Kelli Jo Ford, who graduated Magna Cum Laude with an MFA in English and writing from George Mason University, is known for engaging her readers with her story telling, character portrayals and flair for the dramatic.
2016 National Artist Fellowship
Mark Keali`i Ho`omalu
Mark Keali`i Ho`omalu creates groundbreaking dance and chant driven by his love and passion for hula.
Theresa Secord
As the founding executive director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, Theresa Secord has dedicated her life to learning, revitalizing and perpetuating the tradition of Wabanaki basket making.
TJ Young, Sgwaayaans
TJ Young has garnered the respect of his community and elders by being named to the highly regarded role of “head carver”—an impressive accomplishment for a young artist.
Susan Power
Award-winning author Susan Power has published three books and her short fiction stories and essays are widely anthologized and reprinted in many textbooks.
Mateo Romero
Mateo Romero’s paintings are rooted in both his culture and the history of the paintings that preceded his, right down to their mark making, surface, texture and use of color.
Erica Tremblay
Filmmaker Erica Tremblay selects highly sensitive and difficult social subjects for her films, yet manages to incorporate an inspirational element into each difficult story.
Brenda Mallory
Brenda Mallory’s installation art examines disruption caused by assimilation and its resulting disfigured reconnection.
Tiokasin Ghosthorse
Listeners say they find the emotional intensity and rich sounds of Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s traditional Lakota flute highly meditative.
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Cannupa Hanska Luger is a creative innovator and an outside-the-box inventor with his own unique style of working in mixed media sculptures.
Aaron J. Sala
Composer and musician Aaron J. Salā is known for his exquisite melody and bel canto legato.
Thea Hopkins
Singer and songwriter Thea Hopkins incorporates her Aquinnah Wampanoag cultural background into her music to create her own special folk sound.
Preston Singletary
Glass artist Preston Singletary combines the visual appeal of Tlingit designs with the transformational medium of glass to create intriguing and exquisite sculptural works rooted in his culture.
Laura Ortman
Laura Ortman’s creativity in musical composition is uninhibited, fascinating and complicated—she is one who creates trends.
Luzene Hill
Luzene Hill’s installation art is an expression of her belief in Native American women reclaiming their personal and cultural sovereignty.
