Chukma (Hello).

It was a busy year performing nationwide at festivals, schools, museums, schools, libraries, and even the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area. Some of my personal highlights was being a featured storyteller at the Folklife festival in Washington DC celebrating 20 years of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and my dance troupe, Hithla, performed at the NMAI New York in November. 

I am honored to have been chosen as a resident Spring of 2025 at A Studio in the Woods, a program of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute, and one of the leading artistic and academic residency programs in the Gulf South region.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season, while I enjoy some rest and time at home. My schedule is filling up for 2025 so please check it often. I look forward to connecting with you all down the road. Chapisa’ Lacho’.

I am a registered member of the Chickasaw Nation, an award-winning storyteller, artist, and a founding member of Hithla, a dance troupe practicing Southeastern traditional stomp dance. I perform in my regalia and explain why we wear what we wear and share some of our stories, language, history, and culture. I can create a program that fits any age group and any theme. I have the best job in the world getting to share my stories and culture with the best people, festivals, universities, corporation, and museums. 

I was honored to be the 2023 recipient of the Coleen Salley Storytelling Award, given to storytellers for their commitment and excellence in the art of storytelling by The University of Southern Mississippi.

The super-talented Mantageri illustrated one of the stories I told at the Smithsonian’s 2024 Folklife Festival, Baby Rattlesnake, check it out! AND, the one and only Lauren Hogg wrote a fantastic article about me and my craft “Storytelling, Like Language, Is Alive”: How Amy Bruton Bluemel Protects Her History. Please take a few minutes to read it.

I am glad you found me and look forward to hearing from, and working with you. Feel free to call me if you need more information.

Chumaski (Thank-you),
Amy Bluemel

“Amy Bluemel is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard, of any genre. She has a deep respect for her cultural heritage and a unique way of connecting to audience members of all ages through not only the content of her stories, but her wonderful intonation, gestures, timing, and overall delivery. I have read a great deal over the years about the culture of Southeastern Native Americans, but hearing oral tradition presented so delightfully by Amy really helps to contextualize the material. I would not hesitate to recommend Amy Bluemel as a storyteller to anyone planning an event because more people need to hear her!” —Bill Bomar, Ph.D., Director of Museum Studies, The University of Alabama