Cover of the Summer 2018 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly

Publication will be honored at awards gala August 29 in Philadelphia

Portland, OR – The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is proud to announce that the Oregon Historical Quarterly is the recipient of an American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Award of Excellence for the publication’s Summer 2018 special issue, “Oregon’s Manila Galleon.”

The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 74th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. This year, AASLH is proud to confer fifty national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. OHS staff will accept the award on behalf of the Quarterly’s editorial advisory committee at a special banquet during the 2019 AASLH Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, on Friday, August 30.

For more than three centuries, Nehalem-Tillamook people have told stories of shipwreck survivors who washed ashore on or near the Nehalem Spit, established relationships with locals, and, eventually, violated social norms and either departed or were killed. Cargo wreckage accompanied the survivors, including distinctive blocks of beeswax. Until June of 2018, however, the history of Oregon’s “Beeswax Wreck” — now recognized as likely producing the first direct contact between Indigenous people of the region and people of Europe, Asia, and, potentially, Africa — was characterized by mystery. “Oregon’s Manila Galleon,” answers the questions of which ship wrecked, where it was going to and from, who was aboard, and what cargo it carried. The authors reached their conclusions through innovative, collaborative scholarship that brings together Native oral tradition, archival collections on three continents, and archaeological investigations — almost all published for the first time in OHQ.

The AASLH awards program began in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also bring public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena.

For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, visit www.aaslh.org.

About the Oregon Historical Society

For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms & website (www.ohs.org), educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all. We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.

About the American Association for State and Local History

The American Association for State and Local History is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides leadership, service, and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people. AASLH publishes books, technical publications, a quarterly magazine, and maintains numerous affinity communities and committees serving a broad range of constituents across the historical community. The association also sponsors an annual meeting, regional and national training in-person workshops, and online training.