Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
- 2007: Dr. Lotsee Patterson, Professor Emerita, School of Library and Information Services, University of Oklahoma
- 2009: Irving Nelson, director of the Navajo Nation Library System
- 2012: Richard West, former director of the National Museum of the American Indian
- 2013: Benjamin Wakashige, Former Director, New Mexico State Library
- 2014: Dr. Ernest H. Siva, teacher and culture bearer for the Cahuilla/Serrano peoples
- 2015: Dr. Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Office
- 2016: Dr. Nancy Maryboy, Founding President, Indigenous Education Institute
- 2016: Elaine Peters, Museum Director, Ak-Chin Indian Community
- 2017: Dr. David Warren, Founding Deputy Director, National Museum of the American Indian
- 2018: Della Warrior, Director, Museum of American Indian Culture, Santa Fe, NM
- 2019: Dr. Janine Pease, Humanities Faculty Member, Little Big Horn College
- 2022: John Haworth, Senior Executive Emeritus, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian New York
- 2023: Lori Pourier, President, First Peoples Fund, Rapid City, South Dakota
Leadership Award
- 2007: Alyce Sadongei, Arizona State Museum
- 2009: Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin
- 2012: Dr. Sven Haakanson, Executive Director of the Alutiiq Museum
- 2013: Amalia M. Reyes, Supervisor of the Dr. Fernando Escalante Community Library
- 2017: Rose Diaz, Library Director & Senior Research Historian, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
- 2018: Shannon Martin, Director, Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
- 2019: Omar Poler, American Indian Curriculum Services, University Wisconsin-Madison Information School
- 2022: Loren Spears, Executive Director, Tomaquag Museum
- 2023: Dr. Jessie Ryker-Crawford, Director, MFA Cultural Administration Program, Institute of American Indian Arts
Tribal Leader Award
- 2008: Wilma Mankiller, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
- 2014: Marshall McKay, Chairman, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
- 2018: Charlie Vig, Chair, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
- 2019: Mark Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
- 2022: Arvol Looking Horse, Oceti Sakowin Spiritual Leader
- 2023: Brian Vallo, Former Governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico
Trailblazer Award
- 2013: Dr. Scott Momaday, author
- 2015: Kevin Gover, Director, National Museum of the American Indian
- 2015: Suzan Shown Harjo, advocate, poet, writer, lecturer, curator
- 2015: Gerard Baker, Former Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent
- 2016: Ben Nighthorse Campbell, United States Senator, artist
- 2017: Henrietta Mann, educator, tribal leaders
- 2017: Winona LaDuke, activist, author
- 2018: Clyde Bellecourt, activist, author, farmer
- 2018: Anton Treuer, author, educator
Honored One Award
- 2012: Walter Echo-Hawk, attorney, author and Native-rights activist
- 2012: Susan McVey, Director, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
- 2013: Faith Damon Davison, retired Archivist/Librarian of the Mohegan Tribe
- 2014: Gregory Annenberg-Weingarten, Vice-President and Director of the Annenberg Foundation
- 2015: Tim Bernardis, Founding Librarian, Little Big Horn College Library
- 2016: Judith Gray, Coordinator of Reference Services American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
- 2017: Regis Pecos, Co-Founder/Co-Director, Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute
- 2017: Letitia Chambers, Former CEO, Heard Museum
- 2018: Wendy G. Teeter, Curator of Archaeology, Fowler Museum, University of California Los Angeles
- 2019: Dr. Leanne Hinton, Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival
- 2022: Dr. Nancy Odegaard, Conservator, Arizona State Museum
- 2023: Jane Anderson, Co-founder, Local Contexts, New York, New York
Outstanding Project Award
- 2007: The Dragonfly Project, a partnership between the Haines Borough Public Library of Alaska and the Chilkoot Indian Association
- 2009: The Tribal College Librarians Professional Development Institute at Montana State University, Bozeman
- 2012: The Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal, an interactive, online digital archive that provides access to Plateau peoples’ cultural materials at Washington State University
- 2013: “From the Hands of Our Elders,” a collaborative project focused on documenting and preserving the material culture and archival holdings of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
- 2014: “Siksika Way of Life” Cultural Sessions at Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park
- 2015: Ara Irititja, a project of the Pitjantjatjara Council and the South Australian Museum
- 2016: “Doorways to the Past, Gateway to the Future”, an innovative partnership project of the Chilkoot Indian Association and the Haines Borough Public Library
- 2017:”California Continued” and “Tending the Wild”, The Autry Museum of the American West
- 2017: “Cultivating Traditional Practices: Enhancing our Self-Reliance and Preserving our Culture”, Klukwan Community and School Library/Chilkat Indian Village
- 2018 (Native): Tehuttslihkwa’uks: Lacrosse and the Oneida Community
- 2018 (Non-Native): “Spirit Lines” Project/Manitoba Museum
- 2019: “From Ancient Hands: Stories in Fire and Clay” Project/Shawnee Tribe Cultural Center
- 2022: “PIVOT: Skateboard Deck Art” Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College
- 2022: “Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry”, U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo and the Library of Congress
- 2023: “Ngetzimek (Ancestors)”, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center, Shawnee, Oklahoma
Archives Institutional Excellence Award
- 2007: The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
- 2009: The Seneca Tribal Archives
- 2012: The Colorado River Indian Tribes Library
- 2013: The Citizen Potawatomi Cultural Heritage Center
- 2014: Sealaska Heritage Institute Library, Archives, and Collections Program; and Office of Archives and Records Management
- 2015: Poarch Band of Creek Indians
- 2016: The D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library
- 2018: Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, University of Hawaii
- 2019: The Huna Heritage Foundation Digital Archives
- 2022: Woksaki Tipi Archives, Oglala Lakota College
- 2023: Catawba Nation Archives, Rock Hill, South Carolina
Library Institutional Excellence Award
- 2007: Colorado River Indian Tribe (Amelia Flores)
- 2009: Pueblo of Jemez Community Library
- 2012: The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma (Sandy Tharp)
- 2013: The Ak-Chin Tribal Library (Melanie Toledo)
- 2014: The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library (Leanne Jenkins)
- 2015: Fort McDowell Tribal Library (Jacquelyn McCalvin)
- 2016: Hopi Public Library (Noreen Sakiestewa)
- 2017: Laguna Public Library (Janice Kowemy)
- 2018: Medicine Spring Library at the Blackfeet Community College
- 2019: Nisqually Tribe Library
- 2022: Stone Child College Library
- 2023: Yakama Nation Library
Museum Institutional Excellence Award
- 2007: Tamastslikt Cultural Institute
- 2009: The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways
- 2012: The Cherokee Heritage Center
- 2013: The Makah Cultural and Research Center
- 2014: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
- 2015: Dine College Ned A. Hatahli Cultural Center Museum
- 2016: Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository
- 2017: Chickasaw Cultural Center
- 2018: Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
- 2019: Barona Cultural Center & Museum
- 2022: Museum of the Cherokee Indian
- 2023: Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage, AK
Cultural Preservation and Advancement Award
- 2019: Pechanga Cultural Resources Center
Native Language Preservation Award
- 2016: The American Indian Language Development Institute