The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. It is a one-time only award and fellows must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
The program began in 1982. Each year, fellowships are presented to between ten and fifteen artists or groups at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C. A biographical dictionary of the award winners from the first 20 years was published in 2001. A young readers book featuring five of the National Heritage Fellows entitled "Extraordinary Ordinary People: Five American Masters of Traditional Arts" was published in 2006.
Awardees have included Native American basket weavers, African American blues musicians, traditional fiddlers, Mexican American accordionists, and all manner of traditional artisans and performers of numerous ethnic backgrounds.
National Heritage Fellowship winners include:
Dewey Balfa, Cajun fiddlerJoe Heaney, Irish Sean Nós singerTommy Jarrell, Appalachian fiddlerBessie Jones, singer, member of the Georgia Sea Island SingersGeorge López, Santos woodcarverBrownie McGhee, blues guitaristHugh McGraw, shape note singerLydia Mendoza, Mexican American singerBill Monroe, bluegrass musicianElijah Pierce, carver and painterAdam Popovich, Tamburitza musicianGeorgeann Robinson, Osage ribbonworkerDuff Severe, saddlemakerPhilip Simmons, ornamental ironworker and blacksmithSanders "Sonny" Terry, blues musicianSister Mildred Barker, Shaker singerRafael Cepeda, bomba dancer and musicianRay Hicks, Appalachian storytellerStanley Hicks, Appalachian musician and storytellerJohn Lee Hooker, blues guitarist and singerMike Manteo, Sicilian marionettist (Marionette maker)Narciso Martínez, accordionist and composerLanier Meaders, potter from GeorgiaAlmeda Riddle, ballad singerSimon St. Pierre, French American fiddler from MaineJoe Shannon (piper), Irish piperAlex Stewart, copper and woodworkerAda Thomas, Chitimacha basketmakerLucinda Toomer, African American quilterLem Ward, duck decoy maker and painterDewey Williams, shape note singerClifton ChenierBertha CookJoseph CormierElizabeth CottenBurlon CraigAlbert FahlbuschJanie HunterMary Jane ManigaultGenevieve MouginMartin MulvihillHoward "Sandman" SimsRalph StanleyMargaret TafoyaDave Tarras, klezmer clarinetistPaul TiulanaCleofes VigilEmily Kau'i ZuttermeisterEppie ArchuletaAlice New Holy Blue LegsPeriklis HalkiasJimmy JausoroMeali'i KalamaLily May LedfordLeif MelgaardBua Xou Mua, Hmong musicianJulio Negrón-RiveraGlenn OhrlinHenry TownsendHorace "Spoons" WilliamsHelen Cordero, potterLouis Bashell, polka musicianWade Mainer, bluegrass banjoistWhistlin' Alex Moore, blues pianistAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew, blues pianist.Michael Flatley, Irish American step dancerVanessa Paukeigope Jennings, Kiowa regalia makerLaVaughn Robinson, tap dancer and choreographerEarl Scruggs, banjo playerChesley Goseyun Wilson, Apache fiddle makerNati Cano, Mariachi musician, leader of Mariachi los CamperosKevin Locke, Lakota Flute Player/Singer/Dancer/Storyteller Mobridge, SDWally McRae, Cowboy Poet Colstrip MontanaEm Bun, Cambodian Silk Weaver Harrisburg, PAArmstrong, Howard, African-American string band musician, visual artistJack Coen Irish-American FlautistIrvan Perez, Isleño décima singer and woodcarverMelvin Wine, Appalachian fiddlerFatima Kuinova, Bukharan Jewish singer "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union"Jerry Brown, stoneware potterT. Viswanathan, South Indian flutist and vocalistWalker Calhoun, Cherokee musician, dancer, and teacherElder Roma Wilson, gospel blues harmonica playerLiz Carroll Irish American fiddlerVi HilbertSimon ShaheenDonny Golden - Irish American step dancerWayne Henderson- musician, luthierEdward Babb, shout band leaderCharles Brown, blues pianist, singer and composerGladys Clark, Cajun spinner and weaverGeorgia Harris, Catawba poetHua Wenyi, Chinese Kunqu opera singerAli Akbar Khan, North Indian classical sarod playerRamón José López, santero and metalsmithJim & Jesse McReynolds, bluegrass musicians and brothersPhong Nguyen (Nguyễn Thuyết Phong), Vietnamese musician and ethnomusicologistHystercine Rankin, African American quilterFrancis Whitaker, blacksmith and ornamental ironworkerApsara Ensemble, Cambodian traditional dancers and musiciansEddie Blazonczyk, Polish American musician and bandleaderDale Calhoun, boat builderBruce Caesar, Sac and Fox-Pawnee, German silversmithAntonio De La Rosa, Tejano conjunto accordionistEpstein Brothers, Jewish Klezmer musiciansSophia George, Yakama - Colville beadworkerNadjeschda Overgaard, Danish American hardanger embroidery needleworkerHarilaos Papapostolou, Greek Byzantine chanterClaude "Fiddler" Williams, jazz and swing fiddlerPops Staples, gospel and blues musicianFrisner Augustin, Haitian drummerLila Greengrass Blackdeer, Ho-Chunk Black Ash basketmaker and needleworkerShirley Caesar, gospel singerAlfredo Campos, horse hair hitcherMary Louise Defender Wilson, Dakotah-Hidatsa traditionalist and storytellerJimmy "Slyde" Godbolt, tapdancerUlysses Goode, Western Mono basketmakerBob Holt, Ozark fiddlerZakir Hussain, tabla playerElliott "Ellie" Mannette, steel pan builder, tuner and playerMick Moloney, Irish musicianEudokia Sorochaniuk, Ukrainian American weaver and textile artistRalph W. Stanley, boatbuilderBounxou Chanthraphone, Laotian American weaverThe Dixie Hummingbirds, African American Gospel QuartetJosé González, hammock weaverNettie Jackson, Klickitat basketmakerSantiago Jiménez, Jr., Tejano AccordionistGenoa Keawe, Native Hawaiian singer and ukulele playerFrankie Manning, lindy hop dancer and choreographerJoe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, blues piano playerKonstantinos Pilarinos, Orthodox Byzantine icon woodcarverChris Strachwitz, record producer and label founderDorothy Thompson, weaverFelipe García Villamil, Afro-Cuban drummer and santeroDon Walser, Western singer and guitaristWilson "Boozoo" Chavis, Creole zydeco accordionistCelestino Avilés, santeroMozell Benson, quilterHazel Dickens, Appalachian singer and songwriterJoão Oliveira dos Santos (Mestre João Grande), Capoeira Angola masterEvalena Henry, Apache basketweaverPeter Kyvelos, oud makerEddie Pennington, thumbpicking-style guitaristQi Shu Fang, Beijing Opera performerSeiichi Tanaka, Taiko drummer and dojo founderDorothy Trumpold, rug weaverFred Tsoodle, Kiowa sacred song leaderJoseph Wilson, folkloristRalph Blizard, fiddlerLoren Bommelyn, Tolowa tradition bearerKevin Burke, Irish American fidlerRose Cree and Francis Cree, Ojibwe basketmakers and storytellersNadim Dlaikan, nye (reed flute) playerLuderin Darbone and Edwin Duhon, Cajun fiddler and accordionistDavid "Honeyboy" Edwards, blues guitarist and singerFlory Jagoda, Jewish-American singer, songwriter, and guitaristClara Neptune Keezer, Passamaquoddy basketmakerBob McQuillen, Contra dance musician and composerDomingo Saldivar, Conjunto accordionistLosang Samten, Tibetan monk and creator of sandpaintingsJean Ritchie, Appalachian musician and songwriterRosa Elena Egipciaco, mundillo maker (Puerto Rican Bobbin Lace)Agnes "Oshanee" Kenmille, Salish beadworker and regalia makerNorman Kennedy, Scottish weaver, singer, storytellerRoberto Martinez and Lorenzo Martinez, father and son musiciansNorma Miller, African American Swing Dancer/ChoreographerRon Poast, Hardanger fiddle makerFelipe I. Ruak and Joseph K. Ruak, father and son Carolinian stick dancersManoochehr Sadeghi, santur playerJesus Arriada, Johnny Curutchet, Martin Goicoechea and Jesus Goni, Basque (Bertsolari) poetsAnjani Ambegaokar, Kathak dancerCharles "Chuck" T. Campbell, Gospel steel guitaristJoe Derrane, Irish-American button accordionistJerry Douglas, Dobro playerGerald "Subiyay" Miller, Skokomish tradition bearer, carver, basket makerChum Ngek, Cambodian musician and teacherMilan Opacich, Tamburitza instrument makerEliseo Rodriguez and Paula Rodriguez, husband and wife straw appliqué artistsKoko Taylor, blues musicianYuqin Wang and Zhengli Xu, Chinese rod puppeteers Eldrid Skjold Arntzen, Norwegian-American rosemalerEarl Barthé, Creole building artisanChuck Brown, African American musical innovatorJanette Carter, country musicianMichael Doucet, Cajun fiddler, composer, band leaderBig Joe Duskin, blues and boogie-woogie pianistJerry Grcevich, Tamburitza musician, prim playerWanda Jackson, country, rockabilly and gospel singerGrace Henderson Nez, Navajo weaverHerminia Albarrán Romero, paper cutting artistBeyle Schaechter-Gottesman, Yiddish singer, songwriter, and poetAlbertina Walker, gospel singer,"Queen of Gospel Music"James Ka'upena Wong, Hawaiian chanterCharles M. Carrillo, santeroDelores Elizabeth Churchill, Haida cedar bark weaverHenry Gray, blues piano player and singerDoyle Lawson, Gospel and bluegrass singer, bandleaderEsther Martinez, Tewa linguist and storytellerDiomedes Matos, master string instrument makerGeorge Na'ope, hula masterWilho Saari, Finnish kantele playerMavis Staples, Gospel, rhythm and blues singerNancy Sweezy, folklorist and potterTreme Brass Band, New Orleans based brass bandNicholas Benson, stone letter cutter and calligrapherSidiki Conde, Guinean dancer and musicianViolet Kazue de Cristoforo, Haiku poet and historianRoland Freeman, photo documentarian, author, and exhibit CuratorPat Courtney Gold, Wasco sally bag weaverEddie Kamae, Hawaiian musicianAgustin Lira, Chicano singer and musician,Julia Parker, Kashia Pomo basketmakerMary Jane Queen, Appalachian musicianJoe Thompson, string band musicianIrvin Trujillo, Rio Grande weaverElaine Hoffman Watts, Klezmer musicianHorace Axtell, Nez Perce drum maker, singer, tradition-bearerDale Harwood, saddlemakerBettye Kimbrell, quilterJeronimo E. Lozano, Peruvian retablo makerOneida Hymn Singers of WisconsinSue Yeon Park, Korean dancer and musicianMoges Seyoum, Ethiopian liturgical minister and scholarJelon Vieira, Capoeira masterDr. Michael White, traditional jazz musician and bandleaderMac Wiseman, Bluegrass musicianWalter Murray Chiesa, traditional arts specialist and advocateBirmingham Sunlights, five-man, four-part harmony a cappella gospel groupEdwin Colón Zayas, Puerto Rican cuatroChitresh Das, Kathak dancer and choreographerLeRoy Graber, German-Russian willow basketmaker from South Dakota"Queen" Ida Guillory, Zydeco musician and singerDudley Laufman, Contra and barn dance caller and musicianAmma D. McKen, Yoruba Orisha singerJoel Nelson, Cowboy poetTeri Rofkar, Tlingit weaver and basketmakerMike Seeger, folk musician, cultural scholarSophiline Cheam Shapiro, Cambodian classical dancer and choreographerYacub Addy, Ghanaian drum master, preserves music of the Ga peopleJim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, Texas fiddlerGladys Kukana Grace, Lauhala (palm leaf) weaverMary Jackson, Gullah sweetgrass basketweaverDelano Floyd "Del" McCoury, Bluegrass guitarist and singerJudith McCulloh, Folklorist and editorKamala Lakshmi Narayanan, Bharatanatyam Indian dancerMike Rafferty, Irish flute playerEzequiel Torres, Afro-Cuban drummer and drum-builderLaverne Brackens, QuilterCarlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, Frame drum player and percussionistBo Dollis, Mardi Gras Indian ChiefJim Griffith, folkloristRoy and PJ Hirabayashi, Taiko drum leadersLedward Kaapana, Ukulele and slack key guitaristFrank Newsome, Old Regular Baptist singerWarner Williams, Piedmont blues songsterYuri Yunakov, Bulgarian saxophonistMike AuldridgePaul & Darlene BergrenHarold A. BurnhamAlbert B. HeadLeonardo "Flaco" JiménezLynne Yoshiko NakasoneMolly Neptune ParkerThe Paschall BrothersAndy StatmanSheila Kay Adams, Storyteller and musicianRalph Burns, Pyramid Lake Paiute storytellerVerónica Castillo, Ceramicist and clay SculptorSéamus Connolly, Irish fiddler and scholarNicolae Feraru, Cimbalom playerCarol Fran, Swamp blues singer and pianist (both French Creole and English singer)Pauline Hillaire, Lummi artist, teacher, and storytellerDavid Ivey, Sacred Harp singerRamón "Chunky" Sánchez, Chicano musicianHenry Arquette, Mohawk basketmakerManuel "Cowboy" Donley, Tejano musician and singerKevin Doyle, Irish step dancerThe Holmes Brothers, blues, gospel, and R&B bandYvonne Walker Keshick, Odawa quill workerCarolyn Mazloomi, quilting community advocateVera Nakonechny, Ukrainian embroiderer and bead workerSinging & Praying Bands of Maryland and Delaware, African-American religious singersRufus White, Omaha traditional singer and drum group leaderRahim AlHaj, oud player & composerMichael Alpert, Yiddish musician and tradition bearerMary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway — quilters of Gee's BendDolly Jacobs, circus aerialistYary Livan, Cambodian ceramicistDaniel Sheehy, ethnomusicologist/folkloristDrink Small, blues artistGertrude Yukie Tsutsumi, Japanese classical dancerSidonka Wadina, Slovak straw artist/egg decoratorBryan Akipa, Dakota flute maker and playerMonk Boudreaux, Mardi Gras Indian craftsman and musicianBilly McComiskey, Irish button accordionistArtemio Posadas, Master Huastecan son musician and advocateClarissa Rizal, Tlingit ceremonial regalia makerTheresa Secord, Penobscot Nation ash/sweetgrass basketmakerBounxeung Synanonh, Laotian khaen playerMichael Vlahovich, master shipwrightLeona Waddell, white oak basketmaker