The Arkansas Living Treasure Award

The Arkansas Living Treasure program pays homage to master craft makers in the state that are helping carry on the heritage of historical and traditional craft. Carrying on these crafts helps preserve Arkansas’ unique heritage and history.

Every year this program celebrates this realm with the Arkansas Living Treasure award. Over the years award recipients have included artists from across Arkansas in fields that have included bladesmithing, pottery, chairmaking, fiddle making, egg art, sculpture and more. 

The 2024 Arkansas Living Treasure is Liton Beasa, a traditional canoe maker. Beasa is Marshallese and was chosen for helping preserve and share the tradition of Marshallese canoe crafting in the state. The award was given during the annual James Black’s Bowie Heritage Festival in Washington, Arkansas. 

The James Black’s Bowie Heritage Festival is put on by the city of Washington, Arkansas with partners the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Foundation and Historic Washington State Park. The festival pays homage to James Black, a famous maker of the bowie knife. The bowie has since gone on to become the official state knife of Arkansas.

Beasa is from Springdale, which has a large Marshallese population, and was born and raised on Namdrik Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The craft of carving canoes was taught to Beasa by his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father. The type of canoes he builds are outriggers, which are a mainstay of Marshallese culture. The parts of these canoes also serve metaphorical meanings for them. Beasa moved to Springdale in 2013 and a canoe building project, spearheaded by the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History helped fuel Beasa to carry on the tradition in Arkansas. 

Past recipients of the Arkansas Living Treasure award were also on hand at the festival including Jerry Fisk, a National Living Treasure and honorary Arkansas Living Treasure, Lin Rhea, an Arkansas Living Treasure, and James “JR” Cook, who is also an Arkansas Living Treasure. Fisk helped the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Arkansas Arts Council first start the Arkansas Living Treasure program.

More information on the Arkansas Living Treasure program as well as the nomination form can be found here.

The Arkansas Living Treasure Film Project also has short films about the state’s Arkansas Living Treasures.