2015 National Artist Fellows - Native Arts and Cultures Foundation

Kelly Church

2015, Artist, Basketry, Community Engagement, Environmental Stewardship, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan, National Artist Fellowship, Traditional Arts

Kelly Church comes from a long family line of Anishnabe black ash basket makers. She is also an Art activist working to perpetuate the traditional practice before the Michigan black ash trees become extinct.

Frank Big Bear

2015, Artist, Grantee, Minnesota, National Artist Fellowship, Ojibwe, Visual Arts

Frank Big Bear first gained artist recognition for his colored pencil drawings, but recently made a radical shift to collage and painting, and in the process has garnered new praise for his work.

Lehua Kalima

2015, Artist, Grantee, Hawaii, Music, National Artist Fellowship, Native Hawaiian

Singer Lehua Kalima says her music is rooted in her Native Hawaiian upbringing, but her musical passion has grown into pop and folk.

Layli Long Soldier

2015, Arizona, Artist, Community Engagement, Grantee, Literature, National Artist Fellowship, Oglala Lakota

Layli Long Soldier’s writing is keen, pensive and deliberate. She thoroughly examines the construction and deconstruction and meaning of her message in order to imbue each verse with the desired deliverance and power.

Linda Hogan

2015, Artist, Chickasaw Nation, Colorado, Grantee, Literature, National Artist Fellowship

As a novelist, poet and essayist, Pulitzer nominee Linda Hogan writes with a commanding style and an introspective touch that moves readers.

Laura Da’

2015, Artist, Grantee, Literature, Miami, National Artist Fellowship, Poetry, Seneca, Shawnee, Washington

Laura Da’s writing has a range of voice that artfully brings distance, time, and sense of place together in an eloquent transitional blend of writing forms.

James Luna

2015, Artist, California, Diegueno, Grantee, Luiseno, National Artist Fellowship, Visual Arts

Throughout his career, performance artist James Luna’s work has rejected the general public notion of “Being an Indian.” Now he is creating a new multimedia performative and installation work that examines “cultural authenticity”.

Anna Tsouhlarakis

2015, Artist, Creek, Grantee, National Artist Fellowship, Navajo, Visual Arts, Washington D.C.

Anna Tsouhlarakis is a visual artist who wants her work to help redefine what Native American art is and can be.

David A. Boxley

2015, Artist, Carving, Cultural Preservation, Grantee, National Artist Fellowship, Traditional Arts, Tsimshian, Washington

David A. Boxley is a master carver whose intricate designs pay homage to his ancestors in order to ensure that the art form that was almost lost endures.

Stephen Qacung Blanchett

2015, Alaska, Artist, Grantee, Music, National Artist Fellowship, Yup'ik

Stephen Blanchett’s musical mission is reflected in his work as a member of the band Pamyua, who are known for fusing traditional Yup’ik drum songs with contemporary sounds.

Clarissa Rizal

2015, Artist, Colorado, Cultural Preservation, Grantee, National Artist Fellowship, Textile Art, Tlingit, Traditional Arts

Clarissa Rizal nurtures her creative vision by incorporating a deeply rooted daily spiritual practice in her traditional Tlingit button blanket robes, Chilkat robes, Ravenstail robes and weavings.

Starr Kalāhiki

2015, Artist, Grantee, Hawaii, Music, National Artist Fellowship, Native Hawaiian

Starr Kalāhikis early musical influence was gospel, jazz and bossa nova. Now inspired by the poetry and songs of Queen Lili’uokalani (Hawaii’s last queen), she recently launched a performance production entitled “The Lili’u Project.”