hys te rcine Rankin was born

on a farm in the Blue Hill

community of Jefferson County,

M i s s i s s i p p i ,in 1929. “My daddy was a

s h a re c ropper who raised co t to n , co r n ,

a nything else that we could grow that we

could eat,” she said. “My father wa s

killed in 1939. He was 33 ye a rs old.A

w h i te man shot him down in the

h i g hway and left him.No reason wa s

e ver give n . S o ,we had to move to my

g randmother’s on my mother’s side—

A l i ce Whelman.”

When Rankin was 12 ye a rs old, h e r

g randmother told her that her play i n g

d ays we re over and began teaching her

to quilt to provide cover for her 10

s i b l i n g s . “When you had 11 kids,t h a t

was a lot of cove rs ,”Rankin said.

By the time she married Ezekiel

Rankin in her late te e n s ,her mother had

d i e d , l e aving her seven siblings to ra i s e .

In addition to them,Rankin had seve n

c h i l d ren of her ow n .A f ter wo rking in

the fields all day with her husband,s h e

would cre a te quilts in the eve n i n g ,

maintaining the fa m i ly tradition of giv i n g

each child a quilt when he or she left

h o m e .

In 1981,Rankin wasinv i ted to be a

resident artist at the junior high school

in her hometown of Lorman,

M i s s i s s i p p i , opening her eyes for the firs t

time to the artistic dimensions of her

wo rk . She began selling the quilts with

the assistance of

Mississippi Cultura l

C ro s s ro a d s ,an arts

o r ga n i z a t i o n .

Teaching and

exhibiting her wo rk

h e i g h tened Ra n k i n ’ s

c re a t ive sense,and she

b e gan creating “memory

q u i l t s ” that portraye d

re collections such as

picking co t to n ,p l ow i n g

with a mule,and her

father’s murd e r.For this

last one,the stitc h e d

n a r ra t ive re a d s , “I will

n e ver forget that morning.

He sent me to the

spring...as I went to dip

the wa te r,I heard the four

shots that killed my fa t h e r.” In 1988,

Rankin became the master quilte r

and teacher at Mississippi Cultura l

C ro s s ro a d s ,and has ex h i b i ted her

wo rk throughout the South.

1 9 9 7

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

E d wa rd Babb

Shout GospelTr o m b o n i s t /

Band Le a d e r

Jamaica, NY

C h a rles Brown *

Blues Pianist/Composer

B e r ke l e y, CA

Gladys LeBlanc Clark

Cajun Spinner/We a v e r

Duson, LA

G e o rgia Harris *

Catawba Po tt e r

Atlanta, GA

Wen-yi Hua

Chinese Kunqu Opera Singer

Arcadia, CA

Ali Akbar Khan

Sarod Player/Ra ga Composer

San Anselmo, CA

Ramón José López

Sa n t e r o / M e t a l s m i t h

Santa Fe, NM

Jim * & Jesse McRey n o l d s

Bluegrass Musicians

Gallatin,T N

Phong Nguye n

Vietnamese Musician/Sch o l a r

Kent, OH

H y s te rcine Rankin

African-American Quilter

Lorman, MS

FrancisW h i t a ker *

B l a ck s m i t h / O r n a m e n t a l

I r o nw o r ke r

Carbondale, CO

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Roland Fre e m a n
The United States is a nation

largely populated by

immigrants, a nation of

nations. To d a y, one in five residents

was either born in another country 

or is a first-generation American.

Throughout our history, we have

benefited from the fact that when

people come to our shores they carry

more than their baggage with them.

New arrivals bring ways of knowing,

ways of doing, and ways of being,

including highly refined and timetested artistic traditions. The NEA

National Heritage Fellowships have

always recognized the importance

and the excellence of first-generation

Americans. In 1998 the list of

recipients reflects that heritage: the

members of the Apsara Ensemble, a

music and dance group, were born in

Cambodia; Nadjeschda Overgaard,

a needleworker from Iowa, was born

in Siberia to Danish parents; and

Harilaos Papapostolou was born in

Agrinion, Greece. Mrs. Overgaard

explained her feelings about

maintaining the traditions of her

heritage by saying: “We certainly

were American, but I treasure my

Danish heritage... I was brought

up Danish and I’m not satisfied with

a substitute.”

EpsteinBro t h e rs

K L E Z M E R M U S I C I A N S

The Epstein bro t h e rs — M a x ,

Wi l l i a m ,J u l i u s ,and Isidore

“ C h i ” — we re raised on Manhattan’s

L ower East Side and in Bro o k ly n . M a x

b e gan playing violin for silent movies at

the age of 12,and soon learned the

s a xophone and clarinet that he played in

Rumanian and Russian Jewish cabare t s .

T h e re , t h rough the older immigra n t

m u s i c i a n s , he broadened his re p e r to i re

to include the traditions of pre v i o u s

ge n e rations of k l ez m o r i m ( p ro f e s s i o n a l

musicians) from Eastern Euro p e .C h i

p l ayed saxophone and

clarinet as we l l , h e l p i n g

to inte rest the other

b ro t h e rs in the music.

William began wo rk i n g

with prominent Jewish

d a n ce and theate r

o rc h e s t ra s , b e coming a

leading Yi d d i s h

t r u m p e te r,and Julius

b e gan acco m p a ny i n g

Max at the age of 17,

q u i c k ly earning a

reputation as the

leading drummer in

Jewish music.

“ We learned to play from people

who came from all over Euro p e —

H u n ga r y,R o m a n i a ,G e r m a ny —

w h e re ver they we re fro m ,we learned the

music of their land,” Julius said.

“Gypsies had a huge influence on music

because they traveled thro u g h o u t

E u ro p e , bringing the music with them to

each new location.”

The Epstein bro t h e rs bega n

p l aying to gether asan act in the late

1 9 4 0 s , performing traditional music for

the Hasidic co m m u n i t y,which had

expanded through immigration in the

wa ke of the Holocaust.The bro t h e rs

to u red throughout New Jers e y,

Pe n n s ylva n i a , M a r yl a n d ,M a s s a c h u s e t t s ,

and Michiga n ,as well as Canada,

p r i m a r i ly playing for the Jewish

communities although their music wa s

also popular for Greek and Italian

wedding parties.

The bro t h e rs re co rded albums of

Hasidic music for the Tikva and Menora

labels and played on sessions for other

b a n d l e a d e rs .Because they could re a d

m u s i c , the bro t h e rs we re not limited to

p l aying traditional Jewish music and

also played popular and jazz styles of

d a n ce music.

In the 1960s, the bro t h e rs oneby-one moved down to Florida,a n d

o n ce they we re all there ,resumed their

klezmer gro u p .Chi died in 1986,

l e aving the three to carry on the

musical tra d i t i o n .

1 99 8

P h o to co u r tesy of Epstein Bro t h e rs
Roebuck “Pops” Sta p l e s

G O S P E L / B L U E S G U I T A R I S T

A N D S I N G E R

1 9 9 8

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

A p s a ra Ensemble

Cambodian Dancers

and Musicians

Reston,VA & Fo rt

Washington, MD

Eddie Blazo n c z y k

Polish-American Po l ka

M u s i c i a n / B a n d l e a d e r

B r i d g e v i e w, IL

Dale Calhoun *

B o a t b u i l d e r

Ti p t o nville,T N

B ruce Caesar

Sac and Fox- Pa w n e e

S i l v e rs m i t h

Anadarko, OK

A n tonio De La Rosa *

Tejano Conjunto A c c o r d i o n i s t

R iviera,T X

E p s tein Bro t h e r s

Klezmer Musicians

Tamarac, FL

Sophia George

Ya kama-Colville Beadworke r

Gresham, OR

N a d j e s chda Ove rga a rd *

Danish-American Hardanger

E m b r o i d e r e r

Kimballton, IA

H a rilaos Pa p a p o s tolou *

Greek Byzantine Chanter

Potomac, MD

R o e b u ck “ Po p s ” Staples *

Gospel/Blues Musician

Dolton, IL

Claude “The Fiddler” Williams *

Ja z z / Swing Fiddler

Kansas City, MO

* D e c e a s e d

Roebuck “Po p s ” Staples wa s

born in Wi n o n a ,M i s s i s s i p p i ,

in 1914, g rowing up on the same

plantation as bluesman Charley Pa t to n .

Staples drew from both the gospel and

blues traditions to forge a sound that

t ra n s cends their stylistic div i d e .T h o u g h

he admired and was influenced by

bluesmen such as Muddy Wa te rs and

Big Bill Bro o n z y, Staples developed a

guitar style to acco m p a ny re l i g i o u s

music and sang with a local go s p e l

g ro u p ,the Golden Tr u m p e t s .

In 1936,he moved to Chicago ,

I l l i n o i s ,with his wife,wo rking day jobs

in meatpacking,s te e l ,and co n s t r u c t i o n

while continuing his wo rk in go s p e l

m u s i c .In 1948, he formed the Staple

S i n ge rs with daughte rs Cleotha and

M avis and son Pe r v i s .The group’s firs t

gigs on the road took them to New

O rleans and Jackson,M i s s i s s i p p i ,and in

1953 they began re co rd i n g . Staples ke p t

his day job until Mavis gra d u a ted fro m

high school,and then began to purs u e

music full-time.The group perfecte d

their distinctive sound of vo c a l

harmonies intertwined with Staples’

guitar and became known as the “the

F i rst Fa m i ly of Gospel.”

As the Civil Rights move m e n t

gained momentum, the Staple Singe rs

became good friends with Dr.M a r t i n

Luther King,J r.and his fa m i ly,a n d

expanded their re p e r to i re to include

songs reflecting social change and the

c ivil rights struggle.The group began to

a c h i e ve co m m e rcial success in the 1970s

with the funk-inspired “Respect

Yo u rs e l f” and “I’ll Ta ke You There ”

featuring Mav i s ’singing and Po p s ’

re ve rb - d renched guitar.

In the 1990s, Staples began a solo

c a re e r,releasing two we l l - re s p e c te d

a l b u m s ,Peace in the Ne i gh b o r h o o d

(1992) and Father Fa t h e r( 1 9 9 4 ) ,w h i c h

won a Gra m my Awa rd .Besides his ow n

and traditional songs, he re i n te r p re te d

wo rks by co n te m p o rary co m p o s e rs (as

he did with the Staple Singe rs ,w h o

cove red songs by Stephen Stills and

Talking Heads) such as Jackson

B row n e ,Bob Dyl a n ,and Los Lobos,

mixing the gospel and blues into an

i nviting ste w. “I don’t consider myself a

blues singe r,” he said, “I try to carry a

m e s s a ge of good news to eve r yb o dy.I ’ m

not a bluesman,I’m a message - m a n .”

In addition to his music, S t a p l e s

also appeared in movies in the 1980s

and 1990s, including a significant role in

D avid Byrne’s True Stories ( 1 9 8 6 ) , i n

which he performed a Talking Heads

s o n g ,and a cameo in Barry Levinson’s

Wag the Dog ( 1 9 9 8 ) .

P h o to co u r tesy of African- American Museum of Dallas
I

t is sometimes easy to forget

how important an award such

as the NEA National Heritage

Fellowships can be to source

communities from which the traditions

have sprung up. The pan or steel drum

has a pretty clear link to the Caribbean

islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Only

half a century old, the instruments

resulted from a British colonial

government ban on the use of drums

with skinheads for fear of social

unrest. Citizens responded by

fashioning instruments out of paint

cans, biscuit tins, and, later, lids of oil

drums. Ellie Mannette, a steel drum

builder and player, who settled in

West Virginia to teach, was honored

for his contribution to this tradition.

The award was important enough to

the residents of Trinidad and To b a g o

that they broadcast the ceremonies

live back to the islands.

1 999

M a ry Louise Defender Wi l s o n

D A K O T A H - H I D A T S A S T O R Y T E L L E R

Mary Louise Defender Wi l s o n

was born in 1930 on the

Standing Rock (Sioux) Indian

R e s e r vation near Shields,North Dako t a ,

w h e re she still live s .She is primarily

D a kotah Sioux,though a gra n d m o t h e r

was Hidatsa.Defender Wilson was born

i n to a fa m i ly of sto r y te l l e rs .The firs t

s tory she re m e m b e rs hearing was the

tale of how the Dakotah cultural hero

S tone Boy was tricked out of his fa n c y

clothes by Unktomi (Spider Man),a

t r i c k s ter figure .By the time she was in

fifth gra d e ,she was telling stories to her

c l a s s m a te s . “Sometimes I got off the

b e a ten path, but eve r yone laughed,

e s p e c i a l ly at the Spider Man sto r i e s ,”

she re c a l l e d .

Defender Wilson held

a d m i n i s t ra t ive jobs with Indian-re l a te d

governmentage n c i e s , but was struggling

with the issue of her identity.In 1976,

she returned to the re s e r va t i o n , h av i n g

realized that forcing herself to assimilate

i n to white culture would be a form of

s u i c i d e . For seve ral ye a rs in the 1980s,

she taught tribal culture and language at

Fort Ya tes Community College .

She has taught Dakotah sto r y te l l i n g

t h rough the North Dakota Council on

the Arts Traditional Arts Appre n t i ce s h i p

P ro g ra m ,and educates te a c h e rs in

D a kotah-Hidatsa sto r y telling and

c u l t u re .The stories taught that people

came to earth in animal form and had a

lot to learn in order to live in harmony

with others . M a ny stories also re l a ted to

the land. She also has pro d u ced a ra d i o

p ro g ram to teach the Sioux language

and to pro m o te the value of tra d i t i o n a l

k n ow l e d ge .

“The entire life I’ve come thro u g h

so far with our stories has helped me

re l a te to , co m m u n i c a te with,and re s p e c t

other people because I re l a te to ,

co m m u n i c a te with,and respect my ow n

c u l t u re ,” she said.

P h o to by Troyd Geist
1 9 9 9

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Frisner Au g u s t i n

Haitian Drummer

Brooklyn, NY

Lila Gre e n g rass Black d e e r

Hocak Black Ash Baske t m a ke r /

N e e d l e w o r ke r

B l a ck River Falls,W I

S h i rl ey Caesar

Gospel Singer

Durham, NC

A l f redo Campos

H o rse-Hair Hitcher

FederalWa y,WA

Mary Louise DefenderW i l s o n

Dakotah-HidatsaTr a d i t i o n a l i s t /

S t o r y t e l l e r

Shields, ND

James “ J i m my Slyd e” Godbolt

Tap Dancer

Hanson, MA

Ulysses “ U l y ” Goode

Western Mono Baske t m a ke r

N o rth Fork, CA

Bob Holt *

Ozark Fiddler

Ava, MO

Zakir Hussain

N o rth IndianTabla Drummer

San Anselmo, CA

E l l i o tt “ E l l i e” M a n n e tte

Trinidadian Steel Pan Builder/

Tu n e r / P l a y e r

M o r gantown,W V

M i ck Moloney

Irish Musician

Philadelphia, PA

Eudokia Soro chaniuk

UkrainianWe a v e r / Textile A rt i s t

Pe n n s a u ken, NJ

RalphW. S t a n l ey

B o a t b u i l d e r

Southwest Harbor, ME

* D e c e a s e d

James Godbolt was born in 1927 inAt l a n t a , G e o r g i a ,but his fa m i ly 

m oved to Bosto n , M a s s a c h u s e t t s ,

when he was yo u n g .His mother

e n rolled him in violin classes. “ M y

mother always wa n ted me to play the

v i o l i n ,” he said. “At 10 ye a rs old,t h e

violin was my first introduction to music

and the arts,and I was doing very we l l

with it.But I just got so I wa n ted to be a

d a n ce r.”

Godboltwould go from his

music school across the street to Stanley

B rown’s dance studio,w h e re he wa tc h e d

tap dance rs pra c t i ce ,including such

p rominentartists as Bill “Bojangles”

R o b i n s o n ,Honey Coles,and Derby

Wi l s o n .When he was 12 ye a rs old,

Godbolt began studyingwith Stanley

B row n .T h e re he met Jimmy Mitc h e l l ,

who went by the name “Sir Slyd e .”

The two developed an act called the

S lyde Bro t h e rs and began appearing

on the club and burl e s q u e

c i rcuit inNewEngland.

Godbolt took the stage

name “Jimmy Slyd e .”

As their re p u t a t i o n

g re w,they re ce ive d

i nvitationsto perform in the

s h ows the big bands we re

d e ve l o p i n g ,and they

a p p e a red with such greats as

Count Basie, D u ke

E l l i n g to n ,and Louis

A r m s t ro n g . “When I wa s

dancing with the bands,

people loved it,” G o d b o l t

s a i d . “During a song,I

would tap about thre e

c h o r u s e s ,and then the band wo u l d

come back in,and I’d do another two

and a half,t h ree choruses.Then I’d

close it up and whip it out.”

In the 1950s, Godbolt appeared in

s e ve ral films and television pro g ra m s ,

and when wo rk in the United State s

waned in the 1970s, he moved to

E u ro p e .He taught and performed in

Paris for seve ral ye a rs , b e coming a

f e a t u red performer in the showB l a c k

and Blue,which opened on Bro a dway in

1 9 8 9 .This led to a career re v ival and a

To ny nomination.He appeared in the

m ovies Tap, Round Midnigh t,and Th e

Cotton Club and opened the 1996

J a cob’s Pillow Summer Dance Fe s t iva l

with a group called Jimmy Slyde and

F r i e n d s .He has also served as mentor to

new artists by hosting we e k ly sessions at

the La Cave club in New Yo rk City.

James “Jimmy Slyde” Godbolt

T A P D A N C E R

P h o to by Joseph T.Wi l s o n
The year 2000 saw the

introduction of the Bess

Lomax Hawes Fellowship.

This addition, a tribute to the former

Director of the Folk Arts Program and

initiator of the fellowship program,

was seen as a vehicle to honor

“keepers of tradition.” This included

those who, through their efforts as

conservers of tradition, cultural

advocates, teachers of artistic skills,

or caretakers of unique knowledge or

artistic repertoires, have had a major

impact on the traditional arts in the

United States. Chris Strachwitz, record

producer and cultural advocate,

received the first of these awards.

With a mounting sense that the

documentary materials accumulated

through the history of the NEA

National Heritage Fellowship program

were becoming an important and

rapidly growing historical and cultural

asset, working with Documentary Arts

of Dallas, Texas, and the American

Folklife Center of the Library of

Congress, efforts were initiated to

conserve the materials, documents,

recordings, and photographs related

to the program. It was agreed that the

American Folklife Center would

become the primary public repository

for these materials. Documentary Arts

began a process of digitizing and

restoring archival documentation. 

Reflecting the developing

partnership between the NEA and the

American Folklife Center, for the first

time the banquet associated with the

Heritage ceremonies was held in the

beautiful and historically significant

Great Hall of the Library of Congress.

2 0 0 0

Ko n s tantinos Pilarinos

O R T H O D O X B Y Z A N T I N E I C O N W O O D C A R V E R

Konstantinos Pilarinos was bornin the Greek prov i n ce of

N a f p a ktos in 1940.Orphaned at the age

of 13, he was sent to the Zannion

O r p h a n a ge in Pira e u s ,w h e re he wa s

a p p re n t i ced to the master wood carve rs

G e o r ge Kaloudis and Nick Pa t s a k i s .

By 16,he had won first place in an

o r p h a n a ge woodcarving co m p e t i t i o n ,

and by 18 had established his ow n

wo rk s h o p .

In 1974,Pilarinos immigra ted to

New Yo rk City.At his wo rkshop in

A s to r i a ,Q u e e n s , called the Byz a n t i o n

Wo o dwo rking Company, he and his

a p p re n t i ces carve icon scre e n s , b i s h o p s ’

t h ro n e s , p u l p i t s , c h a n te rs ’ p e w s ,a n d

candle stands for Greek Orthodox

c h u rches throughout the United State s

and Canada.To his know l e d ge , he is the

o n ly traditional Byz a n t i n e - s t yle wo o d

c a r ver in North America,and he

e s t i m a tes that there are only 10 such

artistsstill in Gre e ce .

All of his wo rk is done by hand

with an array of chisels.He has made

m o re than 60 i c o n o s ta s i a, i n t r i c a te ly

c a r ved icon screens that separa te the

co n g re gation from the altar.The scre e n s

a re usually 8 to 13 feet high and 32 to 56

feet long,and each holds seve ral ico n i c

p a i n t i n g s .He has also made e p i ta p h i o s,a

portable structure re p resenting the

f u n e ral bier of Jesus,which is carried in

a pro cession through the streets on

Good Friday.

Pilarinos is passing on the tra d i t i o n

to his daughter Pe n ny,who gra d u a te d

f rom the arc h i te c t u re pro g ram at the

New Yo rk Institute of Technology and

who does preliminary drawings for her

father’s carvings. Secular venues such as

the Museum of American Folk Art in

Manhattan have ex h i b i ted his wo rk . “ I

l i ke people to see my wo rk ,” P i l a r i n o s

s a i d . “I enjoy contributing to the Gre e k

co m m u n i t y.”

P h o to by Tom Pich
Don Wa l s e r

W E S T E R N G U I T A R I S T A N D S I N G E R

Don Walser was born in 1934

in the small Texas Pa n h a n d l e

town of Brow n f i e l d ,and grew up in

n e a rby Lamesa.He listened to the music

of the West Texas plains on the ra d i o

and wa tched the early cow b oy cro o n e rs

at the movie theate r. “I had the old ra d i o

to keep me co m p a ny—I listened to all

the good old music they had back then,”

he said.

Walser began singing and te a c h i n g

himself to play guitar as a boy. “When I

was just a kid,I could hear a song one

time and know it.It would be just like a

re co rd playing in my head.”At the age of

1 5 , he lied about hisage to join the

National Guard ,and married at 17.H e

s t ayed in the West Texas area and

wo rked as a mechanic,s u p e r i n te n d e n t ,

and auditor while playing the clubs at

n i g h t .In 1984,he tra n s f e r red to Au s t i n .

In 1994,he re t i red and put to ge t h e r

his Pure Texas Band to play music fullt i m e .A f ter the release of his album

Rolling Stone f rom Te x a s , the pre s s

labeled him the “Pava rotti of the Plains”

due to his powerful tenor vo i ce and

u n p a ralleled yodeling ability.H e

continued re co rding critically acc l a i m e d

albums and was featured on such

p ro g rams as PBS’s Austin City Limits,

ABC’sP r i m e Time Live,and National

Public Radio’s F resh Airand All Th i n gs

C o n s i d e re d.He even appeared and

re co rded with the ava n t - ga rde string

q u a r tet Kronos Quarte t .

Walser won a wide ra n ge of fa n s ,

f rom traditional country aficionados to

young people. “I’d like to get some

m o n e y, don’t get me wro n g ,” he said.

“But my motivation for thisis to spre a d

that old music.I’m just trying to do my

part to keep it alive .”

2 0 0 0

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

B o u n xou Chanthra p h o n e

LaotianWe a v e r / E m b r o i d e r e r

Brooklyn Park, MN

Dixie Hummingbird s

African-American Gospel

Q u a rt e t

Philadelphia, PA

Felipe GarcíaVi l l a m i l

Afro-Cuban Drummer/Sa n t e r o

Los Angeles, CA

José González

H a m m o ckWe a v e r

San Sebastián, PR

N e ttie Ja ck s o n

K l i ckitat Baske t m a ke r

White Swan,WA

S a n t i a go Jiménez, J r. Tejano A c c o r d i o n i s t / S i n g e r

San Antonio,T X

Genoa Ke awe

H a waiian Fa l s e tto Singer/

Ukulele Player

Honolulu, HI

Frankie Manning

Lindy Hop Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r / Te a ch e r

Corona, NY

JoeWillie “ P i n e to p ” Pe rk i n s

Blues Piano Player

La Po rte, IN

Konstantinos Pilari n o s

O rt h o d ox Byzantine Icon

Wo o d c a r v e r

Astoria, NY

C h ris Stra chwitz

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

Record Producer/Label Fo u n d e r

El Cerrito, CA

B. D o ro t hyT h o m p s o n

A p p a l a chianWe a v e r

Davis,W V

DonWalser *

Western Singer/Guitarist

Austin,T X

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to co u r tesy of Don Wa l s e r
S cheduled the week after

September 11th, the 2001 NEA

National Heritage Fellowship

ceremonies seemed to take on an

even greater meaning than usual for

all involved. Artists and their families

were faced with difficult travel

conditions and concerns for personal

s a f e t y, organizers encountered

uncertainty and logistical difficulties,

and the public was experiencing a

time of mourning and a search for

reaffirmation. There was a discussion

about whether to cancel the event.

F i n a l l y, the spirit and determination of

the artists gave everyone else the

courage and confidence to proceed.

The evening of the concert on

September 21st opened with a

moment of silence. That was followed

by a solemn cleansing ceremony

conducted by t a i k o drum master

Seiichi Tanaka, using flute and bell. A

group of Brazilian and American

c a p o e i r a masters led by recipient

João Grande processed through the

aisles of the auditorium chanting and

playing the one-string b e r i m b a u. As

they moved through the hall to the

wings of the stage, the curtain opened

to reveal Master Tanaka, who

launched into the spirited ritual

drumming of taiko.

Following this prelude, the

recipients were introduced to a

rousing standing ovation. Those in the

auditorium commented that it

suddenly felt as if one could feel good

about feeling good again. Little else

was said about the events of the

preceding week, but the audience

applauded warmly when guitarist

Eddie Pennington included God Bless

A m e r i c a in his medley of tunes.

2 0 0 1

Hazel Dickens was born in

M e rcer City,West Vi r g i n i a ,i n

1935 into a fa m i ly of 11 childre n .S h e

was raised in and around coal camps:

her father hauled timber into the mines,

and her bro t h e rs labored long hours as

m i n e rs . G rowing up,she was deeply

a f f e c ted by the harsh conditions in

which her fa m i ly lived and wo rke d ,w i t h

t wo members of her fa m i ly dying fro m

black lung disease.

D i c kens learned to sing as a child in

the unaccompanied style of the primitive

Baptist churc h .Her father played banjo

and was a Baptist preacher on

we e ke n d s . D i c kens quit school and

m oved to Baltimore as a te e n , l iving with

re l a t ives and wo rking in a fa c to r y. S h e

e ve n t u a l ly earned enough money to buy

a guitar,and began to inte g ra te elements

of traditional co u n t r y, b l u e g ra s s ,and oldtime music into her singing re p e r to i re ,

performing at house parties and small

clubs and bars .

In the 1960s, D i c kens teamed up

with another singe r,A l i ce Gerra rd ,

forming the duo Hazel and Alice .T h e y

re co rded their first of four albums in

1 9 6 5 , bringing a strong feminist

viewpoint to the traditional music.In the

m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , D i c kens pursued a solo

c a re e r,w h e re she acted as an advo c a te

for the plight of coal miners .S h e

performed at national co nventions of the

U n i ted Mine Wo rke rs Association and

benefit co n certs for those who struggle

for fair wa ges and human rights.H e r

d i s t i n c t ive sound brings to gether the

unadorned style of Baptist hymns she

learned growing up with the socially

conscious songwriting abilities of

Wo o dy Guthrie and the singing skills of

Kitty We l l s .

Her music has appeared on the

s o u n d t racks to the documentaryH a r l a n

C o u n ty, U.S.A.and the moviesM a t ewa n

andS o n gc a t c h e r(in which she also

b r i e f ly appears ) . “ Even though stuff wa s

co l l e c ted ye a rs and ye a rs ago ,” she said,

“I think a lot of people are just beco m i n g

awa re of how valuable and precious this

music is.”

P h o to by David Gahr

Hazel Dicke n s

A P P A L A C H I A N S I N G E R A N D S O N G W R I T E R
Do ro t hy Tr u m p o l d

was born in 1912

in East Amana,I owa ,a

Germanic community where

she has lived her entire life.

The Amana Colonies,m a d e

up ofseven villages on

26,000 acres of fa r m l a n d ,

was founded by a Luthera n

sect in 1714 and based on

the belief that God may

co m m u n i c a te through an

i n s p i red indiv i d u a l .As a girl ,

she learned knitting,

c ro c h e t i n g ,and embro i d e r y. She spent

time with her gra n d fa t h e r, observing him

at his loom and helping him pre p a re

shuttles for carpet we av i n g .By the time

she was 12,she had learned to make her

own clothes.

At 14,Trumpold gra d u a ted fro m

school and began wo rking in the

community kitchens of the Amana

C o l o n i e s .She learned to make

c ro c h e te d , b ra i d e d ,and hooked rugs.I n

1 9 3 2 ,she went to wo rk in the spinning

and we aving departments of one of the

woolen mills that served all seve n

v i l l a ge s . “ You usually made it in a hitand-miss patte r n .” she said. “ Yo u

couldn’t buy a specific co l o r — you had

to buy whate ver materials they we re

making then and put in sacks.You just

bought it by the sack.It’s called hit-andmiss pattern because there’s always a

little bit of each color left that mayb e

wasn’t enough to start anything else.Yo u

a lways sewed them in to get a mixe d - u p

p a t te r n .I made a lot of those.”

In 1940,she took over carpet

we aving from her ailing gra n d fa t h e r. S h e

b e gan making throw rugs,and then for

ye a rs made full-sized room carpets

b e f o re returning to the throw rugs. S h e

was one of the few practicing artists who

l ived through the dissolution of the

Amana communal life in 1932, k n ow n

as “the GreatChange .”

In 1985,she served as a maste r

artist in the Iowa Folk Arts

A p p re n t i ceship Pro g ra m ,and forthe last

few ye a rs she has been teaching a yo u n g

local girl to we ave rugs. She was a

f e a t u red artist in the Iowa portion of the

1996 Fe s t ival of American Folklife and

in 2001 her wo rk was shown in an Iowa

artists exhibit at the Des Moines Art

C e n te r.

2 0 0 1

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Celestino Av i l é s

Sa n t e r o

O r o c ovis, PR

M o zell Benson

African-American Quilter

O p e l i ka, A L

Wilson “ B o o zo o” C h avis *

Zydeco A c c o r d i o n i s t

L a ke Charles, LA

H a zel Dicke n s

A p p a l a chian Singer/So n g w r i t e r

Washington, DC/Montcalm,W V

E valena Henry

A p a che Baske t w e a v e r

Peridot, A Z

Pe ter Ky ve l o s

Oud Make r

Bedford, MA

João “ João Gra n d e” O l i ve ra

dos Santo s

Capoeira Angola Master

NewYork, NY

Eddie Pe n n i n g to n

T h u m b p i cking-Style Guitarist

Princeton, KY

Qi Shu Fa n g

Beijing Opera Pe r f o r m e r

Woodhaven, NY

S e i i chiTa n a ka

Taiko Drummer/Dojo Fo u n d e r

San Francisco, CA

D o ro t hyTru m p o l d

RugWe a v e r

East Amana, IA

FredTsoodle *

K i o wa Sacred Song Le a d e r

MountainVi e w, OK

JosephT.Wilson

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

Fo l k l o r i s t / A d vo c a t e / Pr e s e n t e r

Silver Spring, MD/Trade,T N

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to co u r tesy of D o ro t hy Tr u m p o l d

D o ro t hyTr u m p o l d

R U G W E A V E R
While in the early stages

of the program some

may have questioned

whether at some point the awards

would run out of strong candidates

or the awards would lapse into

r e d u n d a n c y, the opposite has proven

true. There are still many surprises

and many “firsts” each year, as the list

of recipients for 2002 illustrates: the

first Tibetan recipient, in addition to

being the first sand mandala painter;

the first Sephardic Jewish singer; the

first Tolowa speaker and singer, one of

a handful still surviving; the first

Lebanese musician; and the first

composer and musician connected

with the New England contra-dance

tradition.

In fall 2001, ABC-CLIO published

the two-volume Masters of Tr a d i t i o n a l

Arts: A Biographical Dictionary,

assembled by Alan Govenar of

Documentary Arts. This publication

featured biographies of all the NEA

National Heritage Fellows from 1982 to

2001. The following January, ABCCLIO released an educational guide

for distribution to schools and

libraries, accompanied by a DVD-ROM

featuring the biographies of all of the

artists, as well as 3,000 photographs,

104 radio features, 15 hours of

recorded interviews and music, and

227 edited video clips.

2 0 0 2

F lo ry Ja go d a

S E P H A R D I C M U S I C I A N A N D C O M P O S E R

Flory Jagoda was born in

S a ra j e vo ,B o s n i a ,a member

of the Sephardic Jewish co m m u n i t y.

When the Sephardic Jews we re

f o rced into exile from Spain and

Po r t u gal in the 15th ce n t u r y,m a ny

settled in other Medite r ra n e a n

countries but pre s e r ved their

n a t ive language , called Ladino.

Her parents gave her an acco rd i o n

and music lessons as a child,a n d ,

t h rough her gra n d m o t h e r,J a go d a

learned songs that had been passed

d own in her fa m i ly for ge n e ra t i o n s . S h e

also became familiar with the re g i o n ’ s

Balkan cultural tra d i t i o n s .

J a goda escaped the destruction of

S a ra j e vo’s Jewish community and came

to the United States after spending more

than two ye a rs in an Italian inte r n m e n t

camp during Wo rld War II. She has

been re cognized as an important carrier

of a unique musical heritage and also as

a composer and arra n ger of new

S e p h a rdic songs,writing songs about

her own ex p e r i e n ces in Sara j e vo during

the wa r, life in the internment camp,a n d

the escape to America.In addition to

passing that tradition on to her childre n ,

she has taught many students who now

perform Ladino music.

To d ay,she to u rs widely and her

music is circ u l a ted through re co rd i n g s ,

in The Flo ry Ja goda Songbook,a n d

t h rough the film The Key From Spain,a

documentary about Jagoda that includes

f o o t a ge of her return to her native

S a ra j e vo in 1992. She is well known in

the Wa s h i n g to n , DC area for her

willingness to perform at re l i g i o u s

ce re m o n i e s , fa m i ly ce l e b ra t i o n s ,a n d

c u l t u ral eve n t s .Her performances are

m a rked by musical beauty but also by

her commitment to find meaning

t h rough affirmation of community in her

p e rsonal ex p e r i e n ce .

P h o to by Ida Jervis
Losang Samten

T I B E T A N S A N D M A N D A L A P A I N T E R

Born in Ribuce Chang,T i b e t , i n1 9 5 3 ,Losang Samten escaped

in 1959,the year China suppressed a

re voltagainst their co n t rol of the co u n t r y,

and settled in India.In 1975,w h i l e

s t u dying in theNamgyal Monaste r y — t h e

m o n a s tery of the Dalai Lama—he wa s

chosen to enter a three-and-a-half ye a r

i n te n s ive training pro g ram in sand

mandala painting,the ritualart form that

o r i g i n a ted in India 2,500 ye a rsago and

that has been pra c t i ced in Tibet since

600 A.D.

The sand mandala is an elabora te

design based on instructionsin ancient

tex t s ,and is usually done co l l a b o ra t ive ly

as part ofa religious ce re m o ny or

i n i t i a t i o n .A ccompanied by recitation of

p raye rs , c h a n t i n g ,and occ a s i o n a l ly ritual

d a n ce , b r i g h t ly co l o red designs are

c re a te d .T h e n , in keeping with the

Buddhist principle of impermanence ,t h e

finished product is dismantled and

p o u red into a body of wa te r.In addition

to having artistic skills,the monks and

artists selected forthis training must be

able to memorize 500 pages of sacre d

tex t .O n ly four of the 28 monks in

Losang’s classfinished the co u rse in the

t h re e - year period.

For ce n t u r i e s ,sand mandala

painting had not been seen outside of

m o n a s te r i e s , but in 1988,the Dalai Lama

2 0 0 2

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Ralph Blizard *

O l d - Time Fiddler

Blountville,T N

L o ren Bommelyn

To l o waTradition Bearer

Crescent City, CA

Kevin Burke

Irish Fiddler

Po rtland, OR

Francis & Rose * Cre e

Ojibwe Baske t m a ke rs /

S t o r y t e l l e rs

Dunseith, ND

L u d e rin Darbone & Edwin

Duhon *

Cajun Fiddler and Accordionist

S u l p h u r, LA/We s t l a ke, LA

Nadim Dlaika n

Lebanese Nye (reed flute) Player

So u t h gate, MI

David “ H o n ey b oy ” E d wa rd s

Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer

Chicago, IL

Flory Ja go d a

Sephardic Musician/Composer

Falls Church,VA

C l a ra Neptune Ke e ze r

Passamaquoddy Baske t m a ker

Pe rr y, ME

Losang Samte n

Tibetan Sand Mandala Painter

Philadelphia, PA

Bob McQuillen

Contra Dance Musician/

Composer

Peterborough, NH

Jean Ritchie

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

A p p a l a chian Musician/

Songwriter/Cultural A c t iv i s t

Po rtWashington, NY/Vi p e r, KY

D o m i n go “ M i n go” S a l d i va r

Conjunto Accordionist

San Antonio,T X

* D e c e a s e d

s e l e c ted Losang to demonstra te the

ancient meditative art in a museum

setting in the We s t .In 1989, he moved to

Philadelphia where he established the

Tibetan BuddhistCenter and serves as

its spiritual dire c to r.To d ay, he co n t i n u e s

to teach and to pra c t i ce mandala painting

as one of an estimated 30 people in the

wo rldwho are qualified to teach and

d e m o n s t ra te this spiritual art form.

P h o to by Tom Pich
For the first time, artists from the

Northern Mariana Islands, a

special jurisdiction in political

union with the United States, were

honored. Felipe and Joseph Ruak, a

father and son, practiced traditional stick

dance traditions that Carolinians brought

to Saipan more than 100 years ago.

As the honorees from near and far

gathered in Washington, DC, in midS e p t e m b e r, Hurricane Isabel

was working her way up the Eastern

Seaboard. By the close of the banquet in

the Great Hall of the Library of Congress,

a government-wide announcement was

made that all federal offices were

closing down the following day,

including the White House. As a result,

the Capitol Hill ceremonies scheduled

for the next morning were cancelled.

Lisner Auditorium, the scheduled site of

the public concert, informed the agency

that they would not be able to open their

d o o r s .

Through extraordinary effort, the

staff of the National Council for the

Traditional Arts and the NEA coordinated

an unrehearsed concert and ceremony

on a hastily constructed stage in a

banquet room of the host hotel. ABC

news veteran Sam Donaldson, who

welcomed the attendees and introduced

emcee Nick Spitzer, chided “Isabel, the

wench” for disrupting the festivities.

H o w e v e r, in their comments through the

course of the evening, the artists noted

that the hurricane had given them a

great opportunity to socialize and jam

during the time they were hunkered

down in the hotel. As weaver and singer

Norman Kennedy observed: “We’re all

survivors.”

2 0 0 3

Ron Po a s t

H A R D A N G E R F I D D L E R M A K E R

Ron Poast was born July 29,

1 9 4 0 ,and grew up in a

musical Norwe g i a n -American fa m i ly in

D o d ge v i l l e , Wi s co n s i n . “I grew up on a

fa r m ,and Sunday wa s , of co u rs e ,a day

of re s t ,so we would go to visit the

re l a t ives or friends, or they would co m e

to our place ,” he said. “ We always to o k

our instruments and playe d ,which was a

very common thing back then.”

Poast was skilled in wo rking with

his hands and taught himself to make

s t r i n ged instruments,starting with

b a n j o s .He’d heard his mother speak of

a “very fancy violin” that her bro t h e r

had once ow n e d ,and when Poast saw a

couple of unusual fiddles in a sto re f ro n t ,

he knew that was what she’d been

talking about.He became fa s c i n a te d

with the instrument,which turned out to

be a h a rd i n g fe l e or Hard a n ger fiddle,

k n own as the national instrument of

N o r way.E a ger to learn to make these

beautiful instruments, he visite d

Ve s te rh e i m , the Norwe g i a n -A m e r i c a n

museum in Deco ra h ,I owa , bought an

instruction manual from Norway and

t a l ked to those who played the

i n s t r u m e n t .

The Hard a n ger fiddle is differe n t

f rom a co nventional violin in seve ra l

ways .The wood isthinner,and the

strings are of lighter ga u ge .In addition

to the normal four strings, it has four or

f ive located below the finge rb o a rd .

These vibra te sympathetically,

p roducing a droning sound that’s been

l i kened to that of the Scottish bagpipe.

The instrument is highly deco ra te d ,

with mother of pearl in the finge rb o a rd

and tailpiece and sometimes around the

top and bottom of the body.The body is

also deco ra ted with ro s i n g ,the painting

of roses with pen and ink.The head of

the instrument is usually carved into the

head of a mythical beast,such as a

d ra go n .

At his Po a s t m a rk String

Instruments shop in Black Earth,

Wi s co n s i n ,Poast cre a tes and re p a i rs

fiddles along with otherstringe d

i n s t r u m e n t s ,such as the mandolin,

h a r p , ly re , co nventional violin, d u l c i m e r,

guitar and banjo.He has shared his

k n ow l e d ge in many settings, i n c l u d i n g

the American Folklife Fe s t ival in

Wa s h i n g to n , D C .

P h o to by Tom Pich 
Manoochehr Sadeghi, b o r n

April 13, 1 9 3 8 ,in Ira n , is a

leading virtuoso on the s a n t u r , t h e

Pe rsian hammered dulcimer.His pare n t s

we re both very inte re s ted in music and

bought him a santur when he was seve n

or eight ye a rs old.When he was twe lve ,

Sadeghi began studying with Abol

Hassan Saba,a legendary figure in

Pe rsian classical music. Sadeghi said,

“A f ter two or three ye a rs ,I became the

best student in that class.He took me

i n to his orc h e s t ra when I wasseve n te e n .

I played for two ye a rs in the orc h e s t ra ,

but he died when I was ninete e n .A f te r

that I started to play on te l e v i s i o n .I wa s

h i red by the government and then hire d

as a master teacher in the co n s e r va to r y.”

In 1964,when Sadeghi left Iran for

the United State s , he was honored with

a fa re well special on Iranian te l e v i s i o n .

L iving in the Los Angeles are a , S a d e g h i

has continued to perform,re co rd ,a n d

te a c h ,and earned a docto ra te in

e t h n o m u s i cology from the Unive rsity of

California at Los Ange l e s .He also

founded the Nakisa Music Institute and

s a n t u r. co m ,an online music school, i n

o rder to pass along know l e d ge and skills

in Pe rsian and wo rld music.

In the United State s , he has made

subtle changes in the presentation of

his music. “ O ver time,I have found a

way to present my art in more of a

co n te m p o rary styl e .I haven’t re a l ly

c h a n ged it but just play it in a differe n t

f o r m a t .That’s all.C o n t i n u o u s

i m p rov i s a t i o n , varieties of rhy t h m ,

they are all Pe rs i a n ,and they are all

very artistic.”

Manoochehr Sadegh i

P E R S I A N S A N T U R P L A Y E R

2 0 0 3

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Basque (Bert s o l a ri) Po e t s

JesusA rri a d a

San Francisco, CA

Jo h n ny Curu t ch e t

South San Francisco, CA

M a rtin Goicoech e a

Ro ck Springs,W Y

Jesus Goni

Reno, NV

Rosa Elena Egipciaco

Pu e rto Rican Mundillo

(Bobbin Lace) Make r

NewYork, NY

Agnes “O s h a n e e”Ke n m i l l e

Salish Beadworke r / Re ga l i a

M a ker

Ronan, MT

N o rman Kennedy

Weaver/Singer/Storyteller

M a rshfield,VT

R o b e rto & Lore n zo Mart í n e z

Hispanic Musicians

Albuquerque, NM

N o rma Miller

African-American Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r

LasVe gas, NV

C a rm e n c ristina More n o

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

Mexican-American Singer/

C o m p o s e r / Te a ch e r

Fresno, CA

Ron Po a s t

Hardanger Fiddle Make r

B l a ck Earth,WI

Felipe & Joseph Ruak

Carolinian Stick Dance Le a d e rs

C o m m o nwealth of the Nort h e r n

Mariana Islands

M a n o o chehr Sadeghi

Pe rsian Santur Player

Sherman Oaks, CA

N i cholasTo t h

D iving Helmet Designer/Builder

Tarpon Springs, FL

P h o to by Tom Pich 
Je r ry Dougl a s

D O B R O G U I T A R P L A Y E R

Jerry Douglas was born May 28,1 9 5 6 ,and grew up in Wa r re n ,

O h i o .He has been co m p a red to

such musical giants as Jimi Hendrix

and Charlie Pa rker for his innova t i o n s

on the Dobro ,an acoustic re s o n a to r

guitar played with a slide.His fa t h e r,

J o h n ,who had emigra ted from We s t

Virginia in search of wo rk ,was a

s te e lwo rker who played bluegra s s .

As a boy,Jerry began performing on an

a coustic guitar with his father’s band on

we e ke n d s .When he was eleve n , J e r r y

Douglas fell in love with the Dobro

when his father took him to a Flatt &

Scruggs co n ce r t .Uncle Josh Grave s ’

D o b ro playing inspired the boy to

d e vo te his life to the instrument.

As soon as he gra d u a te d

f rom high school, D o u g l a s

became a touring pro f e s s i o n a l

m u s i c i a n .In 1973,he joined the

b l u e g rass band The Country

G e n t l e m e n .The next ye a r, h e

joined J. D .C rowe & the New

S o u t h ,which was taking the

music in a new dire c t i o n .

Douglas won his first Gra m my

in 1983 and was the top Dobro

p l ayer on Nashville re co rd i n g

sessions during the 1980s.

Douglas co l l a b o ra ted with

p ro d u cer T Bone Burnett on

the soundtrack for the film O

B rother, Where Art Th o u ?a n d

a p p e a red in the mov i e , p l ay i n g

with the Soggy Bottom Boys on

“I Am a Man of Constant

S o r row.”He has played with

e ve r yone from jazz violinist

S tephane Grappelli to Ray

C h a rles to classical cellist Yo - Yo Ma and

has written an opera that has been

performed in Italy.In 1998, he bega n

performing with Alison Krauss & Union

S t a t i o n ,which gave him time for other

p ro j e c t s , including fronting his ow n

b a n d .

A s ked about his expansion of his

instrument’s ro l e ,Douglas said, “I try

not to distract from the vocal but to add

to it.I think that it’s an art form to stay

out of the way,to be subliminal in a way

and to enhance whate ver the vocalist is

s aying and trying to putacro s s .”

T he annual banquet in the

Great Hall of the Library of

Congress is always one of

the highlights of the NEA National

Heritage Fellowships festivities.

Following a sumptuous meal, each

fellow is asked to say a few words to the

assemblage of family and friends. In

these auspicious surroundings,

Skokomish storyteller and cultural

conservator Gerald “Subiyay” Miller

addressed his fellow recipients with

words, later entered into the

Congressional Record, that summed up

the spirit of these fellowships: “I want to

extend my gratitude on receiving this

award to all of our ancestors who left us

the gifts that we exhibit today; the gift of

the song, the gift of the dance, the gift of

the story, and the gift of creativity. As

long as we keep these traditional arts

alive, we speak for our people.... We all

live our own story. We all come from

different walks of life. But right here...

tonight and right here in these next few

days we will share the same story. From

this moment in time we are brothers and

s i s t e r s . ”

The 2004 Smithsonian Folklife

Festival presented Latino NEA National

Heritage Fellows as part of its “Nuestra

Musica: Music in Latino Culture”

program. For the first time in its history,

the NEA published a bilingual program

booklet to accompany these workshops

and concerts.

2 0 0 4

P h o to by Michael Ste wa r t
Yuqin Wang&ZhengliXu

C H I N E S E R O D P U P P E T E E R S

Husband-and-wife puppete e rsZhengli Xu and Yuqin Wa n g

both began studying the performing arts

while growing up in China.Wang wa s

born September 21, 1 9 4 6 .Her fa t h e r

was a Beijing Opera performer,and she

b e gan studying at the Beijing Opera

School when she was ten ye a rs old.I n

s e ven ye a rs there ,she learned acro b a t i c s ,

m i m e ,martial arts,s i n g i n g , h i s to r y,a n d

a c t i n g .In 1964,the dire c tor of the

Puppet ArtTroupe of China asked her

to join his theate r,and she began to

s t u dy rod puppetry.In this ancient form,

the puppete e rs must hold large , h e av y

puppets ove rh e a d , manipulating their

m ovable parts with long ro d s .

Zhengli Xu was born August 27,

1 9 4 5 .As a child, “ R o c ky,” as he wa s

c a l l e d ,s t a ged puppet shows for

n e i g h b o rhood kids and joined school

puppet clubs.L i ke his wife, he wa s

t rained by the Puppet Art Troupe of

C h i n a .He also traveled to villages to

learn dire c t ly from maste rs ofro d

p u p p e t r y.At that time,the Communist

government had banned the tra d i t i o n a l

s tories he had learned, m a ny of which

we re fables with a moral message .A f te r

the ban was re l a xe d ,the co m p a ny added

some of these tales to its re p e r to i re ,a n d

Xu became a re s p e c ted dire c to r.

The couple came to the Unite d

S t a tes in the mid-1990s and settled in

Po r t l a n d ,O re go n ,w h e re for two ye a rs

Wang wo rked with a local pro f e s s i o n a l

puppet co m p a ny as a teacher and

p e r f o r m e r. She also was a master artist in

the Ore gon Folklife Pro g ra m ’ s

Traditional Arts Appre n t i ce s h i p

P ro g ram from 1997-99.They became

permanent U. S .residents in 1999 and

h ave continued to teach and perform,

m o s t ly around the Northwe s t .

2 0 0 4

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

Anjani A m b e ga o ka r

N o rth Indian Kathak Dancer

Diamond Bar, CA

C h a rles “ C h u ck ”T. C a m p b e l l

Sacred Steel Guitar Player

Ro ch e s t e r, NY

Joe Derra n e

Irish-American Butt o n

A c c o r d i o n i s t

Randolph, MA

Je rry Douglas

Dobro Player

Nashville,T N

G e rald “ S u b i yay ” Miller *

SkokomishTradition Bearer/

C a r v e r / B a s ke t m a ke r

Shelton,WA

Chum Nge k

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

Cambodian Musician/Te a ch e r

G a i t h e rsburg, MD

Milan Opacich

Tamburitza Instrument Make r

Shererville, IN

Eliseo & Paula Rodri g u e z

Straw Appliqué A rt i s t s

Santa Fe, NM

Ko koTay l o r

Blues Singer

Country Club Hills, IL

YuqinWang & Zhengli Xu

Chinese Rod Pu p p e t e e rs

Aloha, OR

* D e c e a s e d

P h o to by Tom Pich 
EarlBarthé

D E C O R A T I V E B U I L D I N G C R A F T S M A N

Ea rl Barthé, born June 6, 1 9 2 2 ,

in New Orl e a n s , is a fifthge n e ration master plaste re r.He is a

C reole of color whose gre a t - g re a t -

g ra n d father Leon Barthé came fro m

F ra n ce via Haiti.In an interview with

Nick Spitzer on the American Routes

radio pro g ra m ,Barthé told of his

a n ce s tor’s 19th-century journey to the

U n i ted States: “He stopped off in Haiti,

and that’s where he met my

g ra n d m o t h e r.And he brought her ove r

to New Orleans with him.... My daddy

told me that old man Leon could look at

you and pro d u ce you in plaster as he

was looking.No ske tc h e s .No draw i n g s ,

a ny t h i n g .That’s the type of mechanic

that he wa s .”

Most of New Orl e a n s ’ p l a s te re rs ,

Barthé re m a rke d , h ave been Creoles of

co l o r, “a mix of white and Negro blood.”

His gra n d father Pe ter Barthé orga n i z e d

Local 93 of the plaste re rs ’ union in New

O rleans in 1901.The plastering tra d e

was passed down from ge n e ration to

ge n e ra t i o n .His father and gra n d fa t h e r

“ t rained us right from the jump,t ra i n e d

us to appre c i a te this wo rk .You cannot

do this wo rk if you don’t appre c i a te it.

It’s not something yo u ’ re just doing out

of the sky.It’s some precious wo rk .I t ’ s

l i ke a diamond, l i ke a jewe l ,and it’s for

you to pre s e r ve it,” said Barthé.The re a l

art of plaste r i n g , he co m m e n te d , is “the

ornamental wo rk , the co r n i ce wo rk ...

the medallions in the ceilings and the

co rbels in the arc h e s , that’s the botto m

of the arc h .”

Barthé’s son and daughte r,

H u rchail and Te r r y,a re carrying on the

fa m i ly tra d i t i o n .E a rl Barthé is officially

re t i red but hasremained active in the

t rades move m e n t ,wo rking to keep his

art alive with passion and dedication.

The roster of 2005 NEA

National Heritage Fellows

included a first. For the first

time an artist was honored who

previously had apprenticed himself to

musicians who were NEA National

Heritage Fellows. Fiddler Michael

Doucet, from Lafayette, Louisiana, had

been given an NEA-funded

apprenticeship grant in 1975 to study

with master cajun and zydeco artists

from the region, including later- t o - b e

NEA National Heritage Fellows Dewey

Balfa and Canray Fontenot. An

apprentice had indeed become a master

and as Michael Doucet noted, this honor

made him feel as if he were standing on

the shoulders of giants.

Two artists from Louisiana were

honored in the year 2005. In addition to

Michael Doucet, a fifth-generation

Creole decorative plasterer from New

Orleans, Earl Barthé, was recognized.

Less than a month before the Heritage

ceremonies, Hurricane Katrina had

devastated the city of New Orleans. Earl

Barthé, the 83-year-old master artisan

got out of his Seventh Ward home just

before the hurricane struck, with only

the clothes on his back. He later

discovered that one of his tools, a

treasured mitre trowel he had inherited

from his father, was saved from the flood

because it was in the back of a pick-up

truck that a family member used to

escape from the storm. The family

rendezvoused in the Houston area and

money collected by the Southern Arts

Federation helped pay for clothing and

travel expenses for Mr. Barthé and his

family to travel to the events in

Washington, DC.

2 0 0 5

P h o to by Michael Ste wa r t
Wanda Ja c ks o n

E A R L Y C O U N T R Y , R O C K A B I L L Y , G O S P E L S I N G E R

Wanda Jackson was born

O c tober 20, 1 9 3 7 , i n

M a u d ,O k l a h o m a , 50 miles southeast of

Oklahoma City. She was among the

f i e rce young performers who cre a ted a

new music called ro c k a b i l ly in the

1 9 5 0 s .In a large ly all-male club,s h e

performed hot,s exy music while

wearing heels and dre s s e s .In 1943,

Jackson’s father bought her a guitar,

which she pra c t i ced ince s s a n t ly.A f te r

the fa m i ly moved to Oklahoma City in

1 9 4 9 ,Wanda won a talent show at a

local

radio station and was re wa rded with her

own 15-minute daily radio show.

Country star Hank Thompson,also an

Oklahoma City re s i d e n t ,h e a rd her and

i nv i ted her to audition for his band,t h e

B razos Valley Boys . She passed and

performed with the band on we e ke n d s .

A f ter graduating from high school

in 1955,Jackson joined the “Ozark

J u b i l e e ” t raveling show,which included

the young Elvis Pre s l e y.He enco u ra ge d

her to sing rock ‘n’roll and

re commended material that would suit

her vo i ce .Jackson signed with Capito l

R e co rds and made her first re co rd for

the label in Los Angeles in June 1956. “ I

Gotta Know,”which shifts back and

forth from country waltz to sizzling

ro c k a b i l ly, hit number 20 on the co u n t r y

c h a r t s .She went on to re co rd such

u p roarious classics as “Let’s Have a

Pa r t y ” and her own “Fu j iyama Mama.”

As her ro c k a b i l ly career waned in

the early 1960s,Jackson switched to

country music.Her country care e r

t h r ive d ,and she had a syndicated

TV show, Music Vi l l a ge , f rom 1965 to

1 9 6 7 ,and played to capacity crowds

in Las Ve ga s .

In the 1970s, m oved by her

religious feelings,Jackson ex p re s s e d

i n te rest in doing a gospel album, b u t

Columbia wasn’t inte re s te d ,and she left

the label.

She to u red Euro p e , performing a

mix of ro c k , co u n t r y,and go s p e l .In the

m i d - 1 9 9 0 s ,she performed with singe r

Rosie Flores on a CD called Rock A Billy

F i l lyand to u red with Flore s .N ow in her

l a te 60s,she continues to perform and

re co rd ,still singing with youthful ve r ve

and raw sexual energy.

2 0 0 5

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

E l d rid Skjold A rn t ze n

Norwegian-American Rosemaler

Wa t e rtown, CT

E a rl Bart h é

Creole Building A rtisan

New Orleans, LA

C h u ck Brow n

African-American Musical

I n n ovator

Brandywine, MD

Ja n e tte Carter *

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

A p p a l a chian Musician/Advocate

Hiltons,VA

M i chael Doucet

Cajun Fiddler/Composer/

Bandleader

L a f a y e tte, LA

Je rry Grc e v i ch

Tamburitza Musician/Prim Player

N o rth Huntingdon, PA

G race Henderson Nez *

NavajoWeaver

Ganado, A Z

Wanda Ja ck s o n

Early Country/Ro cka b i l l y / G o s p e l

Singer

Oklahoma City, OK

H e rminiaA l b a rrán Romero

Pa p e r- c u tting A rtist

San Francisco, CA

B eyle Sch a e ch te r- G o tte s m a n

Yiddish Singer/Po e t / Songwriter

Bronx, NY

A l b e rtinaWa l ke r

Gospel Singer

Chicago, IL

James Ka’upenaWo n g

H a waiian Chanter

Waianae, HI

* D e c e a s e d
D oyle Law s o n

G O S P E L A N D B L U E G R A S S S I N G E R , A R R A N G E R ,

A N D B A N D L E A D E R

Doyle Law s o n , born April 20,1 9 4 4 , g rew up surro u n d e d

by music in Fo rd Tow n ,a rura l

community near Kingsport, in easte r n

Te n n e s s e e . “My fa t h e r,m o t h e r,a n d

s i s ter all sang gospel music when I wa s

yo u n g ,” he said. “They we re members

of trios and quartets that sang a cappella

music in churches and atre v ivals and

s u c h .No doubt,that was where I

a cq u i red my love of quartet music.”

Radio was another source of

m u s i c .One group in particular caught

L awson’s ear. “Though I listened to all

the stars on the [ G randOle] Opry , t h e

g roup that impressed me most was Bill

M o n roe and his Blue Grass Boys .H i s

music was differe n t ,m o re inte n s e .”

When he was 11 or 12,L aw s o n

b e gan teaching himself to play a

mandolin borrowed from a neighbor.

He later learned guitar, b a n j o , b a s s ,a n d

fiddle to enhance his job pro s p e c t s , b u t

mandolin and vo i ce remain his primary

i n s t r u m e n t s .In 1963,L awson took a job

p l aying banjo with Jimmy Martin and

his band,the Sunny Mountain Boys .

O verthe next seve ral ye a rs ,L aw s o n

a l te r n a ted playing with Martin and with

J. D .C rowe’s band.

In 1979,seeking the freedom to

p l ay his own music,L awson formed

the band that became Quicksilve r.

For the past five ye a rs , D oyle Law s o n

and Quicksilver have re ce ived the

I n ternational Bluegrass Music

Association’s Vocal Group of the

Year awa rd .

L awson’s band has made many

re co rdings of classic bluegrass tunes, b u t

Q u i c k s i lver is best known for its

beautiful gospel vocal arra n ge m e n t s ,

which re s u l ted in a re n a i s s a n ce of tight

h a r m o ny bluegrass singing. “ G o s p e l

music has to be from the heart,”L aw s o n

s a i d , “ m o re than just wo rds on a piece of

paper with a melody to it.For me, go s p e l

has always been about the song itself and

what you have to say....I’m serious

about my gospel music—I don’t do it

just for monetary ga i n .I love the

m e s s a ge .”

I

n 2006 the NEA National Heritage

Fellowships gained a new

s p o n s o r, Darden Restaurants

Foundation. In addition the celebratory

concert moved to a new facility, the

recently completed Music Center at

Strathmore located in Bethesda,

Maryland. In another first, recipient

Mavis Staples became the first honoree

to receive this recognition following in

the footsteps of her father. Pops Staples,

founder of the legendary Staple Singers,

had received the same recognition eight

years earlier.

Tr a g i c a l l y, 94-year-old Esther

Martinez, a revered storyteller and elder

from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan

Pueblo) was killed in an automobile

accident returning to her home in

northern New Mexico. In the months

following, Congress passed the Esther

Martinez Native American Languages

Preservation Act authorizing the support

of native language programs for

students and their families to preserve

the indigenous languages of Native

American tribes.

Candlewick Press published a book

in 2006 entitled Extraordinary Ordinary

People: Five American Masters of

Traditional Arts, by Alan Govenar. This

combination of photo-documentation

and text focuses on the lives of five NEA

National Heritage Fellows: Qi Shu Fang,

Beijing Opera singer from New Yo r k ;

Ralph W. Stanley, boatmaker from

Maine; Genoveva Castellanoz, coronamaker from Oregon; Dorothy Tr u m p o l d ,

weaver from Iowa; and Allison “To o t i e ”

Montana, a maker of Mardi Gras

costumes from Louisiana.

2 0 0 6

D o yle Lawson (left) with his band at the 2006

NEA National Herita ge Fe l lows concert.

P h o to by Tom Pich
EstherMartinez

N A T I V E A M E R I C A N L I N G U I S T A N D S T O R Y T E L L E R

Esther Martinez was born

M ay 26, 1 9 1 2 , in Ignacio,

C a l i f o r n i a ,w h e re her parents had go n e

to do farm wo rk . She was raised by her

g ra n d p a rents in San Juan Pueblo (now

called Ohkay Owinge h ) ,New Mex i co ,

and often traveled by cove red wa gon to

see her pare n t s . She and other Native

American children we re sent to a

government boarding school 25 miles

away,w h e re they we re punished hars h ly

if caught speaking their native language s .

M a r t i n e z ,also known by her

American Indian name, P’oe Ts awa , o r

Blue Wa te r, g ra d u a ted from the

A l b u q u e rque Indian School in 1930.

She married and spent the next thre e

decades raising ten children and

wo rking at various jobs to support them.

When Martinez was 54,she wa s

a p p roached by a linguist about

documenting theTe wa to n g u e . F ro m

1 9 7 4 - 8 9 ,she taught the language at

schools in San Juan Pueblo. She helped

t ra n s l a te the New Testament into Te wa

and compiled dictionaries of the va r i o u s

d i a l e c t s .

In 1988,Martinez began telling 

her stories in English to non-Te wa

a u d i e n ces through Sto r y te l l i n g

I n te r n a t i o n a l . She was re ve red in her

community and was known by many as

Ko’oe Esther, or Aunt Esther. She wa s

h o n o red with New Mex i co’s Liv i n g

Tre a s u res Awa rd , the National

Association for Bilingual Education’s

Pioneer Awa rd , the New Mex i co Arts

Commission’s Governor’s Awa rd for

E xce l l e n ce ,and the 1997 Teacher of the

Year Awa rd from the National Council

of American Indians.

Martinez wro te two books,

TheNa u gh ty Little Rabbit andOld Man

C o yoteand My Life in San Juan Pueblo :

Stories of Esther Martinez . In the latte r,

she wro te , “ S to r y telling was done

m a i n ly in the winte r t i m e , not summer.I t

was done in the wintertime because it

s h o r tened the eve n i n g s , the long winte r

n i g h t s .And it was the time when the last

s n a ke had crawled in,the bear and other

animals had gone hibernating,and we

h ave heard the last of the thunders .At

s to r y te l l i n g , c h i l d ren’s stories we re to l d

f i rs t . S tories we re told to teach us tips for

s u r v ival and for socialization in the

co m m u n i t y.They we re fun.Our whole

life is about sto r y te l l i n g .”

2 0 0 6

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

C h a rles M. C a rri l l o

Santero

Santa Fe, NM

D e l o res E. C h u rch i l l

HaidaWe a v e r

Ke t ch i kan, A K

Henry Gray

Blues Pianist/Singer

Baton Rouge, LA

D oyle Law s o n

Gospel/Bluegrass Singer/

A rr a n g e r / B a n d l e a d e r

Bristol,T N

Esther Martinez *

N a t ive American Storyteller

San Juan Pueblo, NM

Diomedes Mato s

Cuatro Make r

Deltona, FL

G e o rge Na’ope

Hula Master

Hilo, HI

Wilho Saari

Finnish Kantele (Lap-harp)

P l a y e r

Naselle,WA

M avis Staples

Gospel, rhythm and blues singer

Chicago, IL

Nancy Sweezy

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

A d vo c a t e / Sch o l a r / Pr e s e n t e r /

Pr e s e r v a t i o n i s t

Westwood, MA

Treme Brass Band

New Orleans Brass Band

New Orleans, LA

* D e c e a s e d

Esther Martinez with her daughter speaking

to Nick Spitzer at the 2006 NEA Na t i o n a l

H e r i ta ge Fe l lows concert.
SidikiConde

G U I N E A N D A N C E R A N D M U S I C I A N

Many believe that traditional

artists do what they do

because they can’t help it; they

have no choice. Geographic isolation,

economic impoverishment, or lack of

o p p o r t u n i t y, from this point of view, may

lead individuals to practice an art form that

others would consider antiquated or

impractical in the modern world. The 2007

NEA National Heritage Fellows

demonstrate the fallacy of this thinking.

Among the artists honored we find a thirdgeneration stone letterer who refined his

type design and calligraphy by studying

with European masters in Basel,

Switzerland; a Native-American

basketmaker who earned a B.A. in

mathematics and physics and who worked

as a computer specialist for 13 years

before devoting her life to her craft; a Rio

Grande weaver who received a degree in

civil engineering and worked in that

profession before moving back to northern

New Mexico to develop a studio with his

father and other family members and

create spectacular woven pieces; an

African musician and dancer who at the

age of 14 contracted polio but learned to

dance on his hands to surmount this

difficulty; and the first woman graduate in

percussion from the Curtis Institute of

Music who decided to continue playing in

the klezmer musical tradition of the past

two generations of her family.

It would be fair to say that, considering

the 2007 Fellows, the road to recognition

was paved with more than good intentions.

Persistence and effort played a large part

in their artistic journeys. Faced with an

abundance of artistic and career choices,

they pursued paths combining tradition and

creativity in ways that have resulted in their

recognition as 21st-century masters.

2 0 0 7

At the age of 14,Sidiki Conde

lost the use of his legs as the

result of polio.In his village in Guinea,

West Africa, disabled people co m m o n ly

we re banished from their homes in

o rder not to bring shame or bad luck

upon their fa m i ly,so he was sent to his

g ra n d father’s village deep in the fore s t .

K n owing that he would not be able to

p a r t i c i p a te in the co m i n g - o f - a ge

ce re m o ny if he could not dance , S i d i k i

re co n s t r u c ted the traditional steps using

his hands instead of his feet.His call to

d a n ce and sing, he said, came to him in a

d re a m .

He became so adept that he wa s

able to travel to the capital city,C o n a k r y,

and formM e s s a ge de Espior( M e s s a ge of

H o p e ) ,an orc h e s t ra of artists with

disabilities he re c r u i ted from the city’s

s t re e t s .At the same time, he wo rked to

d e velop pro g rams to help people with

disabilities gain job skills through his

position as manager of operations for

AJAFREIS (The National Association

of the Republic of Guinea forthe

H a n d i c a p p e d ) .

In 1987,he was asked to

join the prestigious tro u p e

Les Merveilles de Guinea,

and he co m p o s e d ,

d i re c te d ,a n d

c h o re o g raphed pieces for the co m p a ny,

o f ten performing as a soloist.He wo rke d

with popular African musicians such as

as Youssou N’Dour, S a l i fa Keita,a n d

Baba Maal.

A f ter coming to the United State s ,

Conde has continued towo rk as a

musician and arra n ge r.In addition, h e

has made a special effort to te a c h

wo rkshops for VSA Arts and to instruct

other young people with challenges in

l i f e ,as well as teaching African dance

and music in schools, h o s p i t a l s ,a n d

u n ive rs i t i e s .In 1998, he formed the

To kounou All-Abilities Dance and

Music Ensemble.
I rvinL.Tr u j i l lo

R I O G R A N D E W E A V E R

At the age of 10,Irvin L.Tr u j i l l o

b e gan we aving under the

t u te l a ge of his fa t h e r,re n owned we ave r

J a cobo Orte ga Tr u j i l l o .This begat the

s e venth ge n e ration of we ave rs of the

Trujillo and Orte ga families of Chimayo ,

in northern New Mex i co .Although he

g ra d u a ted from co l l e ge as a civ i l

engineer and wo rked in that pro f e s s i o n

for a time,Trujillo continued to study

ancient we aving te c h n i q u e s .

In 1980,he and his wife Lisa

founded the Centinela Traditional Arts

studio in Chimayo ,making it possible

for them to wo rk alongside Jacobo but

also allowing them to teach others in the

co m m u n i t y.Wo rk in the studio included

re l a ted traditional techniques such

as dye i n g ,s p i n n i n g ,and loom

co n s t r u c t i o n .A 1985 exhibition at the

M i l l i cent Roge rs Museum focused on

the Trujillo fa m i ly artistry.Both a ke e p e r

of tradition and an innova to r,Irvin has

re ce ived the Grand Prize and the

M a s ter’s Awa rd for Lifetime

A c h i e vement from the Spanish Marke t

in Santa Fe .

His wo rk reflects who he is and

w h e re he comes fro m .While still using

t raditional designs,Trujillo’s wo rk

sometimes offer personal sto r i e s ,such as

Buscando la Malinche,which depicts the

Matachines dance that is popular in

New Mex i co’s Hispanic co m m u n i t i e s .

As a child,Trujillo’s parents took him to

see the dance performed in the tow n

s q u a re .

He says , “When I do a major piece ,

it islike putting my life on the line.All of

my ex p e r i e n ce goesinto it.I am trying to

a p p roach the spirit of the old piece s .I n

doing that,I need to learn how to live in

my env i ro n m e n t .”

2 0 0 7

F E L LOWSHIP

W I N N E RS

N i cholas Benson

Stone Le tter Cutt e r / C a r v e r

N e w p o rt, RI

Sidiki Conde

Guinean Dancer/Musician

NewYork, NY

Violet de Cri s to fo ro

Haiku Po e t / H i s t o r i a n

Salinas, CA

Roland Freeman

Bess Lomax Hawes Awa r d

Photo Documentarian/Author/

Exhibit Curator

Washington, DC

Pat Court n ey Gold

WascoWapaas (sally bag)

We a v e r

Scappoose, OR

Eddie Kamae

H a waiian Musician/Composer/

F i l m m a ke r

Honolulu, HI

Agustin Lira

Chicano Singer/Musician/

C o m p o s e r

Fresno, CA

Julia Pa rke r

Kashia Pomo Baske t m a ke r

LeeVining, CA

Mary Jane Queen

A p p a l a chian Musician

Cullowhee, NC

JoeT h o m p s o n

African-American String Band

M u s i c i a n

Mebane, NC

Irvin L.Tru j i l l o

Rio GrandeWe a v e r

Chimayo, NM

Elaine HoffmanWa tt s

Klezmer Musician

H a v e rtown, PA

P h o to by Ka t hy De La To r re /The New Mexican
Bess Lomax

Hawes Award

The Bess Lomax Hawes

Award, introduced by the

National Endowment for the

Arts in 2000, is given annually to 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.

2 0 0 0

Chris Stra c h w i t z

R E C O R D P R O D U C E R A N D L A B E L F O U N D E R

Chris Stra c hwitz was born in1931 in Gross Reichenau,a

little village in lower Silesia. Hisfa t h e r,

Count Alexander Graf von Stra c hw i t z ,

was a landownerand managed a fa r m i n g

and dairy business.At the end of Wo rl d

War II, S t ra c hwitz and his fa m i ly fled

Silesia in the wa ke of the Russian

i nva s i o n ,m oving first to Hamburg,

G e r m a ny,and then to the United State s

in 1947,settling in Reno,N e va d a .

S t ra c hwitzserved in the U. S .A r my

f rom 1954-56,and then gra d u a ted fro m

the Unive rsity of California at Berke l e y

and gotsecondary school te a c h i n g

c re d e n t i a l s .All the time, he pursued his

i n te rest in music. “ I ’ ve always love d

ra d i o ,” he said. “In Germany,I liste n e d

to American and British Armed Fo rce s

Ra d i o ,and in California,XERB playe d

h i l l b i l ly music all day long...I saw the

m ovie called New Orleansand wa s

a b s o l u te ly knocked out by that music,

featuring Louis Armstro n g ,Kid Ory,

Meade Lux Lewis,and Billie Holiday,

among others .I became a total New

O rleans jazz nut.And I bought all the

re co rds I could afford .”He met with

n o ted musicologist Sam Charte rs and

s t a r ted a co r re s p o n d e n ce with British

blues aficionado Paul Olive r.

In 1959,C h a r te rs sent Stra c hwitz a

p o s tc a rd saying that the lege n d a r y

bluesman Lightnin’Hopkins was liv i n g

in Housto n ,Tex a s .S t ra c hwitz we n t

d own to meet him,and ended up

meeting the blues songster Mance

L i p s comb as we l l .S t ra c hwitz re co rd e d

L i p s comb and decided to start his ow n

re co rd label called Arhoolie (named afte r

a kind of field holler or wo rk song).

O verthe ye a rs since then,

S t ra c hwitz has re co rded hundreds of

musicians across America,s p a n n i n g

v i r t u a l ly every cultura l ly defined

t raditional styl e , f rom blues and jazz to

z yd e co and c o n j u n t o. He has also been

e q u a l ly co m m i t ted to reissuing vintage

folk re co rdings from the early 20th

ce n t u r y, including Mex i c a n -A m e r i c a n

b o rder music,G re e k , Po l i s h ,a n d

U k rainian folk music,and Cajun

c l a s s i c s .

In addition to re co rding activ i t i e s ,

S t ra c hwitz pro d u ced co n certs that

b rought important folk musicians such

as Lightnin’Hopkins and Fre d

M c D owell to large audience s .In 1995,

he founded the nonprofit Arh o o l i e

Foundation to ensure that the music he

has co l l e c ted will be available for future

ge n e ra t i o n s .Among its holdingsis the

F ro n te ra Collection, one of the nation’s

l a r gest arc h ives of Spanish-language

v i n t a ge re co rd i n g s .

P h o to by Philip Gould
2 0 0 1

JosephT. Wi l s o n

F O L K L O R I S T , A D V O C A T E , A N D P R E S E N T E R

Joseph T. Wilson was born in 1938

in Tra d e ,Te n n e s s e e , in the Blue

R i d ge Mountains. He has wo rked as

a Nashville country music pro d u ce r,a

d o o r - to-door salesman,a civil rights

re p o r te r,and a Madison Ave n u e

co n s u l t a n t .His life's wo rk ,h owe ve r, i s

f o l k l o re; he served from 1976 to 2004

as exce c u t ive dire c tor of theNational

Council for the Traditional Arts

( N CTA) in Silver Spring,M a r yl a n d .

Founded in 1933,it is the oldest

o r ganization in the nation devo ted to the

p resentation and documentation of folk

a r t s .

Wilson was inte re s ted in music

f rom an early age ,with members of his

fa m i ly being traditional musicians.H i s

i n te rest in folk material grew as he

wo rked in other jobs,and he discove re d

that others around the country share d

this fascination and we re re co rding folk

m u s i c i a n s . “I learned that this level of

g reat folk culture ex i s ted eve r y w h e re .I

h e a rd Mexican music over the bord e r

radio stations in the early 1950s and

l oved it.L a ter on, hearing Harry

C h o a te s , the Cajun violinist,I re a l i z e d

h e , to o ,was making great music—music

that was kin to the French Canadian

sounds I also like d .” Wilson bega n

p roducing re co rds by musicians in his

h o m e tow n .

Joining the National Council for the

Traditional Arts, then called the National

Folk Fe s t ival Association, gave him the

opportunity to make a living at his

avo c a t i o n .The nonprofit educational

o r ganization conducts re s e a rch in

f o l k l o re , e t h n o g ra p hy,and re l a ted are a s ;

assists the National Pa rk Service with

planning and inte r p retation; and

p ro d u ces to u rs by American folk artists

as well as the National Folk Fe s t iva l ,

f i l m s , v i d e o t a p e s ,re co rd i n g s ,m u s e u m

ex h i b i t s ,and publications.

Wilson had been invo lved in all

these activities as exe c u t ive dire c tor for

the orga n i z a t i o n ,and continues on as

chairman of NCTA .He also has serve d

asa panelist for theNational Endow m e n t

forthe Arts and on the grants panels

of four state age n c i e s .C u r re n t ly, he is

d i re c tor of the Blue Ridge Music Cente r

near Galax,Vi r g i n i a .

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Tom Pich
2 0 0 2

Jean Ritchie

A P P A L A C H I A N M U S I C I A N , S O N G W R I T E R , A N D C U L T U R A L A C T I V I S T

Jean Ritchie was born in 1922 into a

singing fa m i ly in Vi p e r,K e n t u c ky, in

the Cumberland Mountains of the

e a s tern part of the state .The yo u n gest of

14 childre n ,she studied at Viper High

School and Cumberland College , b e f o re

going on to the Unive rsity of Kentucky

w h e re she gra d u a ted Phi Beta Ka p p a

with a degree in social wo rk .Her firs t

job was with the Henry Stre e t

Settlement on New Yo rk’s Lower East

S i d e , teaching Kentucky songs, b a l l a d s ,

and singing games to childre n .

During this time,Alan Lomax

e n co u n te red her,re co rded her songs

and lap dulcimer playing for the Libra r y

of Congre s s ,and arra n ged her firs t

formal co n cert at Columbia Unive rs i t y.

By 1952,she was traveling on a

Fulbright Fe l l owship to tra ce and

document the roots of her heritage

in the British Isles.In 1955,h e r

f i rst book, Singing Fa m i ly of the

C u m b e r l a n d s,was hailed as an

American classic.

Her many re co rdings and

a p p e a ra n ces at major folk festiva l s ,

including the early Newport Fo l k

Fe s t iva l s , c u l t iva ted a re v ival of

i n te rest in Appalachian music and

c u l t u re . She also became known as an

insightful songwrite r, penning such

classics as “Blue Diamond Mines,”

“Black Wa te rs ,” and “The L & N Don’t

S top Here Any m o re ,” about life in

e a s tern Kentucky coal co u n t r y.B y

sharing her music as well as her

commitment and strong ties to her

Appalachian home with audience s

a round the nation and around the

wo rl d ,Jean Ritchie has come to define

and embody the dual co n cepts of

ambassador and ste wa rd of tra d i t i o n .

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Tom Pich
2 0 0 3

CarmencristinaMore n o

M E X I C A N - A M E R I C A N S I N G E R , C O M P O S E R , A N D T E A C H E R

Carmencristina Moreno is thed a u g h ter of popularsinge rs ,

Luis M.and Carmen More n o ,w h o

performed on radio in the Los Ange l e s

a rea from the 1930s through the 1950s

a s El Dueto de Los More n o . Her fa t h e r

also composed hundreds of songs,m a ny

of which are co n s i d e red standards in the

ra n c h e ra tra d i t i o n . “I was raised on

M exican music,weaned on mariachi

m u s i c ,” M o reno told her hometow n

n e w s p a p e r,the F resno Bee, in 2003.

“I think of myself as a keeper of the

t ra d i t i o n s .If you do it, you have to do

it right.”

A f ter Wo rld War II,the fa m i ly

m oved to California’s San Joaquin

Va l l e y,w h e re Moreno’s parents did

farm wo rk while continuing to perform.

I n s p i red by her parents and their

f r i e n d s , M o reno decided to pursue a

musical care e r.

In 1976,M o reno ga i n e d

w i d e s p read attention through her

a p p e a ra n ce (accompanied by Los

Lobos) on the United Farm Wo rke rs

(UFW) fundraiser re co rding Si Se

P u e d e ! ( Ye s ,It Can Be Done!), for which

she composed the songs “El Corrido de

D o l o res Huerta” and “Sangre Antigüa.”

She later wro te an ode toCésar Cháve z ,

who had founded the United Fa r m

Wo rke rs union with Dolores Huerta.

M o reno became incre a s i n g ly

i nvo lved in teaching broader audience s

about the musical heritage of Mex i c a n

A m e r i c a n s . She took part in the 1993

Smithsonian Fe s t ival of American

Fo l k l i f e , conducting wo rkshops and

performing her songs of labor and life in

the Central Va l l e y.As a follow- u p , t h e

Smithsonian asked her to participate in

six wo rkshops held in six border cities

in the United States and Mex i co for

e d u c a to rs in 1996. She also became a

folk-guitar instructor in prisons for the

California Arts in Corrections pro g ra m s .

T h rough a teaching pro g ram she

c re a te d ,Pa rallel Histories of the Unite d

S t a tes and Mex i co through Music,s h e

e d u c a tes broader audiences about

M ex i c a n -American musical heritage .

In 2001,the Fresno Arts Council

p re s e n ted her the Horizon Awa rd in

re cognition of her lifetime of wo rk as

an educator and performer.

M o reno sings in both Spanish and

E n g l i s h ,and her wide-ranging re p e r to i re

includes a variety of Mexican and

M ex i c a n -American mate r i a l .S h e

continued to perform,re co rd ,and te a c h .

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Jim Saah
Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. His life

was spared when a guard at a dete n t i o n

camp re m e m b e red his beautiful flute

p l ay i n g .Chum was in a group that

m a n a ged to escape to a re f u gee camp in

T h a i l a n d .R e cognized asa k ro u , o r

m a s ter te a c h e r, he taught there and at

o r p h a n a ges before moving to a re f u ge e

camp in Indonesia,w h e re he co n t i n u e d

to te a c h .

Chum arrived in the United State s

in 1982 and settled in the Wa s h i n g to n ,

DC are a .He has remained in demand as

a teacher and performeraround the

co u n t r y,though his travel has been

l i m i ted by the demands of a full-time day

j o b .He often consults with Cambodian

music groups and provides guidance on

re p e r to i re for ce remonies and

ce l e b ra t i o n s .He also has composed and

performed music for dance rs .

Balancing wo rk and art has been a

s t r u g g l e , but one worth wa g i n g . “I don’t

want to lose my music,” he said. “If I

don’t te a c h , it will disappear.A c t u a l ly,a t

f i rs t ,when Irealized how hard it wa s

going to be to have a job and be a

musician in the United State s ,I wa n te d

to quit teaching and playing....But then

I thought, ‘I have a lot of musical

k n ow l e d ge .What am I doing,t h row i n g

it all away? I love my music.I don’t wa n t

to keep my music all to mys e l f .I ’ m

supposed to te a c h .’ So I made time.I

was very tire d .I still am, but I don’t wa n t

to lose it. So I decided that I needed to

d e d i c a te Saturd ays and Sundays to

m u s i c . Ever since then,I ’ ve tried to do

b o t h ,wo rk and music.”

2 0 0 4

Chum Nge k

C A M B O D I A N M U S I C I A N A N D T E A C H E R

Chum Ngek was born in the

Battambang Prov i n ce of

C a m b o d i a ,and by the age of ten bega n

learning the re p e r to i re of the major

Khmer musical ge n re s ,s p a n n i n g

classical and folk tra d i t i o n s .H i s

g ra n d father Um Hene taught him

s e ve ral instruments: the s ra l a i ( o b o e ) ,

ko n g ( s e m i c i rcle of gongs) and s a m p h o

(small barrel drum).At twe lve , he bega n

s t u dying with other te a c h e rs and we n t

on to master the roneatek ( t re b l e

x lyo p h o n e ) , k h i m m ( h a m m e re d

d u l c i m e r ) ,and t ro r( v i o l i n ) .Within a few

ye a rs , he was performing pro f e s s i o n a l ly.

Chum was among the few artists to

escape the brutal reign of the co m m u n i s t

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Michael Ste wa r t
2 0 0 5

Janette Carter

A P P A L A C H I A N M U S I C I A N A N D A D V O C A T E

Ja n e t te Carter was born in LittleValley Vi r g i n i a , on July 2, 1 9 2 3 .She 

was not quite four ye a rs old when

her pare n t s ,A . P.and Sara Carte r,a n d

her aunt Maybelle Carter made their firs t

re co rdings over a shoe sto re in Bristo l ,

Te n n e s s e e .Those sessions on the RC A

label are viewed as the beginning of

co m m e rcial country music

When she was about six ye a rs old,

J a n e t te Carter began performing with

her fa m i ly as a buck dance r.At twe lve ,

she took up the autoharp and bega n

t raveling with the fa m i ly act. She also

a ccompanied her father on songcollecting expeditions to rural homes,

w h e re he would write down the wo rd s

and she would remember the tunes.H e

l a ter said, “She was my tape re co rd e r.”

In the late 1930s,J a n e t te Carte r

performed with her fa m i ly on ra d i o

station XERA,whose tra n s m i t ter wa s

l o c a ted across the Rio Grande from Del

R i o ,Tex a s .A f ter A.P.C a r ter died in

1 9 6 0 ,J a n e t te Carter re t i red from music

and raised herthree childre n . But a few

ye a rs late r,she began performing solo,

and in 1974 she began staging shows in

her father’s old gro cery sto re . She we n t

on to found the Carter Fa m i ly Memorial

Music Cente r,which includes a 1,000-

seat music amphitheater and a museum

in the old sto re .Among fa m i ly members

who provided support we re Mayb e l l e

C a r ter’s daughter June Carter Cash and

her husband, country star Johnny Cash.

The ce n ter holds a festival each Au g u s t .

J a n e t te Carter dire c ted the ce n te r

and served as master of ce remonies and

performer at the Saturd ay night show s ,

o f ten accompanied by her brother Joe.

She to u red in the United States and

a b o a rd ,a p p e a red on radio and TV and

was re cognized as a living musical

t re a s u re .But by all accounts she

remained an unaffected country wo m a n

who called eve r yb o dy, including former

British Prime Minister Marga re t

T h a tc h e r, “ h o n e y.”

C a r ter told a Washington Po s t

re p o r ter in 1989 that a visitor to the

ce n ter had once asked her what she wa s

s t r iving for. “That’s when it hit me,” s h e

s a i d . “I’m not striving for any t h i n g .I ’ ve

reached it.”

C a r ter passed away on January 22,

2006 in Kingsport,Te n n e s s e e .

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Tom Pich
North Caro l i n a ,and Sweezy move d

t h e re to direct the opera t i o n . S h e

established appre n t i ceship pro g ra m s ,

d e veloped new glazes to re p l a ce the

p ro h i b i ted traditional lead glazes,a n d

i m p roved firing techniques to make the

p o t tery more dura b l e . She later wro te

the authoritative book on Southern

p o t tery for Smithsonian Press entitled

Raised in Clay: The Southern Fo l k

Po t t e ry Tradition, published in 1984.

The following ye a r, S we e z y

o r ganized the Refugee Arts Group in

B o s ton and through that orga n i z a t i o n

a d m i n i s te red festiva l s ,wo rk s h o p s ,

ex h i b i t i o n s ,a p p re n t i ce s h i p s ,and school

p ro g rams focusing on Cambodian,L a o ,

H m o n g ,and Vietnamese folk artists.I n

the 1990s,she began a study of

Armenian folk cra f t s ,resulting in another

b o o k ,Armenian Folk Art, Culture, and

I d e n t i ty . In October 2005,with potte r

M a rk Hewitt,she cura ted the ex h i b i t i o n

The Potter’s Eye: Art andTradition in

North Carolina Po t t e ryat the North

C a rolina Museum of Art. She and

Hewitt wro te the Unive rsity of North

C a rolina Press book of the same title.

2 0 0 6

Na n cy Swe ez y

A D V O C A T E , S C H O L A R , P R E S E N T E R , A N D P R E S E R V A T I O N I S T

Nancy Sweezy was bornO c tober 14, 1 9 2 1 , i n

F l u s h i n g ,New Yo rk .Her inte rest in

c rafts began with seeing pottery in a

s h o p . “They we re heavy and large ,

nothing like the delicate little china

things I had seen all my life,” she said. “ I

l i ked them because they we re strong and

s t u rdy and honest.” Soon she enrolled in

a pottery class. “As soon as I got my

hands in clay,I said, ‘ O k ay,this is what I

want to do,’ ” she said. “And I did it fro m

1950 to when I stopped because my

hands got arthritic.”

While living in Cambridge ,

M a s s a c h u s e t t s , in the late 1960s,

S weezy became invo lved in the folk

music scene and met Ralph Rinzler,

who was wo rking for the Newport Fo l k

Fo u n d a t i o n , finding Southern musicians

to bring to the Newport Folk Fe s t iva l .

She co l l a b o ra ted with him to bring

c raftspeople up from the South as we l l ,

to forge a larger cultural co n n e c t i o n .

S we e z y,R i n z l e r,and Norman Kennedy,

who later became an NEA National

H e r i t a ge Fe l l ow, established a nonpro f i t

o r ga n i z a t i o n ,Country Roads Inc.,

d e d i c a ted to the re s e a rch and marke t i n g

of unsold craft items from the festiva l .

In 1968,Country Roads purc h a s e d

the historic Jugtown Po t tery in Seagrove ,

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Tom Pich

Na n cySwe ezy (left) with her daughter at the

2006 NEA National Herita ge Fe l lows banquet.
2 0 0 7

Roland Fre e m a n

P H O T O D O C U M E N T A R I A N , A U T H O R , A N D E X H I B I T C U R A T O R

Roland Freeman wasinspire d

by the socially co n s c i o u s

D e p re s s i o n - e ra photo g ra p hy of Gord o n

Pa rksand Roy DeCarava ,as well as the

Farm Security Administra t i o n

p h o to g ra p h e rs . At the age of 14, he

met the author/folklorist Zora Neale

H u rs to n ,who also gre a t ly influenced

his life’s wo rk .

A native of Baltimore ,he bega n

p h o to g raphing in the Wa s h i n g to n ,D C

a rea in the late 1960s. In 1968, h e

p a r t i c i p a ted in and documented the

h i s toric Poor People’s Campaign and the

MuleTrain from Mark s ,M i s s i s s i p p i ,to

the nation’s capital. Even while wo rk i n g

asa stringer for Ti m e m a gazine and

Magnum Photo s , including cove ra ge asa

W h i te House photo g ra p h e r, his re a l

passion throughout his career has been

the documentation of African-A m e r i c a n

and Southern folk culture .

In the early 1970s,F reeman

co - d i re c ted the Mississippi Fo l k l i f e

P roject for the Smithsonian Institution’s

C e n ter for Folklife and Cultura l

H e r i t a ge . That wo rk re s u l ted in the

exhibition Mississippi: Tradition and

C h a n ge , n ow housed at the Mississippi

S t a te Arc h ive s . C o n t i n u o u s ly since

t h e n ,F reeman has been a re s e a rc h

a s s o c i a te/field re s e a rch photo g ra p h e r

with the Cente r. His inte rest in cra f t

t raditions led to his documentation and

collection of quilts made by African

Americans long before others we re

taking an inte rest in this distinct but

l i t t l e - re cognized artistic tra d i t i o n .T h i s

wo rk re s u l ted in the publication of the

books: Something to Keep You Wa r m a n d

A Communion of the Spirits: AfricanAmerican Quilters, Pre s e rve rs and

Their Stories.

In 1990,F reeman co n s o l i d a ted two

decades of documentation of the

disappearing tradition of Baltimore

s t reet ve n d o rs ,m a ny of whom still used

h o rs e - d rawn carts, for a major ex h i b i t i o n

titled The Ara b b e rsof Baltimoreat the

B a l t i m o re Museum of Art and the

publication of a similarly titled book.

F reeman co n s i s te n t ly wo rks in

Bess Lomax Hawes Award

P h o to by Roland Fre e m a n

co l l a b o ration with others: for more than

30 ye a rs , folklorist Worth Long and

c u l t u ral historian Bernice Johnson

R e a gon have been invaluable guides

and partners ,and he has wo rked closely

with folklorists Glenn Hinson,C h a rl e s

C a m p ,and Jerrilyn McGre go r y. O ve r

the ye a rs , F reeman’s major projects have

led to four national and inte r n a t i o n a l

touring exhibits and the publication of

six widely acclaimed books.

S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S

Note: City and state locations are residences of artists at the time awards were given.

A L A B A M A

M o zell Benson (2001 )

African-American Quilter

O p e l i ka, A L

Je rry Brown (19 9 2 )

S t o n e ware Po tt e r

Hamilton, A L

N o ra Ezell (19 9 2 )

African-American Quilter

E u t a w, A L

John Henry Mealing (19 9 6 )

African-American RailroadWo r k

Song Singer

Birmingham, A L

D e weyWilliams (19 8 3 )

Shape Note Singer

Ozark, A L

C o rneliusWri g h t , J r. ( 19 9 6 )

African-American RailroadWo r k

Song Singer

Birmingham, A L

A L A S K A

Elena & Nicholas Charles (19 9 3 )

YupikWo o d c a r v e r / M a s k m a ke r /

S k i n s e w e r

Bethel, A K

D e l o res E. C h u rchill (200 6 )

HaidaWe a v e r

Ke t ch i kan, A K

Belle Deacon (19 9 2 )

Athabascan Baske t m a ke r

Grayling, A K

Nathan Ja ckson (19 9 5 )

TlingitWo o d c a r v e r /

M e t a l s m i t h / D a n c e r

Ke t ch i kan, A K

Esther Littlefield (19 9 1 )

Tlingit Re galia Maker

S i t ka, A K

Dolly Spencer (19 9 6 )

Inupiat Dollmake r

H o m e r, A K

Je n nyThlunaut (19 8 6 )

Tlingit Chilkat Blanke t w e a v e r

Haines, A K

PaulTiulana (19 8 4 )

Inupiaq Eskimo Maskmake r /

D a n c e r / S i n g e r

A n chorage, A K

A R I Z O N A

E valena Henry (2001 )

A p a che Baske t w e a v e r

Peridot, A Z

G race Henderson Nez (200 5 )

NavajoWe a v e r

Ganado, A Z

C h e s l ey GoseyunWilson (19 8 9 )

A p a che Fiddle Make r

Tucson, A Z

A R K A N S A S

Glenn Ohrlin (19 8 5 )

Cowboy Singer/

S t o r y t e l l e r / I l l u s t r a t o r

MountainVi e w, A R

Almeda Riddle (19 8 3 )

Ballad Singer

G r e e rs Fe rr y, A R

C A L I F O R N I A

FranciscoAguabella (19 9 2 )

Afro-Cuban Drummer

M a n h a ttan Beach, CA

AnjanaA m b e ga o kar (200 4 )

N o rth Indian Kathak Dancer

Diamond Bar, CA

Jesus A rriada (200 3 )

Basque (Bertsolari) Po e t

San Francisco, CA

G e o rge Blake (19 9 1 )

H u p a - Yurok Craftsman

Hoopa, CA

L o ren Bommelyn (200 2 )

To l o waTradition Bearer

Crescent City, CA

C h a rles Brown (19 9 7 )

Blues Pianist/Composer

B e r ke l e y, CA

Natividad Cano (19 9 0 )

Mexican-American Mariach i

M u s i c i a n

Monterey Park, CA

Jo h n ny Curu t chet (200 3 )

Basque (Bertsolari) Po e t

South San Francisco, CA

Violet de Cri s to fo ro (200 7 )

Haiku Po e t / H i s t o r i a n

Salinas, CA

Kansuma Fujima (19 8 7 )

Japanese-American Dancer

Los Angeles, CA

Felipe GarcíaVillamil (2000 )

Afro-Cuban Drummer/Sa n t e r o

Los Angeles, CA

Ulysses “ U l y ” Goode (19 9 9 )

Western Mono Baske t m a ke r

N o rth Fork, CA

E d u a rdo “ L a l o” G u e rre ro (19 9 1 )

Mexican-American Singer/

G u i t a r i s t / C o m p o s e r

Cathedral City, CA

José Gutiérrez (19 8 9 )

Mexican Ja r o cho Musician/

S i n g e r

N o r walk, CA

R i ch a rdAvedis Hagopian (19 8 9 )

Armenian Oud Player

Visalia, CA

John Lee Hooker (19 8 3 )

Blues Guitarist/Singer

San Carlos, CA

Wen-yi Hua (19 9 7 )

Chinese Kunqu Opera Singer

Arcadia, CA

Zakir Hussain (19 9 9 )

N o rth IndianTabla Drummer

San Anselmo, CA

K h a m vong Insixiengmai (19 9 1 )

Laotian Singer

Fresno, CA

Da n o n gan Kalanduyan (19 9 5 )

Filipino-American Ku l i n t a n g

M u s i c i a n

San Francisco, CA

AliAkbar Khan (19 9 7 )

Sarod Player/Ra ga Composer

San Anselmo, CA

Agustin Lira (200 7 )

Chicano Singer/

M u s i c i a n / C o m p o s e r

Fresno, CA

Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto

( 19 9 4 )

JapaneseTea Ceremony Master

Los Angeles, CA

B rownie McGhee (19 8 2 )

Blues Guitarist/Singer

Oakland, CA

C a rm e n c ristina Moreno (Bess

Lomax HawesAwa rd 200 3 )

Mexican-American Singer/

C o m p o s e r / Te a ch e r

Fresno, CA

JohnYoshio Naka (19 9 2 )

Bonsai Sc u l p t o r

Los Angeles, CA

Luis Orte ga (19 8 6 )

Hispanic-American

RawhideWo r ke r

Paradise, CA

Julia Pa rker (200 7 )

Kashia Pomo Baske t m a ke r

LeeVining, CA

H e rminia A l b a rrán Romero

( 2 00 5 )

Pa p e r- c u tting A rt i s t

San Francisco, CA

M a n o o chehr Sadeghi (200 3 )

Pe rsian Santur Player

Sherman Oaks, CA

C h ris Stra chwitz (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 2000 )

Record Producer/Label Fo u n d e r

El Cerrito, CA

S e i i chiTa n a ka (2001 )

Taiko Drummer/Dojo Fo u n d e r

San Francisco, CA

LilyVo rp e rian (19 9 4 )

Armenian Marash-Style

E m b r o i d e r e r

Glendale, CA

GussieWells (19 9 1 )

African-American Quilter

Oakland, CA

ArbieWilliams (19 9 1 )

African-American Quilter

Oakland, CA

C O L O R A D O

EppieA rchuleta (19 8 5 )

HispanicWe a v e r

San LuisVa l l e y, CO

FrancisW h i t a ker (19 9 7 )

B l a ck s m i t h / O r n a m e n t a l

I r o nw o r ke r

Carbondale, CO

1989 NEA National Herita ge Fe l low

Vanessa Pa u ke i gope Je n n i n gs. 

P h o to by Tom Pich
C O N N E C T I C U T

E l d rid SkjoldA rn t zen (200 5 )

Norwegian-American Ro s e m a l e r

Wa t e rtown, CT

Ilias Kementzides (19 8 9 )

Pontic Greek Lyra Player

N o r walk, CT

Ta n j o reVi s wanathan (19 9 2 )

South Indian Flute Master

Middletown, CT

D I S T R I C T O F

C O L U M B I A

H a zel Dickens (2001 )

A p p a l a chian Singer/So n g w r i t e r

Washington, DC/Montcalm,W V

Roland Freeman (200 7 )

Photo Documentarian/

Author/Exhibit Curator

Washington, DC

F L O R I D A

E p s tein Brothers (19 9 8 )

Klezmer Musicians

Tamarac, FL

I s rael “ C a ch a o” López (19 9 5 )

Afro-Cuban Bassist/Composer/

B a n d l e a d e r

Miami, FL

Diomedes Matos (200 6 )

Cuatro Make r

Deltona, FL

N i cholasToth (200 3 )

D iving Helmet Designer/Builder

Tarpon Springs, FL

NikitasT s i m o u ris (19 9 1 )

Greek-American Bagpipe Player

Tarpon Springs, FL

G E O R G I A

M c I n tosh County Shoute r s

( 19 9 3 )

A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n

Spiritual/Shout Pe r f o r m e rs

Towsend, GA

C l a rence Fountain &The Blind

B oys (19 9 4 )

African-American Gospel

S i n g e rs

Atlanta, GA

G e o rgia Harris (19 9 7 )

Catawba Po tt e r

Atlanta, GA

Claude Joseph Johnson (19 8 7 )

African-American Re l i g i o u s

S i n g e r / O r a t o r

Atlanta, GA

Bessie Jones (19 8 2 )

Georgia Sea Island Singer

B r u n s w i ck, GA

Hugh McGraw (19 8 2 )

Shape Note Singer

Bremen, GA

Lanier Meaders (19 8 3 )

Po tt e r

Cleveland, GA

LucindaToomer (19 8 3 )

African-American Quilter

Columbus, GA

G U A M

Joaquin “ Ja ck ” Lujan (19 9 6 )

C h a m o rro Black s m i t h

B a rr i gada, GU

H A W A I I

R i ch a rd Ho’opi’i (19 9 6 )

H a waiian Fa l s e tto Singer/

M u s i c i a n

Wailuku, HI

Solomon Ho’opi’i (19 9 6 )

H a waiian Fa l s e tto Singer/

M u s i c i a n

Pu kalani, HI

Meali’i Kalama (19 8 5 )

H a waiian Quilter

Honolulu, HI

Eddie Kamae (200 7 )

H a waiian Musician/Composer/

F i l m m a ke r

Honolulu, HI

Nalani Kanaka’ole (19 9 3 )

Hula Master

Hilo, HI

Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele

( 19 9 3 )

Hula Master

Hilo, HI

R aymond Kane (19 8 7 )

H a waiian Slack - Ke y

G u i t a r i s t / S i n g e r

Wai’anae, HI

Genoa Ke awe (2000 )

H a waiian Fa l s e tto Singer/

Ukulele Player

Honolulu, HI

M a rie MacDonald (19 9 0 )

H a waiian Lei Make r

Kamuela, HI

Seisho “ H a rr y ” N a kasone (19 9 1 )

O k i n a wan-American Musician

Honolulu, HI

G e o rge Na’ope (200 6 )

Hula Master

Hilo, HI

C l yde “ K i n d y ” S p roat (19 8 8 )

H a waiian Cowboy Singer/

Ukulele Player

Kapa’au, HI

James Ka’upenaWong (200 5 )

H a waiian Chanter

Waianae, HI

Emily Kau’i Zutte rm e i s ter (19 8 4 )

Hula Master

Kaneohe, HI

I D A H O

Rose Frank (19 9 1 )

Nez Perce CornhuskWe a v e r

L a p wai, ID

J i m my Ja u s o ro (19 8 5 )

Basque A c c o r d i o n i s t

Boise, ID

Elmer Miller (19 9 3 )

Bit and Spur Make r / S i l v e rs m i t h

Nampa, ID

I L L I N O I S

Eddie Blazonczyk (19 9 8 )

Polish-American Po l ka

M u s i c i a n / B a n d l e a d e r

B r i d g e v i e w, IL

Liz Carroll (19 9 4 )

Irish-American Fiddler

Chicago, IL

David “ H o n ey b oy ” E d wa rd s

( 2 00 2 )

Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer

Chicago, IL

M i chael Flatley (19 8 8 )

Irish-American Stepdancer

Palos Park, IL

A l b e rt “ S u n nyland Slim”

L u a n d rew (19 8 8 )

Blues Pianist/Singer

Chicago, IL

Adam Po p ov i ch (19 8 2 )

Tamburitza Musician

Dolton, IL

Joe Shannon (19 8 3 )

Irish Piper

Chicago, IL

M avis Staples (200 6 )

G o s p e l / R hy t h m - a n d - B l u e s

S i n g e r

Chicago, IL

R o e b u ck “ Po p s ” Staples (19 9 8 )

Gospel/Blues Musician

Dolton, IL

Ko koTaylor (200 4 )

Blues Singer

Country Club Hills, IL

A l b e rtinaWa l ker (200 5 )

Gospel Singer

Chicago, IL

I N D I A N A

E a rnest Bennett (19 8 6 )

Anglo-AmericanWo o d c a r v e r

Indianapolis, IN

Milan Opacich (200 4 )

Tamburitza Instrument Make r

Shererville, IN

JoeWillie “ P i n e to p ” Pe rk i n s

( 2 000 )

Blues Piano Player

La Po rte, IN

I O W A

E ve re tt Kapayou (19 9 3 )

Mesquakie Singer

Tama, IA

G e n e v i e ve Mougin (19 8 4 )

Lebanese-American Lacemake r

B e tt e n d o r f, IA

N a d j e s chda Ove rga a rd (19 9 8 )

Danish-American Hardanger

E m b r o i d e r e r

Kimballton, IA

D o ro t hyTrumpold (2001 )

RugWe a v e r

East Amana, IA

S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S
K A N S A S

Ke p ka Belton (19 8 8 )

C ze ch-American Egg Pa i n t e r

E l l s w o rth, KS

Sonia Domsch (19 8 6 )

C ze ch-American Bobbin

L a c e m a ke r

Atwood, KS

K E N T U C K Y

C l yde Dave n p o rt (19 9 2 )

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Monticello, KY

Lily May Ledfo rd (19 8 5 )

A p p a l a chian Musician/Singer

Lexington, KY

Eddie Pe n n i n g ton (2001 )

T h u m b p i cking-Style Guitarist

Princeton, KY

Jean Ritchie (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 200 2 )

A p p a l a chian Musician/

Songwriter/Cultural A c t iv i s t

Po rtWashington, NY/Vi p e r, KY

M o rgan Sexton (19 9 1 )

A p p a l a chian Banjo Player/

S i n g e r

Linefork, KY

L O U I S I A N A

Alphonse “Bois Sec”A rd o i n

( 19 8 6 )

Creole A c c o r d i o n i s t

Eunice, LA

D e wey Balfa (19 8 2 )

Cajun Fiddler

Basile, LA

E a rl Barthé (200 5 )

Creole Building A rt i s a n

New Orleans, LA

Inez Catalon (19 9 3 )

Fr e n ch Creole Singer

Kaplan, LA

Wilson “ B o o zo o”C h avis (2001 )

Zydeco A c c o r d i o n i s t

L a ke Charles, LA

C l i fton Chenier (19 8 4 )

Zydeco A c c o r d i o n i s t

L a f a y e tte, LA

Gladys LeBlanc Clark (19 9 7 )

Cajun Spinner/We a v e r

Duson, LA

L u d e rin Darbone (200 2 )

Cajun Fiddler

S u l p h u r, LA

M i chael Doucet (200 5 )

Cajun Fiddler/

C o m p o s e r / B a n d l e a d e r

L a f a y e tte, LA

Edwin Duhon (200 2 )

Cajun A c c o r d i o n i s t

We s t l a ke, LA

C a n ray Fo n tenot (19 8 6 )

Creole Fiddler

Welsh, LA

Thomas Edison “ B row n i e” Fo rd

( 19 8 7 )

A n g l o - C o m a n che Cowboy

S i n g e r / S t o r y t e l l e r

H e b e rt, LA

Henry Gray (200 6 )

Blues Pianist/Singer

Baton Rouge, LA

D. L . M e n a rd (19 9 4 )

Cajun Musician/So n g w r i t e r

Erath, LA

Allison “ To o t i e” Montana (19 8 7 )

Mardi Gras Chief/Costume

M a ke r

New Orleans, LA

I r van Pe rez (19 9 1 )

Isleno (Canary Islands) Singer

Poydras, LA

M a rc Savoy (19 9 2 )

Cajun Accordion Make r /

M u s i c i a n

Eunice, LA

AdaThomas (19 8 3 )

C h i t i m a cha Baske t m a ke r

Charenton, LA

Treme Brass Band (200 6 )

New Orleans Brass Band

New Orleans, LA

M A I N E

S i s ter Mildred Barker (19 8 3 )

S h a ker Singer

Poland Springs, ME

Mary Mitchell Gabriel (19 9 4 )

Passamaquoddy Baske t m a ke r

Princeton, ME

C l a ra Neptune Ke e zer (200 2 )

Passamaquoddy Baske t m a ke r

Pe rr y, ME

Simon St. P i e rre (19 8 3 )

Fr e n ch-American Fiddler

S myrna Mills, ME

RalphW. S t a n l ey (19 9 9 )

B o a t b u i l d e r

Southwest Harbor, ME

M A R Y L A N D

A p s a ra Dancers (19 9 8 )

Cambodian Musicians &

D a n c e rs

Reston,VA / Fo rtWashington, MD

C h u ck Brown (200 5 )

African-American Musical

I n n ov a t o r

Brandywine, MD

Peou Khatna (19 8 6 )

Cambodian Court Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r

Silver Spring, MD

Chum Ngek (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 200 4 )

Cambodian Musician/Te a ch e r

G a i t h e rsburg, MD

H a rilaos Pa p a p o s tolou (19 9 8 )

Greek Byzantine Chanter

Potomac, MD

Ola Belle Reed (19 8 6 )

A p p a l a chian Banjo Picke r / S i n g e r

Rising Sun, MD

LemWa rd (19 8 3 )

Decoy Carver/Pa i n t e r

Crisfield, MD

JosephT.Wilson (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 2001 )

Fo l k l o r i s t / A d vo c a t e / Pr e s e n t e r

Silver Spring, MD/Trade,T N

M A S S A C H U S E T T S

Joseph Cormier (19 8 4 )

Cape BretonVi o l i n i s t

Waltham, MA

Joe Derrane (200 4 )

Irish-American Butt o n

A c c o r d i o n i s t

Randolph, MA

Pe ter Ky velos (2001 )

Oud Make r

Bedford, MA

James “ J i m my Slyd e” G o d b o l t

( 19 9 9 )

Tap Dancer

Hanson, MA

Nancy Sweezy (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 200 6 )

A d vo c a t e / Sch o l a r / Pr e s e n t e r /

Pr e s e r v a t i o n i s t

Westwood, MA

M I C H I G A N

H owa rdA rm s t rong (19 9 0 )

African-American String Band

M u s i c i a n

Detroit, MI

Nadim Dlaikan (200 2 )

Lebanese Nye (reed flute) Player

So u t h gate, MI

Wade Mainer (19 8 7 )

A p p a l a chian Banjo Picke r / S i n g e r

Flint, MI

A rt Moilanen (19 9 0 )

Finnish A c c o r d i o n i s t

Mass City, MI

Yang Fang Nhu (19 8 8 )

HmongWe a v e r / E m b r o i d e r e r

Detroit, MI

M I N N E S O T A

B o u n xou Chanthraphone (2000 )

LaotianWe a v e r / E m b r o i d e r e r

Brooklyn Park, MN

Paul Dahlin (19 9 6 )

Swedish-American Fiddler

Minneapolis, MN

C h risty Hengel (19 8 9 )

German-American Concert i n a

M a ke r

New Ulm, MN

S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S
Maude Kegg (19 9 0 )

OjibweTradition Bearer

Onamie, MN

Leif Melga a rd (19 8 5 )

N o r w e g i a n - A m e r i c a n

Wo o d c a r v e r

Minneapolis, MN

M I S S I S S I P P I

R i l ey “ B. B.”King (19 9 1 )

Blues Guitarist/Singer

I tta Bena, MS/LasVe gas, NV

Ja ck Owens (19 9 3 )

Blues Singer/Guitarist

Bentonia, MS

H y s te rcine Rankin (19 9 7 )

African-American Quilter

Lorman, MS

OtharTu rner (19 9 2 )

African-American Fife Player

Senatobia, MS

Elder RomaWilson (19 9 4 )

African-American Harmonica

P l a y e r

Blue Springs, MS

M I S S O U R I

Lyman Enloe (19 9 5 )

O l d - Time Fiddler

Lees Summit, MO

Bob Holt (19 9 9 )

Ozark Fiddler

Ava, MO

Mabel E. M u rp hy (19 8 9 )

Anglo-American Quilter

Fulton, MO

Mone &Va n x ay

S a e n p h i m m a chak (19 9 3 )

LaotianWe a v e rs /

N e e d l e w o r ke rs / Lo o m m a ke rs

St. Louis, MO

Willie Mae Fo rd Smith (19 8 8 )

African-American Gospel Singer

St. Louis, MO

HenryTownsend (19 8 5 )

Blues Musician/So n g w r i t e r

St. Louis, MO

Claude “The Fiddler”W i l l i a m s

( 19 9 8 )

Ja z z / Swing Fiddler

Kansas City, MO

M O N T A N A

Agnes “O s h a n e e” Ke n m i l l e

Salish Beadworke r / Re ga l i a

M a ke r

Ronan, MT

Wallace McRae (19 9 0 )

Cowboy Po e t

Fo rsyth, MT

N E B R A S K A

A l b e rt Fa h l b u s ch (19 8 4 )

Hammered Dulcimer Make r /

P l a y e r

Sc o tt s b l u ff, NE

N E V A D A

Jesus Goni (200 3 )

Basque (Bertsolari) Po e t

Reno, NV

R i l ey “ B. B.”King (19 9 1 )

Blues Guitarist/Singer

I tta Bena, MS/LasVe gas, NV

N o rma Miller (200 3 )

African-American Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r

LasVe gas, NV

N E W H A M P S H I R E

Bob McQuillen (200 2 )

Contra Dance Musician/

C o m p o s e r

Peterborough, NH

N e w tonWa s h b u rn (19 8 7 )

Split Ash Baske t m a ke r

L i ttleton, NH

N E W J E R S E Y

Giuseppe and Raffaela DeFra n c o

( 19 9 0 )

Southern Italian Musicians and

D a n c e rs

Belleville, NJ

C h a rles Hankins (19 9 3 )

B o a t b u i l d e r

L a v a l l e tte, NJ

H a rryV. S h o u rds (19 8 9 )

Wildfowl Decoy Carver

Seaville, NJ

Eudokia Soro chaniuk (19 9 9 )

UkrainianWe a v e r / Textile A rtist

Pe n n s a u ken, NJ

N E W M E X I C O

C h a rles M. C a rrillo (200 6 )

Sa n t e r o

Santa Fe, NM

Helen Cord e ro (19 8 6 )

Pueblo Po tt e r

C o chiti Pueblo, NM

FrancesVa ros Graves (19 9 4 )

Hispanic-American Colch a

E m b r o i d e r e r

Ra n chos deTaos, NM

G e o rge López (19 8 2 )

SantosWo o d c a r v e r

C o r d ova, NM

Ramón José López (19 9 7 )

Sa n t e r o / M e t a l s m i t h

Santa Fe, NM

Esther Martinez (200 6 )

N a t ive-American Storyteller/

L i n g u i s t

O h kay Owingeh, NM

R o b e rto & Lore n zo Mart í n e z

( 2 00 3 )

Hispanic Musicians

Albuquerque, NM

Eliseo & Paula Rodriguez (200 4 )

Straw Appliqué A rt i s t s

Santa Fe, NM

Emilio & Senaida Romero (19 8 7 )

Hispanic-American Craft s w o r ke rs

inTin and Embroidery

Santa Fe, NM

M a rga retTa foya (19 8 4 )

Santa Clara Pueblo Po tt e r

Espanola, NM

Irvin L.Trujillo (200 7 )

Rio GrandeWe a v e r

Chimayo, NM

C l e o fasVigil (19 8 4 )

Hispanic Storyteller/Singer

San Cristobal, NM

N E W Y O R K

Frisner Augustin (19 9 9 )

Haitian Drummer

Brooklyn, NY

E d wa rd Babb (19 9 7 )

Shout GospelTr o m b o n i s t /

Band Le a d e r

Jamaica, NY

Bao Mo-Li (19 9 5 )

Chinese-American Jing Erhu

P l a y e r

Flushing, NY

C h a rles “ C h u ck ”T. C a m p b e l l

( 2 00 4 )

Sacred Steel Guitar Player

Ro ch e s t e r, NY

Ja ck Coen (19 9 1 )

Irish-American Flautist

Bronx, NY

Sidiki Conde (200 7 )

Guinean Dancer/Musician

NewYork, NY

Elizabeth Cotten (19 8 4 )

African-American Singer/

So n g w r i t e r

Syracuse, NY

Rosa Elena Egipciaco (200 3 )

Pu e rto Rican Mundillo (Bobbin

Lace) Make r

NewYork, NY

D o n ny Golden (19 9 5 )

Irish-American Stepdancer

Brooklyn, NY

Juan Gutiérrez (19 9 6 )

Pu e rto Rican Drummer

NewYork, NY

Pe riklis Halkias (19 8 5 )

Greek Clarinetist

Astoria, NY

Joe Heaney (19 8 2 )

Irish Singer

Brooklyn, NY

Fatima Ku i n ova (19 9 2 )

Bukharan Jewish Singer

Rego Park, NY

Frankie Manning (2000 )

Lindy Hop Dancer/

C h o r e o g r a p h e r / Te a ch e r

Corona, NY

M i ke Manteo (19 8 3 )

Sicilian Marionett i s t

Staten Island, NY

M a rtin Mulvihill (19 8 4 )

Irish-American Fiddler

Bronx, NY

S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S
S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S

Ng Sheung-Chi (19 9 2 )

ChineseToissan muk’yu Fo l k

S i n g e r

NewYork, NY

João “ João Gra n d e” O l i ve ra

dos Santos (2001 )

Capoeira Angola Master

NewYork, NY

Konstantinos Pilarinos (2000 )

O rt h o d ox Byzantine Icon

Wo o d c a r v e r

Astoria, NY

Qi Shu Fang (2001 )

Beijing Opera Pe r f o r m e r

Woodhaven, NY

Jean Ritchie (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 200 2 )

A p p a l a chian Musician/

Songwriter/Cultural A c t iv i s t

Po rtWashington, NY/Vi p e r, KY

B eyle Sch a e ch te r- G o tte s m a n

( 2 00 5 )

Yiddish Singer/Po e t / So n g w r i t e r

Bronx, NY

Simon Shaheen (19 9 4 )

Arab-American Oud Player

Brooklyn, NY

H owa rd “ S a n d m a n”S i m s

( 19 8 4 )

Tap Dancer

NewYork, NY

Liang-xingTang (19 9 3 )

Chinese-American Pipa (lute)

P l a y e r

Bayside, NY

DaveTa rras (19 8 4 )

Klezmer Clarinetist

Brooklyn, NY

Sanders “ S o n ny ”Te rry (19 8 2 )

Blues Harmonica Player/Singer

Holliswood, NY

N O R T H C A R O L I N A

E tta Baker (19 9 1 )

African-American Guitarist

M o r gantown, NC

S h i rl ey Caesar (19 9 9 )

Gospel Singer

Durham, NC

Wa l ker Calhoun (19 9 2 )

C h e r o kee Musician/

D a n c e r / Te a ch e r

C h e r o kee, NC

B e rtha Cook (19 8 4 )

K n o tted Bedspread Make r

Boone, NC

B u rlon Craig (19 8 4 )

Po tt e r

Vale, NC

Bea Ellis Hensley (19 9 5 )

B l a ck s m i t h

Spruce Pine, NC

R ay Hicks (19 8 3 )

A p p a l a chian Storyteller

Banner Elk, NC

S t a n l ey Hicks (19 8 3 )

A p p a l a chian Musician/

Storyteller/Instrument Make r

Vilas, NC

John Dee Holeman (19 8 8 )

African-American Musician/

D a n c e r / S i n g e r

Durham, NC

To m my Ja rrell (19 8 2 )

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Mt. A i r y, NC

Ve rnon Owens (19 9 6 )

S t o n e ware Po tt e r

Se a g r ove, NC

Mary Jane Queen (200 7 )

A p p a l a chian Musician

Cullowhee, NC

JoeThompson (200 7 )

African-American String

Band Musician

Mebane, NC

DouglasWallin (19 9 0 )

A p p a l a chian Ballad Singer

M a rshall, NC

A rthel “ D o c ”Watson (19 8 8 )

A p p a l a chian Guitarist/Singer

Deep Gap, NC

N O R T H D A K O T A

Francis & Rose Cree (200 2 )

O j i b wa Baske t m a ke rs /

S t o r y t e l l e rs

Dunseith, ND

Mary Louise DefenderW i l s o n

( 19 9 9 )

Dakotah-HidatsaTr a d i t i o n a l i s t /

S t o r y t e l l e r

Shields, ND

S i s ter Rosalia Haberl (19 8 8 )

German-American Bobbin

L a c e m a ke r

Hankinson, ND

N O R T H E R N

M A R I A N A I S L A N D S

Felipe & Joseph Ruak (200 3 )

Carolinian Stick Dance Le a d e rs

C o m m o nwealth of the Nort h e r n

Mariana Islands

O H I O

R o b e rt Lock wo o d , J r. ( 19 9 5 )

Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer

Cleveland, OH

Phong Nguyen (19 9 7 )

Vietnamese Musician/Sch o l a r

Kent, OH

Elijah Pierce (19 8 2 )

C a r v e r / Pa i n t e r

Columbus, OH

Ke n ny Sidle (19 8 8 )

Anglo-American Fiddler

N e wark, OH

O K L A H O M A

B ruce Caesar (19 9 8 )

Sac and Fox- Pa w n e e

S i l v e rs m i t h

Anadarko, OK

Wanda Ja ckson (200 5 )

Early Country/Ro cka b i l l y /

Gospel Singer

Oklahoma City, OK

Vanessa Pa u ke i gope Je n n i n g s

( 19 8 9 )

K i o wa Re galia Make r

Anadarko, OK

Joyce DocTa te Neva q u aya

( 19 8 6 )

C o m a n che Flutist

A p a che, OK

G e o rgeann Robinson (19 8 2 )

Osage Ribbonw o r ke r

B a rtlesville, OK

FredTsoodle (2001 )

K i o wa Sacred Song Le a d e r

MountainVi e w, OK

O R E G O N

Obo Addy (19 9 6 )

Ghanaian-American Drummer

Po rtland, OR

Kevin Burke (200 2 )

Irish Fiddler

Po rtland, OR

G e n ove va Castellanoz (19 8 7 )

Mexican-American Corona

M a ke r

Nyssa, OR

Sophia George (19 9 8 )

Ya kama-Colville Beadworke r

Gresham, OR

Pat Court n ey Gold (200 7 )

WascoWapaas (sally bag)

We a v e r

Scappoose, OR

Bua Xou Mua (19 8 5 )

Hmong Musician

Po rtland, OR

D u ff Seve re (19 8 2 )

Western Sa d d l e m a ke r

Pendleton, OR

Yuqin Wang & Zhengli Xu (200 4 )

Chinese Rod Pu p p e t e e rs

Aloha, OR

P E N N S Y L V A N I A

Dixie Hummingbirds (2000 )

African-American Gospel

Q u a rt e t

Philadelphia, PA

Em Bun (19 9 0 )

Cambodian SilkWe a v e r

H a rrisburg, PA

Je rry Grc e v i ch (200 5 )

Tamburitza Musician/

Prim Player

N o rth Huntingdon, PA
S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S

Losang Samten (200 2 )

Tibetan Sand Mandala Pa i n t e r

Philadelphia, PA

M i ck Moloney (19 9 9 )

Irish Musician

Philadelphia, PA

L a Vaughn E. Robinson (19 8 9 )

Tap Dancer

Philadelphia, PA

Elaine HoffmanWa tts (200 7 )

Klezmer Musician

H a v e rtown, PA

H o race “ S p o o n s ”W i l l i a m s

( 19 8 5 )

Pe r c u s s i o n i s t / Po e t

Philadelphia, PA

P U E R T O R I C O

JuanA l i n d a to (19 8 7 )

C a r n ival Maskmake r

Ponce, PR

Celestino Avilés (2001 )

Sa n t e r o

O r o c ovis, PR

R a fael Cepeda (19 8 3 )

Bomba Musician/Dancer

Santurce, PR

José González (2000 )

H a m m o ckWe a v e r

San Sebastián, PR

Julio Negrón-Rive ra (19 8 5 )

Pu e rto Rican Instrument Make r

M o r ovis, PR

Emilio Rosado (19 9 0 )

Wo o d c a r v e r

Utuado, PR

R H O D E I S L A N D

N i cholas Benson (200 7 )

Stone Le tter Cutt e r / C a r v e r

N e w p o rt, RI

S O U T H C A R O L I N A

Janie Hunter (19 8 4 )

African-American Singer/

S t o r y t e l l e r

Johns Island, SC

Mary Jane Manigault (19 8 4 )

African-American Se a g r a s s

B a s ke t m a ke r

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Philip Simmons (19 8 2 )

Ornamental Ironw o r ke r

Charleston, SC

S O U T H D A K O T A

Kevin Locke (19 9 0 )

Lakota Flute Player/Singer/

D a n c e r / S t o r y t e l l e r

Mobridge, SD

Nellie Star Boy Menard (19 9 5 )

Lakota Sioux Quiltmake r

Rosebud, SD

Alice New Holy Blue Legs (19 8 5 )

Lakota Sioux Quill A rt i s t

Oglala, SD

T E N N E S S E E

Fairfield Four (19 8 9 )

African-American Gospel

S i n g e rs

Nashville,T N

Ke n ny Baker (19 9 3 )

Bluegrass Fiddler

C o ttontown,T N

Ralph Blizard (200 2 )

O l d - Time Fiddler

Blountville,T N

Dale Calhoun (19 9 8 )

Boatbuilder

Ti p t o nville,T N

Je rry Douglas (200 4 )

Dobro Player

Nashville,T N

Will Keys (19 9 6 )

A p p a l a chian Banjo Player

G r a y,T N

D oyle Lawson (200 6 )

Gospel/Bluegrass Singer/

A rr a n g e r / B a n d l e a d e r

Bristol,T N

Bill Monroe (19 8 2 )

Bluegrass Musician

Nashville,T N

Jim & Jesse McReynolds (19 9 7 )

Bluegrass Musicians

Gallatin,T N

E a rl Scruggs (19 8 9 )

Bluegrass Banjo Player

Madison,T N

R o b e rt Spicer (19 9 0 )

Flatfoot Dancer

D i ckson,T N

Alex Ste wa rt (19 8 3 )

C o o p e r / Wo o d w o r ke r

Sneedville,T N

JosephT.Wilson (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 2001 )

Fo l k l o r i s t / A d vo c a t e / Pr e s e n t e r

Silver Spring, MD/Trade,T N

N i m rod Wo rkman (19 8 6 )

A p p a l a chian Ballad Singer

Mascot,T N / C h a tt a r o y,W V

T E X A S

Pe d roAyala (19 8 8 )

Mexican-American A c c o r d i o n i s t

Donna,T X

A n tonio De La Rosa (19 9 8 )

Tejano Conjunto A c c o r d i o n i s t

R iviera,T X

Jo h n ny Gimble (19 9 4 )

Western Swing Fiddler

Dripping Springs,T X

S a n t i a go Jiménez, J r. ( 2 000 )

Tejano A c c o r d i o n i s t / S i n g e r

San Antonio,T X

Va l e rio Longo ria (19 8 6 )

Mexican-American A c c o r d i o n i s t

San Antonio,T X

N a rciso Martínez (19 8 3 )

Conjunto A c c o r d i o n i s t /

C o m p o s e r

San Benito,T X

Lydia Mendoza (19 8 2 )

Mexican-American Singer

Houston,T X

Alex Moore , S r. ( 19 8 7 )

Blues Pianist

Dallas,T X

B u ck Ramsey (19 9 5 )

Cowboy Po e t / S i n g e r

Amarillo,T X

D o m i n go “ M i n go” S a l d i va r

( 2 00 2 )

Conjunto A c c o r d i o n i s t

San Antonio,T X

DonWalser (2000 )

Western Singer/Guitarist

Austin,T X

U T A H

Mary Holiday Black (19 9 5 )

Navajo Baske t m a ke r

Mexican Hat, UT

V E R M O N T

Amber Densmore (19 8 8 )

Q u i l t e r / N e e d l e w o r ke r

Chelsea,V T

N o rman Kennedy (200 3 )

We a v e r / S i n g e r / S t o r y t e l l e r

M a rshfield,V T

V I R G I N I S L A N D S

Sy l ve s ter McIntosh (19 8 7 )

Crucian Singer/Bandleader

St. Croix,V I

V I R G I N I A

A p s a ra Ensemble (19 9 8 )

Cambodian Musicians &

D a n c e rs

Reston,VA / Fo rtWashington, MD

Ja n e tte Carter (Bess Lomax

H awes Awa rd 200 5 )

A p p a l a chian Musician/Advo c a t e

Hiltons,VA

John Cephas (19 8 9 )

Piedmont Blues Guitarist/Singer

Woodford,VA

Wayne Henderson (19 9 5 )

A p p a l a chian Luthier/Musician

Mouth ofWilson,VA
John Ja ckson (19 8 6 )

African-American Singer/Guitarist

Fairfax Station,VA

Flory Ja goda (200 2 )

Sephardic Musician/Composer

Falls Church,VA

Ralph Stanley (19 8 4 )

A p p a l a chian Banjo Player/Singer

Coeburn,VA

W A S H I N G T O N

S a n t i a goAlmeida (19 9 3 )

Conjunto Musician

S u n nyside,WA

A l f redo Campos (19 9 9 )

H o rse-Hair Hitch e r

FederalWa y,WA

Violet Hilbert (19 9 4 )

S kagit Storyteller

Se a ttle,WA

N e ttie Ja ckson (2000 )

K l i ckitat Baske t m a ke r

White Swan,WA

G e rald “ S u b i yay ” Miller (200 4 )

SkokomishTradition Bearer/

C a r v e r / B a s ke t m a ke r

Shelton,WA

Wilho Saari (200 6 )

Finnish Kantele (Lap-harp) Player

Naselle,WA

W E S T V I R G I N I A

H a zel Dickens (2001 )

A p p a l a chian Singer/So n g w r i t e r

Washington, DC/Montcalm,W V

E l l i o tt “ E l l i e” M a n e tte (19 9 9 )

Trinidadian Steel Pan Builder/Tu n e r / P l a y e r

M o r gantown,W V

B. D o ro t hyThompson (2000 )

A p p a l a chianWe a v e r

Davis,W V

MelvinWine (19 9 1 )

A p p a l a chian Fiddler

Copen,W V

N i m rodWo rkman (19 8 6 )

A p p a l a chian Ballad Singer

Mascot,T N / C h a tt a r o y,W V

W I S C O N S I N

Louis Bashell (19 8 7 )

S l ovenian Po l ka A c c o r d i o n i s t

Greenfield,W I

Lila Gre e n g rass Blackdeer (19 9 9 )

Hocak Black A s h

B a s ke t m a ke r / N e e d l e w o r ke r

B l a ck River Falls,W I

B e tty Pisio Chri s tenson (19 9 6 )

Ukranian-American Egg Decorator

Suring,W I

G e rald R. H aw p e toss (19 9 2 )

M e n o m i n e e / Po t o watomie Re galia Make r

M i l wa u kee,W I

Ethel Kvalheim (19 8 9 )

Norwegian Ro s e m a l e r

Stoughton,W I

Ron Poast (200 3 )

Hardanger Fiddle Make r

B l a ck Earth,W I

W Y O M I N G

M a rtin Goicoechea (200 3 )

Basque (Bertsolari) Po e t

Ro ck Springs,W Y

Don King ( 19 9 1 )

Western Sa d d l e m a ker

Sheridan,W Y

E va McAdams (19 9 6 )

Shoshone Re galia Make r

Fo rtWashakie,W Y

S T A T E L I S T O F N A T I O N A L H E R I T A G E F E L L O W S H I P R E C I P I E N T S
The DVD-Rom is an inte ra c t ive learning ex p e r i e n ce and is the most co m p re h e n s ive

documentation of the NEANational Heritage Fe l l ow s ,1 9 8 2 - 2 0 0 6 , compiled to

d a te .The DVD-Rom includes 316 biographical entries, 3,785 photo g ra p h s , 1 , 3 4 9

music and interview segments (29.25 hours ) ,and 401 videos (6.67 hours) and is

e a s i ly sortable.Whether you are re s e a rching a particular art form orartist, o r

ra n d o m ly exploring this vast cultural landscape,what you’ll find is amazing.

A co m p u ter with a DVD drive is re q u i red to view the DVD-Rom—it will not wo rk

in a DVD playe r.

( S ys tem re q u i rements: Mac: Mac OS 10.2 or higher, 256 MB RAM, 1 Ghz

P ro cessor or fa s ter; PC: Wi n d ows XP, 256 MBRAM, 1 Ghz Pro cessor or fa s te r )

The DVD-Rom was pro d u ced for the NEA by Documentary Arts

P roject Dire c tor: Alan Gove n a r

Technical design: Alan Hatc h e t t ,A n d rew Dean,Daniel S. D u n n a m

Flash pro g ramming: Chris Griffith

C o pyediting: Jay F.B ra ke f i e l d

The 70-page Maste rs of Traditional Arts Education Guide by Pa d dy Bow m a n ,

Betty Carte r,and Alan Gove n a r — c re a ted in 2002 to acco m p a ny the first ve rsion

of the DVD-Rom—is available as a PDF document on this DV D - R o m .

DVD label photo credits(clockwise fromtop left):

2004 Fe l l ow Anjani Ambego a k a r, P h o to by Alan Govenar; 2001 Fe l l ow Qi Shu Fa n g , P h o to 

by Alan Govenar; 2005 Fe l l ow Michael Douce t , P h o to by Alan Govenar; 2006 Fe l l ow

Diomedes Mato s ,P h o to by Alan Govenar; 1987 Fe l l ow Genove va Caste l l a n o z ,P h o to by

Jan Boles; 2006 Fe l l ow GeorgeNa’ope, P h o to by Alan Govenar; 1987 Fe l l ow Allison 

“ To o t i e ” M o n t a n a ,C o u r tesy of Joyce Montana; 2001 Fe l l ow Doro t hy Tr u m p o l d , P h o to

by Alan Govenar & Andrew Dean

NEANationalHerita ge

Fe l lowships DV D - R o m
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in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing

leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of

the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts,

bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. 
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20560-0001

www.arts.gov

Not for sale––Available for free at www.arts.gov

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