Western Heritage Awards

Overview

The Western Heritage Awards honors individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage through creative works in literature, music, television and film that share the great stories of the American West.

Presented by celebrity hosts, this black-tie event also honors individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage with their inductions into the Hall of Great Western Performers and Hall of Great Westerners as well as the presentation of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Western Heritage committee voted to combine the 2020 show, which had been rescheduled for October 2-3, 2020, with the 2021 show, which is scheduled for April 9-10, 2021. Individual tickets go on sale March 1, 2021.

2020 Inductees and Honorees

Hall of Great Western Performers
Kurt Russell
Bing Russell (1926-2003)

Hall of Great Westerners
Montford T. Johnson (1843-1896)
Bennett Richard “Ben” Houston (1929-2016)

Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award
John Scott

Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Duvall

Special Directors’ Award
Traditional Cowboy Arts Association

2020 Honorees

LITERATURE

Western Novel

The Cheyenne Story: An Interpretation of Courage, written and published by Gerry Robinson

Nonfiction Book

Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power by Pekka Hämäliänen published by Yale University Press

Art/Photography Book

Don Weller Tracks, by Don Weller, published by Weller Institute for the Cure of Design

Juvenile Book

J is for Jackalope by Teal Blake.

Magazine Article

“If You had Fought Bravely I would have Sung for You” The Changing Roles of Cheyenne Women During Ninteenth-Century Plains Warfare, by David Beyreis, published Montana The Magazine of Western History

Poetry Book

We Make a Tiny Herd: Poems to Honor the Burro Lady of Far West Texas by Lucy Griffith, published by Main Street Rag

MUSIC

Original Western Composition

“Hats Off to the Cowboy” recording artist Red Steagall, composed by Red Steagall and Joe Merrick

Traditional Western Album

Shadow of a Cowboy, recording artist Andy Hedges

New Horizon

“Desert Dwelling Mama” recording artist Adrian Brannan, produced by Craig Schumacher

FILM & TELEVISION HONOREES

Western Lifestyle Program

Cow Town, produced by Robert Burch at OETA

Theatrical Motion Picture

Deadwood: The Movie starring Timothy Olyphant, directed by Daniel Minahan, produced by HBO

Documentary

Country Music, directed by Ken Burns, written by Dayton Duncan, and produced by Duncan, Burns and Julie Dunfey

Fictional Drama

“Touching Your Enemy” Yellowstone S2, E5 starring Kevin Costner, written by Taylor Sheridan

Awards Entry and Nomination Forms

Through these Halls of Fame, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum honors and memorializes the men and women who have through their exemplary lives, careers, and achievements embodied and perpetuated the heritage of the American West. Every inductee, whether a real cowboy in the Hall of Great Westerners, a “reel” cowboy in the Hall of Great Western Performers, perpetuates and enriches facets of this Western heritage. Please click the link below to access the nomination forms.

Hall of Great Westerners

Hall of Great Western Performers

Chester A. Reynolds Award

The Western Heritage Awards also honors individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage through creative works in literature, music, television and film that share the great stories of the American West. Please click the link below to access the entry form for creative works.

Awards Entry Form