:: 2008 NEA National Heritage Fellows

Horace P. Axtell Nez Perce drum maker, singer, tradition-bearer Lewiston, ID	Dale Harwood Saddlemaker Shelley, ID	Bettye Kimbrell Quilter Mt. Olive, AL
Jeronimo E. Lozano Peruvian retablo maker Salt Lake City, UT	Oneida Hymn Singers of Wisconsin Oneida hymn singers Oneida, WI	Sue Yeon Park Korean dancer and musician New York, NY
Moges Seyoum Ethiopian liturgical musician/scholar Alexandria, VA	Jelon Vieira Capoeira master New York, NY	Dr. Michael White Traditional jazz musician/bandleader New Orleans, LA
Mac Wiseman Bluegrass musician Nashville, TN	Walter Murray Chiesa Traditional arts specialist and advocate Bayamón, PR

In 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts established the NEA National Heritage Awards as a way of honoring American folk artists for their contributions to our national cultural mosaic. Modelled after the Japanese "National Living Treasures" concept, the idea began with Bess Lomax Hawes, then director of the Folk Arts Program.

Profile materials for 1982-2007 courtesy of Documentary Arts. Use of some photographs courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives & Collections

Contact Liz Auclair in the NEA’s Public Affairs office at auclaire@arts.gov for high-resolution images of the 2013 Fellows for press purposes.

NEA Heritage Fellows
1982-Present: 
BY YEAR | ALPHA

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