National Endowment for the Arts Announces 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows

Washington, DC—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellowships, the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The program recognizes recipients' artistic excellence, lifetime achievement, and contributions to our nation's traditional arts heritage. 

NEA Folk & Traditional Arts Director Leia Maahs said, “The 2025 National Heritage Fellowship awardees represent artists whose labor is often invisible in the public eye. As stewards of cultural memory, they bring us ‘home’ with dances and songs passed down from one generation to the next. They adorn everyday expressive life with artistry in manual arts, costume, and regalia that animate traditions within communities across America. The National Endowment for the Arts is honored to celebrate these accomplished artists, for their cultural knowledge, excellence towards their work, and the legacy they uphold.” 

The 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows are:

• Carmen Baron, Mexican Folk Costume Maker and Dancer (Tucson, Arizona)  
  A trained structural and architectural designer, Carmen Baron sees the lines, colors, and proportions needed to create intricately designed custom-made costumes for young Baile Folklórico dancers throughout the state of Arizona. 
• Peniel Guerrier, Haitian Dancer, Drummer, and Educator (Astoria, New York)  
  An internationally renowned dancer and teacher, Peniel Guerrier has dedicated his life to preserving and promoting Haiti’s rich cultural heritage through dance and drumming, influenced by Haitian history and traditional Vodou practices. 
• Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga, Bon Odori Dancer, Teacher, and Choreographer (Saratoga, California)  
  Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga has preserved and revitalized the traditional Japanese folk dance of Bon Odori, sparking new interest in the art form and expanding its reach and popularity through her innovative approach and artistic contributions.
• Ernie Marsh, Bit & Spur Maker and Silversmith (Lovell, Wyoming)  
  Characterized by high-relief engraving, engraved steel, and French Gray finishes, Ernie Marsh's craftsmanship is instantly recognizable and known among horsemen, collectors, and fellow makers for its balance of function and beauty. 
• Edward Poullard, Creole Musician (Beaumont, Texas)  
  A third-generation Creole musician, Edward Poullard mastered various instruments throughout his musical journey and is known for teaching Creole and Cajun fiddle and accordion styles throughout the United States and Europe. 
• Steven Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota), Traditional Lakota Artist & Educator (Omaha, Nebraska)  
  Steve Tamayo has spent decades reclaiming and celebrating Lakota culture through his art, helping students deepen their knowledge of traditional activities like regalia making, drumming, and powwow dancing, which are vital to cultural preservation and unity. 
  Tamayo is the 2025 recipient of the Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship, presented in recognition of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage. 
• Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America, Men’s Choral & Bandura Ensemble (Detroit, Michigan) 
  A musical ambassador of Ukrainian culture, music, and the bandura (a lute-harp hybrid instrument), the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America has its roots in pre-World War II Ukraine, and regularly travels for rehearsals, performances, and other community-supported events.

About the National Heritage Fellowships
NEA National Heritage Fellowship recipients are nominated by the public—often by members of their own communities—and then judged by a panel of experts in the folk and traditional arts. The panel’s recommendations are reviewed by the National Council on the Arts, which sends its recommendations to the NEA chair.