Celebrate 2019 NEA National Heritage Fellow Grant Bulltail!

Storyteller Grant Bulltail comes from one of the last of the traditional storytelling families of the Apsáalooke or Crow people. He is a member of the Úuwuutasshe (Greasy Mouth) clan, and a child of his father's clan, the Ashiíooshe (Sore Lip) clan. His Crow name is Bishéessawaache (The One Who Sits Among the Buffalo), a name given him by his grandfather. He is a member of the Crow Culture Commission at Crow Agency, Montana, a Lodge Erector and Pipe Carrier in the tribe’s Sacred Tobacco Society, and a Vietnam War veteran in the Marines. Bulltail grew up on a horse ranch in the Pryor Mountains of Montana but also spent much of his youth in the Heart Mountain area of Wyoming. In both states he worked as a ranch hand and competed professionally in local rodeos. His original home in Montana stood close to what is now the Chief Plenty Coups Museum, home of the renowned Crow leader who was close to Bulltail’s family and related directly to them. Bulltail also claims as his lineage Chief Wolf Bow (Treaty of 1868), Chief Blinky (Treaty of 1868), Chief White Horse (Treaty of 1855), Chief Long Hair (Treaty of 1825), Chief Little Black Dog (Treaty of 1825), Chief Double Face (Treaty of 1825), and Chief Plays With His Face (Treaty of 1825). Bulltail’s second name implies this proud lineage—an individual earned the right to place the tail from a buffalo bull on their tipi to designate the chiefs of their lineage. MORE... Listen to Grant Bulltail tell a story about the Yellowstone River and its special meaning to the Crow people here. Join us as we celebrate Grant Bulltail and the other 2019 NEA National Heritage Fellows at a free concert on Friday, September 20 at 8:00 PM ET. Watch live at Shakespeare Theatre Company's Sidney Harman Hall or online at arts.gov. Find ticket and other information here.