“Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe,” written by Bemidji State University professor Dr. Anton Treuer, has won an Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History.
The association’s Award of Merit, part of its annual Leadership in History Awards honor, is presented annually for excellence in history programs, projects and people when compared with similar activities nationwide. The awards will be presented at a Sept. 16 banquet during the association’s 71st annual meeting in Detroit.
“Warrior Nation” is among 63 recipients from 27 states to receive annual Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history honoring people, projects exhibits and publications. Other Leadership in History Award categories, in addition to the Award of Merit, include the Albert B. Corey Award, the History in Progress Award and the Michael Kamman Award.
“The Leadership in History Awards is AASLH’s highest distinction and the winners represent the best in the field,” said Trina Nelson Thomas, the association’s awards chair. “This year, we are pleased to distinguish each recipient’s commitment and innovation to the interpretation of history, as well as their leadership for the future of state and local history.”
The Leadership in History Awards Program was initiated in 1945 to build standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of state and local history throughout America. Each nomination is peer reviewed by the association’s state captains. Final awards are decided by the awards committee, comprised of fourteen regional representatives and a national chair.
Warrior Nation
“Warrior Nation” explores 250 years of the unique and important history of the Red Lake Nation. It offers not only a chronicle of the Red Lake Nation, but also a compelling perspective on a difficult piece of U.S. history.
Unlike every other reservation in Minnesota, Red Lake holds its land in common—and, consequently, the tribe retains its entire reservation land base. The people of Red Lake developed the first modern indigenous democratic governance system in the United States, decades before any other tribe, but they also maintained their system of hereditary chiefs. The tribe never surrendered to state jurisdiction over crimes committed on its reservation. The reservation is also home to the highest number of Ojibwe-speaking people in the state.
Treuer conducted oral histories with elders across the Red Lake reservation, learning the stories carried by the people. For the book, the Red Lake band for the first time made available its archival collections, including the personal papers of Peter Graves, a political strategist and tribal leader for the first half of the 20th century, which tell a story about the negotiations over reservation boundaries.
About Dr. Anton Treuer
Dr. Anton Treuer (pronounced troy-er) is a professor of languages and indigenous studies at Bemidji State University and author of 14 books. His education, equity and cultural work have put him on a path of service throughout the region, the country and the world.
Treuer has presented all over the U.S. and Canada and in several foreign countries on his book, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask,” cultural competence and equity, strategies for addressing the achievement gap, and tribal sovereignty, history, language and culture.
He has sat on many organizational boards and has received more than 40 prestigious awards and fellowships, including ones from the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bush Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
Treuer has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and has master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota. He is editor of the Oshkaabewis (pronounced o-shkaah-bay-wis) Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language.
About American Association for State and Local History
The American Association for State and Local History is a national association that provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. It provides extensive services to professional historians and serves all-volunteer museums, national historical institutions and other venues for the study of history.
CONTACT
- Dr. Anton Treuer, professor of languages and indigenous studies, Bemidji State University; (218) 755-3968, atreuer@bemidjistate.edu
- Bethany Hawkins, chief of operations, American Association for State and Local History; (615) 320-3203 x816, hawkins@aaslh.org
LINKS
- Dr. Anton Treuer
- “Warrior Nation” at the Minnesota Historical Society
- American Association for State and Local History
- 2016 Leadership in History Award Winners
- Red Lake Nation
Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling nearly 5,000 students, Bemidji State offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate programs encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.
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