NATIONAL 1982 1983 1984 Dewey Balfa * Sister Mildred Barker * Clifton Chenier * HERITAGE Cajun Fiddler Shaker Singer Creole Accordionist Basile, LA Poland Spring, ME Lafayette, LA FELLOWS Joe Heaney * Rafael Cepeda * Bertha Cook * Irish Singer Bomba Musician/Dancer Knotted Bedspread Maker 1982–2019 Brooklyn, NY Santurce, PR Boone, NC Tommy Jarrell * Ray Hicks * Joseph Cormier * Appalachian Fiddler Appalachian Storyteller Cape Breton Violinist Mt. Airy, NC Banner Elk, NC Waltham, MA
Bessie Jones * Stanley Hicks * Elizabeth Cotten * Georgia Sea Island Singer Appalachian Musician/Storyteller/ African-American Singer/Songster Brunswick, GA Instrument Maker Syracuse, NY Vilas, NC George Lopez * Burlon Craig * Santos Woodcarver John Lee Hooker * Potter Cordova, NM Blues Guitarist/Singer Vale, NC San Francisco, CA Brownie McGhee * Albert Fahlbusch * Blues Guitarist/Singer Mike Manteo * Hammered Dulcimer Player/ Oakland, CA Sicilian Marionettist Builder Staten Island, NY Scottsbluff,NE Hugh McGraw * Shape Note Singer Narciso Martinez * Janie Hunter * Bremen, GA Texas-Mexican Accordionist/ African-American Singer/ Composer Storyteller Lydia Mendoza * San Benito, TX Johns Island, SC Mexican-American Singer San Antonio, TX Lanier Meaders * Mary Jane Manigault * Potter African-American Seagrass Cleveland, GA Basketmaker Bill Monroe * Mt. Pleasant, SC Bluegrass Musician Nashville, TN Almeda Riddle * Ballad Singer Genevieve Mougin * Greers Ferry, AR Lebanese-American Lace Maker Elijah Pierce * Bettendorf, IA Carver/Painter Columbus, OH Joe Shannon * Irish Piper Martin Mulvihill * Chicago, IL Irish-American Fiddler Adam Popovich * Bronx, NY Tamburitza Musician Dolton, IL Simon St. Pierre French-American Fiddler Howard “Sandman” Sims * Smyrna Mills, ME African-American Tap Dancer Georgeann Robinson * New York, NY Osage Ribbonworker Bartelsville, OK Alex Stewart * Cooper/Woodworker Ralph Stanley * Bluegrass Banjo Player/ Sneedville, TN Duff Severe * Appalachian Singer Saddle Maker Coeburn, VA Pendleton, OR Ada Thomas * Chitimacha Basketmaker Charenton, LA Margaret Tafoya * Philip Simmons * Santa Clara Pueblo Potter Ornamental Ironwork Espanola, NM Charleston, SC Lucinda Toomer * African-American Quilter Columbus, GA Dave Tarras * Sanders “Sonny” Terry * Klezmer Clarinetist Blues Harmonica/Singer Brooklyn, NY Holliswood, NY Lem Ward * Decoy Carver/Painter Paul Tiulana * Crisfield,MD Eskimo Mask Maker/Dancer/ Singer Dewey Williams * Anchorage, AK * Deceased Shape Note Singer Ozark, AL Cleofas Vigil * Hispanic Storyteller/Singer San Cristobal, NM Emily Kau’i Zuttermeister * Hula Master (Kumu Hula) Kaneohe, Hi 1985 1986 1987 1988
Eppie Archuleta * Alphonse “Bois Sec” Juan Alindato * Pedro Ayala * Hispanic Weaver Ardoin * Carnival Maskmaker Mexican-American Accordionist San Luis Valley, CO Creole Accordionist Ponce, PR Donna, TX Eunice, LA Periklis Halkias * Louis Bashell * Kepka Belton Greek Clarinetist Earnest Bennett * Slovenian Accordionist Czech-American Egg Painter Astoria Queens, NY Anglo-American Whittler Greenfield,WI Ellsworth, KS Indianapolis, IN Jimmy Jausoro * Genoveva Castellanoz Amber Densmore * Basque Accordionist Helen Cordero * Mexican-American Corona Maker New England Quilter/ Boise, ID Pueblo Potter Nyssa, OR Needleworker Cochiti, NM Chelsea, VT Mealii Kalama * Thomas Edison Hawaiian Quilter Sonia Domsch “Brownie” Ford * Michael Flatley Honolulu, HI Czech-American Bobbin Anglo-Comanche Cowboy Irish-American Stepdancer Lace Maker Singer/Storyteller Palos Park, IL Lily May Ledford * Atwood, KS Herbert, LA Appalachian Musician/Singer Sister Rosalia Haberl * Lexington, KY Canray Fontenot * Kansuma Fujima German-American Bobbin Creole Fiddler Japanese-American Dancer Lace Maker Leif Melgaard * Welsh, La Los Angeles, CA Hankinson, ND Norwegian Woodcarver Minneapolis, MN John Jackson * Claude Joseph Johnson * John Dee Holeman Black Songster/Guitarist African-American Religious African-American Musician/ Bua Xou Mua * Fairfax Station, VA Singer/Orator Dancer/Singer Hmong Musician Atlanta, GA Durham, NC Portland, OR Peou Khatna * Cambodian Court Dancer/ Raymond Kane * Albert “Sunnyland Slim” Julio Negrón-Rivera * Choreographer Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist/ Laundrew * Puerto Rican Instrument Maker Silver Spring, MD Singer Blues Pianist/Singer Morovis, PR Wai’ane, HI Chicago, IL Valerio Longoria * Alice New Holy Mexican-American Accordionist Wade Mainer * Yang Fang Nhu * Blue Legs * San Antonio, TX Appalachian Banjo Picker/Singer Hmong Weaver/Embroiderer Lakota Sioux Quill Artist Flint, MI Detroit, MI Rapid City, SD Doc Tate Nevaquaya * Comanche Indian Flutist Sylvester McIntosh * Kenny Sidle Glenn Ohrlin * Apache, OK Crucian Singer/Bandleader Anglo-American Fiddler Cowboy Singer/Storyteller/ St. Croix, VI Newark, OH Illustrator Luis Ortega * Mountain Veiw, AR Hispanic-American Allison “Tootie” Montana * Willi Mae Ford Smith * Rawhide Worker Mardi Gras Chief/Costume Maker African-American Gospel Singer Henry Townsend * Paradise, CA New Orleans, LA St. Louis, MO Blues Musicain/Songwriter St. Louis, MO Ola Belle Reed * Alex Moore, Sr. * Clyde “Kindy” Sproat * Appalachian Banjo Picker/Singer African-American Blues Pianist Hawaiian Cowboy Singer/Ukulele Horace “Spoons” Rising Sun, MD Dallas, TX Player Williams * Kapaaee, HI Percussionist/ Poet Jennie Thlunaut * Emilio & Senaida Romero * Philadelphia, PA Tlingit Chilkat Blanket Weaver Hispanic-American Tin and Arthel “Doc” Watson * Haines, AK Embroidery Workers Appalachian Guitarist/Singer Santa Fe, NM Deep Gap, NC Nimrod Workman * Appalachian Ballad Singer Newton Washburn * Macot, & Chattaroy, TN/WV Split Ash Basketmaker Bethlehem, NH 1989 1990 1991 1992
John Cephas * Howard Armstrong * Etta Baker * Francisco Aguabella * Piedmont Blues Guitarist/Singer African-American String African-American Guitarist Afro-Cuban Drummer Woodford, VA Band Musican Morgantown, NC Los Angeles, CA Boston, MA Fairfield Four George Blake Jerry Brown * African-American a Capelle Em Bun * Native American Craftsman Potter (southern stoneware Gospel Singers Cambodian Silk Weaver (Hupa-Yurok) tradition) Nashville, TN Harrisburg, PA Hoopa Valley, CA Hamilton, AL
José Gutiérrez Natividad Cano * Jack Coen * Walker Calhoun * Mexican Jarocho Musician/Singer Mexican-American Mariachi Irish-American Flautist Cherokee Musican/Dancer/ Norwalk, CA Musican Bronx, NY Teacher Fillmore, CA Cherokee, NC Richard Avedis Hagopian Rose Frank * Armenian Oud Player Giuseppe * and Nez Perce Cornhusk Weaver Clyde Davenport Visalia, CA Raffaela DeFranco Lapwai, ID Appalachian Fiddler Southern Italian Musicians and Jamestown, TN Christy Hengel * Dancers Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero * German-American Concertina Belleville, NJ Mexican-American Singer/ Belle Deacon * Maker Guitarist/Composer Athabascan Basketmaker New Ulm, MN Maude Kegg * Cathedral City, CA Greyling, AK Ojibwe Storyteller/Craftsperson/ Vanessa Paukeigope Tradition Bearer Khamvong Insixiengmai Nora Ezell * Jennings Onamia, MN Southeast Asian Lao Singer African-American Quilter Kiowa Regalia Maker Fresno, CA Five Points, TN Fort Cobb, OK Kevin Locke Lakota Flute Player/Singer/ Don King * Gerald Hawpetoss * Ilias Kementzides * Dancer/Storyteller Western Saddlemaker Menominee/Potowatomie Pontic Greek Lyra Player Wakpala, SD Sheridan, WY Regalia Maker and Builder Neopit, WI South Norwalk, CT Marie McDonald Riley “B.B.” King * Hawaiian Lei Maker African-American Blues Musician/ Fatima Kuinova Ethel Kvalheim * Kamuela, HI Singer/bandleader Bukharan Jewish Singer Norwegian Rosemaler Itta Bena, MS Rego Park, NY Stoughton, WI Wallace McRae Cowboy Poet Esther Littlefield * John Yoshio Naka * Mabel E. Murphy * Forsyth, MT Alaskan Regalia Maker (Tlingit) Bonsai Sculptor Anglo-American Quilter Sitka, AK Whittier, CA Fulton, MO Art Moilanen * Finnish Accordionist Seisho “Harry” Nakasone * Marc Savoy LaVaughn E. Robinson * Mass City, MI Okinawan-American Musician Cajun Accordion Player/Builder African-American Tap Dancer Honolulu, HI Eunice, LA Philadelphia, PA Emilio Rosado * Woodcarver Irvan Perez * Ng Sheung-Chi * Earl Scruggs * Utado, PR Isleno Singer (Canary Islands) Chinese Toissan Muk’yu Folk Bluegrass Banjo Player Poydras, LA Singer Nashville, TN Robert Spicer * New York, NY Flatfoot and Buckdancer Dancer Morgan Sexton * Harry V. Shourds * Dickson, TN Appalachian Banjo Player/Singer Othar Turner * Wildfowl Decoy Carver Linefork, KY African-American Fife Player Seaville, NJ Douglas Wallin * Senatobia, MS Applachian Ballad Singer Nikitas Tsimouris * Chesley Goseyun Wilson Marshall, NC Greek-American Bagpipe Player Tanjore Viswanathan * Apache Fiddle Maker Tarpon Springs, FL South Indian Flute Maker Tucson, AZ Middletown, CT Gussie Wells * African-American Quilter Oakland, CA
Arbie Williams * African-American Quilter Oakland, CA
* Deceased Melvin Wine * Appalachian Fiddler Copen, WV 1993 1994 1995 1996
Santiago Almeida * Liz Carroll Bao Mo-Li Obo Addy * Texas-Mexican Conjunto Musician Irish-American Fiddler Chinese-American Jing-Erhu African (Ghanaian) Master Sunnyside, WA Mundelein, IL Player Drummer/Leader Flushing, NY Portland, OR Kenny Baker * Clarence Fountain * & The Bluegrass Fiddler Blind Boys of Alabama Mary Holiday Black Betty Pisio Christenson * Cottontown, TN African-American Navajo Basketmaker Ukranian-American Pysanky Gospel Singers Mexican Hat, UT Suring, WI Inez Catalon * Atlanta, GA French Creole Singer Lyman Enloe * Paul Dahlin Kaplan, LA Mary Mitchell Gabriel * Old-Time Fiddler Swedish-American Fiddler Native American Lee’s Summit, MO Minneapolis, MN Elena & Nicholas Charles * (Passamaquoddy) Basketmaker Yupik Woodcaver/Maskmaker/ Princeton, ME Donny Golden Juan Gutiérrez and Skin Sewer Irish-American Step Dancer Puerto Rican Drummer/Leader Bethel, AK Johnny Gimble * Brooklyn, NY (Bomba and Plena) Western Swing Fiddler New York, NY Charles Hankins * Dripping Springs, TX Wayne Henderson Boatbuilder Appalachian Luthier, Musician Solomon * & Richard * Lavallette, NJ Frances Varos Graves * Mouth of Wilson, VA Ho’opii Hispanic American “Colcha” Hawaiian Falsetto Singers/ Nalani Kanaka’ole & Embroidery Bea Ellis Hensley * Musicians Pualani Kanaka’ole Rancho De Taos, NM Appalachian Blacksmith Makawao, HI Kanahele Spruce Pine, NC Hula Masters Violet Hilbert * Will Keys * Hilo, HI Native American (Skagit) Nathan Jackson Anglo-American Banjo Player Storyteller/Conservator Tlingit Alaskan Woodcaver/ Gray, TN Everett Kapayou * Ca Conner, WA Metalsmith/Dancer Native American Singer Ketchikan, AK Joaquin Lujan * (Meskwaki) Sosie Shizuye Chamorro Blacksmith Tama, IA Matsumoto * Danongan Kalanduyan * GMF, GU Japanese Tea Ceremony Master Filipino-American Kulintang McIntosh County Los Angeles, CA Musician Eva McAdams Shouters South San Francisco, CA Shoshone Crafts/Beadwork African-American Spiritual/ D.l. Menard * Fort Washakie, WY Shout Ensemble Cajun Musician/Songwriter Robert Jr. Lockwood * St. Simons Island, GA Erath, LA African-American Delta Blues John Mealing & Cornelius Singer/Guitarist Wright, Jr. * Elmer Miller * Simon Shaheen Cleveland, OH African-American Work Songs Bit and Spur Maker/Silversmith Arab American Oud Player Birmingham, AL Nampa, ID Brooklyn, NY Israel “Cachao” López * Afro-Cuban Bassist, Composer, Vernon Owens Jack Owens * Lily Vorperian and Bandleader Anglo-American Potter Blues Singer/Guitarist Armenian (Marash-Style) Miami, FL Seagrove, NC Bentonia, MS Embroidery Glendale, CA Nellie Star Boy Menard * Dolly Spencer * Mone & Vanxay Lakota Sioux Quiltmaker Inupiat Dollmaker Saenphimmachak Elder Roma Wilson * Rosebud, SD Homer, AK Lao Weaver/Needleworker African-American Harmonica and Loom Maker Player Buck Ramsey * St. Louis, MO Oxford, MS Anglo-American Cowboy Poet, Singer Liang-Xing Tang Amarillo, TX Chinese-American Pipa (Lute) Player Bayside, NY 1997 1998 1999 2000
Edward Babb Apsara Ensemble Frisner Augustin * Bounxou Chanthraphone “Shout” Band Gospel Trombonist Cambodian Musicians & Dancers Haitian Drummer Lao Weaver, Embroiderer & Band Leader Fort Washington, MD New York, NY Brookland Park, MN Jamaica, NY Eddie Blazonczyk * Lila Greengrass Blackdeer Dixie Hummingbirds * Charles Brown * Polish Polka Musician/Bandleader Hocak Black Ash Basketmaker, African-American Gospel Quartet West Coast Blues Pianist & Bridgeview, IL Needleworker Philadelphia, PA Composer Black River Falls, WI Berkeley, CA Bruce Caesar Felipe García Villamil Sac Fox-Pawnee German Shirley Caesar Afro-Cuban Drummer/Santero Gladys Leblanc Clark * Silversmith Gospel Singer Los Angeles, CA Acadian (Cajun) Spinner & Anadarko, OK Durham, NC Weaver José González * Duson, LA Dale Calhoun * Alfredo Campos Puerto Rican Hammock Weaver Boatbuilder (Reelfoot Lake Horeshair Hitcher San Sebastián, PR Georgia Harris * Stumpjumper) Federal Way, WA Catawba Potter Tiptonville, TN Nettie Jackson Atlanta, GA Mary Louise Defender Klickitat Basketmaker Antonio De La Rosa * Wilson White Swan, WA Wen-Yi Hua Tejano Conjunto Accordionist Dakota Hidatsa Traditionalist Chinese Kunqu Opera Singer Riviera, TX and Storyteller Santiago Jiménez, Jr Arcadia, CA Shields, ND Tex-Mex Accordionist/Singer Epstein Brothers San Antonio, TX Ali Akbar Khan * Klezmer Musicians Jimmy “Slyde” Godbolt * North Indian Sarod Player Sarasota, FL African-American Tap Dancer Genoa Keawe * & Raga Composer Hanson, MA Hawaiian Tto Singer/ San Anselmo, CA Sophia George Ukulele Player Yakima Colville Beadwork Ulysses “Uly” Goode * Honolulu, HI Ramón José López and Regalia Western Mono Basketmaker Santero & Metalsmith Gresham, OR North Fork, CA Frankie Manning * Santa Fe, NM Lindy Hop Dancer Nadjeschda Overgaard * Bob Holt * Choreographer/Innovator Jim* & Jesse McReynolds Danish Hardanger Embroidery Ozark Fiddler Corona, NY Bluegrass Musician Kimballton, IA Ava, MO Gallatin, TN Joe Willie “Pinetop” Harilaos Papapostolou * Zakir Hussain Perkins * Phong Nguyen Byzantine Chant, Greek Orthodox North Indian Master Tabla Blues Piano Player Vietnamese Musician/Scholar Potomac, MD Drummer La Porte, IN Kent, OH San Anselmo, CA Roebuck “Pops” Staples * Konstantinos Pilarinos Hystercine Rankin * Gospel /Blues Musician Elliott “Ellie” Manette * Orthodox Byzantine Icon African-American Quilter Dalton, IL Trinidadian Steel Pan Builder, Woodcarver Lorman, MS Tuner, Performer Astoria, NY Claude “The Fiddler” Osage, WV Francis Whitaker * Williams * Chris Strachwitz Blacksmith/Ornamental Jazz Swing Fiddler Mick Moloney (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Iron Work Kansas City, MO Irish Musician Record Producer/Label Founder Carbondale, CO New York, NY El Cerrito, CA
Eudokia Sorochaniuk * B. Dorothy Thompson * Ukranian Weaver, Textile Artists, Appalachian Weaver Embroidery Davis, WV Pennsuaken, NJ Don Walser * Ralph Stanley Cowboy & Western Singer/ Master Boatbuilder, (Friendship Guitarist/Composer Sloop) Austin, TX Southwest Harbor, ME
* Deceased 2001 2002 2003 2004
Celestino Avilés * Ralph Blizard * Basque “Bertsolari” Poets Anjani Ambegaokar Santero Old-Time Fiddler Jesus Arriada Kathak Dancer Orocovis, PR Blountville, TN San Francisco, CA Diamond Bar, CA Mozell Benson * Loren Bommelyn Johnny Curutchet Charles “Chuck” T. African-American Quilter Tolowa Singer, Tradition Bearer, South San Francisco, CA Campbell Opelika, AL Basketmaker Martin Goicoechea Gospel Steel Guitarist Crescent City, CA Rock Springs, WY Rochester, NY Wilson “Boozoo” Chavis * Jesus Goni Zydeco Accordionist Kevin Burke Reno, NV Joe Derrane * Lake Charles, LA Irish Fiddler Irish-American Button Portland, OR Rosa Elene Egipciaco Accordionist Hazel Dickens * Puerto Rican Bobbin Lace Randolph, MA Appalachian Singer Francis & Rose Cree * “Mundillo” Washington, DC Ojibwa Basketmakers/Storytellers New York, NY Jerry Douglas Dunseith, ND Dobro Player Evalena Henry Agnes Oshanee Kenmille * Nashville, TN Apache Basketweaver Luderin Darbone/ Salish Beadwork and Tanning Peridot, AZ Edwin Duhon * Ronan, MT Gerald Subiyay Miller * Cajun Fiddler and Accordionist Skokomish Tradition Bearer Peter Kyvelos * Sulphur/Westlake, LA Norman Kennedy Shelton, WA Oud Builder Weaver/Ballad Singer Bedford, MA Nadim Dlaikan Marshfield,VT Milan Opacich * Lebanese Nye (Reed Flute) Player Tamburitza Instrument Maker João “João Grande” Southgate, MI Roberto * & Lorenzo Schererville, IN Olivera Dos Santos Martinez Capoeira Angola Master David “Honeyboy” Hispanic Guitarist & Violinist Eliseo & Paula Rodriguez * New York, NY Edwards * Albuquerque, NM Straw Applique Artists Delta Blues Guitarist/Singer Santa Fe, NM Eddie Pennington Chicago, IL Norma Miller * Thumbpicking Style Guitarist African-American Jazz Dancer, Koko Taylor * Princeton, KY Flory Jagoda Choreographer Blues Musician Sephardic Musician/Composer Cape Coral, FL Country Club Hills, IL Qi Shu Fang Alexandria, VA Peking Opera Performer Carmencristina Moreno Yuqin Wang & Zhengli Xu Woodhaven, NY Losang Samten (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Chinese Rod Puppeteers Tibetan Sand Mandala Painter Mexican-American Singer, Tigard, OR Seiichi Tanaka Philadephia, PA Composer, Teacher Taiko Drummer Dojo Founder Fresno, CA Chum Ngek San Francisco, CA Bob McQuillen * (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Contra Dance Musician Composer Ron Poast Cambodian Musician and Teacher Dorothy Trumpold * Peterborough, NH Hardanger Fiddle Luthier Gaithersburg, MD Rug Weaver and Player High Amana, IA Clara Neptune Keezer * Black Earth, WI Passamaquoddy Basketmaker Fred Tsoodle * Perry, ME Felipe I. & Joseph K. Ruak Kiowa Sacred Song Leader Carolinian Stick Dance Leaders Mountian View, OK Jean Ritchie * Saipan, MP (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Joseph Wilson * Appalachian Singer/Songwriter Manoochehr Sadeghi (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Dulcimer Player Persian Santour Player Folklorist/Advocate/Presenter Port Washington, NY Sherman Oaks, CA Fries, VA Domingo “Mingo” Saldivar Nicholas Toth Conjunto Accordionist Diving Helmet Builder San Antonio, TX Tarpon Springs, FL 2005 2006 2007 2008
Herminia Albarrán Charles M. Carrillo Nicholas Benson Horace P. Axtell * Romero Santero (Carver and Painter Stone Letter Carver and Nez Perce Elder, Spiritual Leader, Paper-Cutting Artist of Sacred Figures) Calligrapher and Drum Maker San Francisco, CA Santa Fe, NM Newport, RI Lewiston, ID
Eldrid Skjold Arntzen Delores E. Churchill Sidiki Conde Dale Harwood Norwegian-American Rosemaler Haida (Native Alaskan) Weaver Guinean Dancer and Musician Saddlemaker Watertown, CT Ketchican, AK New York, NY Shelley, ID
Earl Barthé * Henry Gray Violet De Cristoforo * Bettye Kimbrell * Decorative Building Craftsman Blues Piano Player, Singer Haiku Poet And Historian Quilter New Orleans, LA Baton Rouge, LA Salinas, CA Mt. Olive, AL
Chuck Brown * Doyle Lawson Roland Freeman Jeronimo E. Lozano African-American Gospel and Bluegrass Singer, (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Retablo Maker Musical Innovator Arranger, and Bandleader Photo Documentarian, Author, Salt Lake City, UT Brandywine, MD Bristol, TN and Exhibit Curator Washington, DC Walter Murray Chiesa * Janette Carter * Esther Martinez * (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Native American Linguist Pat Courtney Gold Traditional Crafts Advocate Appalachian Musician, Advocate and Storyteller Wasco Sally Bag Weaver Bayamón, PR Hiltons, VA San Juan Pueblo, NM Scappoose, Or Oneida Hymn Singers Michael Doucet Diomedes Matos Eddie Kamae * Of Wisconsin Cajun Fiddler, Composer, Cuatro (10-String Puerto Hawaiian Musician, Composer, Hymn Singing and Band Leader Rican Guitar) Maker Filmmaker Oneida, WI Lafayette, LA Deltona, FL Honolulu, HI Sue Yeon Park Jerry Grcevich George Na’ope * Agustin Lira Korean Dancer and Musician Tamburitza Musician, Kumu Hula (Hula Master) Chicano Singer, Musician, New York, NY Prim Player Hilo, HI Composer North Huntingdon, PA Fresno, CA Moges Seyoum Wilho Saari Ethiopian Church Musician Grace Henderson Nez * Finnish Kantele (Lap-Harp) Player Julia Parker Alexandria, VA Navajo Weaver Naselle, WA Kashia Pomo Basketmaker Ganado, AZ Midpines, CA Jelon Vieira Mavis Staples Capoeira Master Wanda Jackson Gospel, Rhythm and Blues Singer Mary Jane Queen * New York, NY Early Country, Rockabilly, and Chicago, IL Appalachian Musician Gospel Singer Cullowhee, NC Michael G. White Oklahoma City, OK Nancy Sweezy * Jazz Clarinetist, Band Leader, (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Joe Thompson * Scholar Beyle Schaechter- Advocate, Scholar, Presenter, African-American String New Orleans, LA Gottesman * and Preservationist Band Musician Yiddish Singer, Poet, Songwriter Lexington, MA Mebane, NC Mac Wiseman * Bronx, NY Bluegrass and Country Singer and Treme Brass Band Irvin L. Trujillo Musician Albertina Walker * New Orleans Brass Band Rio Grande Weaver Nashville, TN Gospel Singer New Orleans, LA Chimayo, NM Chicago, IL Elaine Hoffman Watts * James Ka’upena Wong Klezmer Musician Hawaiian Chanter Havertown, PA Waianae, HI
* Deceased 2009 2010 2011 2012
The Birmingham Sunlights Yacub Addy * Laverne Brackens Mike Auldridge * A Cappella Gospel Group Ghanaian Drum Master Quilter Dobro Player Birmingham, AL Latham, NY Fairfield,TX Silver Spring, MD
Edwin Colón Zayas Jim “Texas Shorty” Bo Dollis * Paul & Darlene Bergren Cuatro Player Chancellor Mardi Gras Indian Chief Dog Sled and Snowshoe Orocovis, PR Fiddler New Orleans, LA Designers and Builders Rockwall, TX Minot, ND Chitresh Das * Jim Griffith Kathak Dancer and Gladys Kukana Grace * (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Harold A. Burnham Choreographer Lauhala (Palm Leaf) Weaver Folklorist Master Shipwright San Francisco, CA Honolulu, HI Tuscon, AZ Essex, MA
Leroy Graber * Mary Jackson Roy and Pj Hirabayashi Albert B. Head German-Russian Willow Sweetgrass Basketweaver Taiko Drum Leaders (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Basketmaker Johns Island, SC San Jose, CA Traditional Arts Advocate Freeman, SD Montgomery, AL Del McCoury Ledward Kaapana “Queen” Ida Guillory Bluegrass Guitarist and Singer Slack Key Guitarist Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez Zydeco Musician Hendersonville, TN Kaneohe, HI Tejano Accordion Player Daly City, CA San Antonio, TX Judith McCulloh * Frank Newsome Dudley Laufman (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Old Regular Baptist Singer Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone Dance Caller and Musician Folklorist and Editor Haysi, VA Okinawan Dancer Cantebury, NH Urbana, IL Honolulu, HI Carlinhos Pandeiro De Amma D. McKen Kamala Lakshmi Ouro Molly Jeannette Yoruba Orisha Singer Narayanan Frame Drum Player and Neptune Parker Brooklyn, NY Bharatanatyam Indian Dancer Percussionist Passamaquoddy Basket Maker Mastic, NY Los Angeles, CA Princeton, ME Joel Nelson Cowboy Poet Mike Rafferty * Warner Williams The Paschall Brothers Alpine, TX Irish Flute Player Piedmont Blues Songster Tidewater Gospel Quartet Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Gaithersburg, MD Chesapeake, VA Teri Rofkar * Tlingit Weaver and Basketmaker Ezequiel Torres Yuri Yunakov Andy Statman Sitka, AK Afro-Cuban Drummer and Bulgarian Saxophonist Klezmer Clarinetist, Mandolinist, Drum Builder Bloomfield,NJ and Composer Mike Seeger * Miami, FL Brooklyn, NY (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Musician, Cultural Scholar, and Advocate Lexington, VA
Sophiline Cheam Shapiro Cambodian Classical Dancer and Choregrapher Long Beach, CA 2013 2014 2015 2016
Sheila Kay Adams Henry Arquette * Rahim AlHaj Bryan Akipa Ballad Singer, Musician, Mohawk Basketmaker Oud Player & Composer Dakota Flute Maker and Player & Storyteller Hogansburg, NY Albuquerque, NM Sisseton, SD Marshall, NC Manuel “Cowboy” Donley Michael Alpert Joseph Pierre “Big Chief Ralph Burns Tejano Musician and Singer Yiddish Musician and Monk” Boudreaux Storyteller, Pyramid Lake Austin, TX Tradition Bearer Mardi Gras Indian Craftsman Paiute Tribe New York, NY and Musician Nixon, NV Kevin Doyle New Orleans, LA Irish Step Dancer Mary Lee Bendolph, Verónica Castillo Barrington, RI Lucy Mingo, and Billy McComiskey Ceramicist & Clay Sculptor Loretta Pettway Irish Button Accordionist San Antonio, TX The Holmes Brothers Quilters of Gee’s Bend Baltimore, MD Sherman Holmes Boykin, AL Séamus Connolly Wendell Holmes * Artemio Posadas Irish Fiddler Dolly Jacobs (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) North Yarmouth, ME Popsy Dixon * Master Huastecan Son Musician Blues, Gospel, and Rhythm Circus Aerialist and Advocate and Blues Band Sarasota, FL San Jose, CA Nicolae Feraru Rosedale, MD Cimbalom Player Saluda, VA Yary Livan Chicago, IL Cambodian Ceramicist Clarissa Rizal * Lowell, MA Tlingit Ceremonial Regalia Maker Yvonne Walker Keshick Juneau, AK Carol Fran Odawa Quillworker Swamp Blues Singer & Pianist Petoskey, MI Daniel Sheehy Lafayette, LA (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Theresa Secord Ethnomusicologist/Folklorist Penobscot Nation Ash/ Carolyn Mazloomi Sweetgrass Basketmaker Pauline Hillaire (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Falls Church, VA (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Waterville, ME Quilting Community Advocate Tradition Bearer, Lummi Tribe West Chester, OH Drink Small Bellingham, WA Blues Artist Bounxeung Synanonh Columbia, SC Laotian Khaen (free-reed mouth Vera Nakonechny organ) Player David Ivey Ukrainian Embroiderer, Weaver Sacred Harp Hymn Singer Fresno, CA and Beadworker Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi Huntsville, AL Philadelphia, PA Japanese Classical Dancer Honolulu, HI Michael Vlahovich Ramón “Chunky” Singing and Praying Bands Master Shipwright Sánchez * Sidonka Wadina Tacoma, WA/St. Michaels, MD Chicano Musician & of MD and DE African-American Religious Slovak Straw Artist/Egg Culture Bearer Singers Decorator Leona Waddell San Diego, CA White Oak Basketmaker Maryland and Delaware Lyons, WI Cecilia, KY Rufus White Omaha Traditional Singer and Drum Group Leader Walthill, NE
* Deceased 2017 2018 2019
Norik Astvatsaturov Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim Dan Ansotegui Armenian Repoussé Metal Artist Palestinian Embroiderer Basque Musician and Tradition Bearer Wahpeton, ND Milwaukie, OR Boise, ID Anna Brown Ehlers Eddie Bond Chilkat Weaver Appalachian Old-Time Fiddler Grant Bulltail Crow Storyteller Juneau, AK Fries, VA Crow Agency, MT Modesto Cepeda Kelly Church Bomba and Plena Musician Anishinabe (Gun Lake Band) Bob Fulcher San Juan, PR Black Ash Basketmaker (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Allegan, MI Folklorist and State Park Manager Ella Jenkins Clinton, TN Children’s Folk Singer Marion Coleman * and Musician African-American Quilter Chicago, IL Castro Valley, CA Linda Goss African-American Storyteller Dwight Lamb Manuel Cuevas Baltimore, MD (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Rodeo Tailor Danish Button Accordionist and Nashville, TN James F. Jackson Missouri-Style Fiddler Leatherworker Onawa, IA Ofelia Esparza Sheridan, WY Chicana Altarista (Day of the Thomas Maupin Dead Altar Maker) Balla Kouyaté Old-time Buckdancer Los Angeles, CA Balafon Player and Djeli Murfreesboro, TN Medford, MA Barbara Lynn Cyril Pahinui * R&B Musician Hawaiian Slack-key Guitarist, Beaumont, TX Josephine Lobato Waipahu, HI Spanish Colcha Embroiderer Ethel Raim Westminster, CO Phil Wiggins (Bess Lomax Hawes Award) Acoustic Blues Harmonica Player Traditional Music and Dance Rich Smoker Takoma Park, MD Advocate Decoy Carver New York, NY Marion Station, MD Eva Ybarra Conjunto Accordionist and Don & Cindy Roy Band Leader Franco-American Musicians Las Tesoros de San Antonio, San Antonio, TX Gorham, ME Beatriz (La Paloma del Norte) Llamas and Blanquita (Blanca Rosa) Rodríguez Tejano Singers San Antonio, TX