National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Announces
2026 Western Heritage Awards Creative Achievement Honorees
OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 19, 2026 — The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has announced the recipients of its 65th Western Heritage Awards, honoring outstanding creative achievement in film, television, literature, and music from 2025. Honorees will receive the Wrangler Award, a bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback created by the late Oklahoma artist Harold T. Holden, at a ceremony held at the museum in Oklahoma City on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
The Western Heritage Awards also serve as the induction ceremony for the Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers and Hall of Great Westerners, and include presentation of the Chester A. Reynolds Award, the Special Directors’ Award, and the Western Visionary Award. Acclaimed actor Ed Harris will be inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers, joined posthumously by Country Music Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers. Country Music Hall of Famer Toby Keith will posthumously receive the Special Directors’ Award — a rare honor bestowed at the discretion of the Museum’s Board of Directors for embodying a profound commitment to preserving and elevating the spirit of the American West. Art Nicholas and Luster Bayless will be inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners, Richard Oliver will receive the Chester A. Reynolds Award, and Rex Tillerson will receive the Western Visionary Award.
Among the creative achievement honorees, film and television recognition goes to “Break-a-Wave: A Cal Poly Rodeo Documentary” (Western Lifestyle Program), “Broke” starring Wyatt Russell (Theatrical Motion Picture), “The Return of the Sacred Red Rock” (Documentary), “T’áá Áłts’íísígo (Just A Small Piece)” from AMC’s “Dark Winds” (Fictional Drama), and “Elkhorn: A Fine Welcome” (Docudrama). Literature honorees include Paul Hutton’s “The Undiscovered Country: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West” (Nonfiction Book), Anna Citrino’s “Stories We Didn’t Tell” (Poetry Book), Nancy Bo Flood’s “Badger Clark: Poetry Wrangler” (Juvenile Book), Caleb Gayle’s Atlantic article “Boley Rides Again: Can the Rodeo Save a Historic Black Town?” (Magazine Article), and James Wade’s “Narrow the Road” (Western Novel). Music honors go to Michael Martin Murphey’s “Burnin’ Vein” (Original Western Composition) and Brenn Hill’s “The West That Money Couldn’t Buy” (Traditional Western Album).
The Museum will host a Kick-Off Party on Friday, April 10, offering the public an exclusive opportunity to mingle with inductees and honorees over complimentary refreshments and live entertainment. Tickets for the Saturday awards ceremony are $175 for Museum members and $250 for general admission. Tickets are very limited. For more information and tickets, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.
About the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Founded in 1955 in Oklahoma City, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is America’s premier institution of Western history, art, and culture. The Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. For more information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.
The Western Heritage Awards are presented annually by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, honoring outstanding creative achievement in film, television, literature, and music. Honorees receive the Wrangler Award, a bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback created by the late Oklahoma artist Harold T. Holden.
Acclaimed actor Ed Harris will be inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the 2026 Western Heritage Awards, joined posthumously by Country Music Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers.
Country Music Hall of Famer Toby Keith will posthumously receive the 2026 Special Directors Award, a rare honor bestowed at the discretion of the Museum’s Board of Directors for embodying a profound commitment to preserving and elevating the spirit of the American West.
The 2026 Western Heritage Awards ceremony is held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Saturday, April 11, 2026, with a Kick Off Party on Friday, April 10.
Tickets for the 2026 Western Heritage Awards ceremony are $175 for Museum members and $250 for general admission. Tickets are very limited and available at nationalcowboymuseum.org.
What is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum?
Founded in 1955 in Oklahoma City, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is America’s premier institution of Western history, art, and culture, collecting, preserving, and exhibiting an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West.
Literature honorees at the 2026 Western Heritage Awards include Paul Hutton’s The Undiscovered Country for nonfiction, Anna Citrino’s Stories We Didn’t Tell for poetry, Nancy Bo Flood’s Badger Clark: Poetry Wrangler for juvenile book, Caleb Gayle’s Atlantic article Boley Rides Again for magazine article, and James Wade’s Narrow the Road for western novel.
