National Endowment for the Arts  
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:: 1985 NEA National Heritage Fellows


Eppie Archuleta
Hispanic Weaver
San Luis Valley, CO
 


Periklis Halkias
Greek Clarinetist
Astoria, NY
 


Jimmy Jausoro
Basque Accordionist
Boise, ID
 


Meali'i Kalama
Hawaiian Quilter
Honolulu, HI
 


Lily May Ledford
Appalachian Musician/Singer
Lexington, KY
 


Leif Melgaard
Norwegian Woodcarver
Minneapolis, MN
 


Bua Xou Mua
Hmong Musician
Portland, OR
 


Julio Negrón-Rivera
Puerto Rican Instrument Maker
Morovis, PR
 


Alice New Holy Blue Legs
Lakota Sioux Quill Artist
Oglala, SD
 


Glenn Ohrlin
Cowboy Singer/Storyteller/Illustrator
Mountain View, AR
 


Henry Townsend
Blues Musician/Songwriter
St. Louis, MO
 


Horace "Spoons" Williams
Spoons/Bones Player/Poet
Philadelphia, PA
 

 

NEA National Heritage Fellowships Banner

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

NEA Heritage Fellows
1982-2012: 
BY YEAR | ALPHA

 

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