Program/Grant: Midwest Culture Bearers Award

Taking a holistic approach that includes responsibly harvesting natural materials, Red Eagle teaches the traditional art of bow-making from wood, plants, hides, bone, and more.

Lee combines tradition, identity, and experimentation to bring the art of hanji to the Midwest and beyond.

Jetter works broadly across cultural genres to continue her family’s long legacy of promoting Black history and culture in a town where it’s otherwise dwindling.

Based in the Driftless region of Wisconsin, Buche shares her skills with students seeking new experiences and ancient wisdom.

Pieper Bloomquist breathes new life into the traditions of dalmålning and bonadsmålning, mixing contemporary stories with historic Swedish icongraphy.

The Bloomington-based director of IU’s African American Dance Company continues a long lineage of dance, community, and exploration.

Pachas’s traditional dances pass down indigenous values through stories about bridge building, Mother Earth, and even Lake Michigan.

The Ann Arbor-based artist and scholar builds bridges between Filipino diasporic and indigenous communities through music.

Through his Native American rock band, Paul Summers rejected commercial success in order to reach younger generations with messages of cultural acceptance and reconciliation instead.

Martha Buche is one of nine winners of the 2024 Midwest Culture Bearers Award. This award celebrates artisans and folk arts practitioners whose work is rooted in cultural preservation and...