Oklahoma Artists Honored

Oklahoma Artists Honored with Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellowships

VANCOUVER, Wash., (Nov. 7, 2013) – From a national call for entries to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) has awarded 2014 NACF Artist Fellowships to three Oklahoma artists.

Writer Eddie Chuculate (Muscogee Creek/Cherokee) of Muskogee, Okla. received a 2014 NACF Literature Fellowship. Renowned basket-weaver Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band Cherokee) of Tulsa, Okla. is a 2014 NACF Traditional Arts Fellow and poet Santee Frazier (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) of Syracuse, N.Y. received a fellowship in literature.

Left to right: Eddie Chuculate (Muscogee Creek/Cherokee), Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band Cherokee), and Santee Frazier (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)

The three talented artists are among 16 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists selected by the foundation to carry this honor in 2014. Each year, the Native-led arts foundation awards fellowships to recognize exceptional Native artists who have made a significant impact in the fields of dance, film, literature, music, traditional and visual arts. Chuculate, Goshorn and Frazier are the first Oklahoma artists to be awarded NACF Artist Fellowships.

For 2014, the foundation awarded $220,000 to support individual artists through NACF Artist Fellowships ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per artist. “It is our honor to present a dynamic new cohort of NACF Artist Fellows for 2014,” said NACF Program Director Reuben Roqueñi (Yaqui/Mexican). “Native artists are taking leadership in addressing critical issues across the country and act as catalysts for change in our communities. The fellowships support these artists as they delve deeper into their practices and cultivate their artistic voices to transport and inspire us. Join us in celebrating their adventurous and creative spirits.”

2014 NACF Artist Fellows:

• Keola Beamer (Native Hawaiian), Lahaina, Hawaii, Music Fellowship
• Raven Chacon (Navajo), Albuquerque, N.M., Music Fellowship
• Eddie Chuculate (Muscogee Creek/Cherokee), Muskogee, Okla., Literature Fellowship
• Kaili Chun (Native Hawaiian), Honolulu, Visual Arts Fellowship
• Santee Frazier (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Syracuse, N.Y., Literature Fellowship
• Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy), Indian Island, Maine, Traditional Arts Fellowship
• Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band of Cherokee), Tulsa, Okla., Traditional Arts Fellowship
• Melissa Henry (Navajo), Rehoboth, N.M., Film Fellowship
• Micah Kamohoali’i (Native Hawaiian), Kamuela, Hawaii, Dance Fellowship
• Billy Luther (Navajo/Hopi/Laguna), Los Angeles, Film Fellowship
• Patrick Makuakāne (Native Hawaiian), San Francisco, Dance Fellowship
• Nora Naranjo-Morse (Tewa-Santa Clara Pueblo), Espanola, N.M., Visual Arts Fellowship
• Da-ka-xeen Mehner (Tlingit/N’ishga), Fairbanks, Alaska, Visual Arts Fellowship
• Israel Shotridge (Tlingit), Vashon, Wash., Traditional Arts Fellowship
• Brooke Swaney (Blackfeet/Salish), Polson, Mont., Film Fellowship
• David Treuer (Ojibwe), Claremont, Calif., Literature Fellowship

Since 2010, the foundation has supported 85 Native artists and organizations in 22 states, awarding $1,602,000 in assistance, including an award to the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums of Oklahoma City. The generosity of arts patrons, the Ford Foundation and Native Nations allows the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation to support the vibrant arts and cultures of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian peoples. To read more about these three Oklahoma artists and all the talented 2014 NACF Artist Fellows, visit: www.nativeartsandcultures.org.