Amy is the great-granddaughter of Eastman Kaney (an original Dawes Commission enrollee) and a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation. She is an award-winning storyteller and educator, artist, and stomp dancer. Raised in a military family, Amy’s appreciation for cultural awareness came at an early age. She lived in Germany, Okinawa, Turkey, and Scotland before returning to her Chickasaw roots in America. Bleumel is the 2023 recipient of the Coleen Salley Storytelling Award from the University of Southern Mississippi for her commitment to the art of storytelling and was selected for a 2025 artist residency at A Studio in the Woods, part of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute. She shares Chickasaw and Southeastern tribal customs with audiences of all ages through programs at schools, museums, libraries, and festivals across the country.  

Amy Bluemel is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard… 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…  

— Bill Bomar, Director of Museum Studies, University of Alabama 

Visit Amy’s website.