Read the WHA Council's response to the AHA Statement on domestic Terrorism, Bigotry, and History here.

About the WHA

The Western History Association was founded in 1961 by a group of professional and avocational historians bound by their belief in the American West as a place rich in history and deserving of further study. "Its purpose shall be to promote the study of the North American West in its varied aspects and broadest sense," read the WHA's early constitution. Today, the office of the Western History Association is located in the History Department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The association is composed of more than 1,100 active members with a common mission. 

Learn more about the WHA Governance and Standing Committees, read the WHA Constitution & By Laws, WHA Diversity Statement, or view the archive of the WHA Participation Index.                                 

Statement on Diversity

The WHA is an organization that encourages diverse representation in the historical profession and the field of western history. In 2011 the organization adopted a statement on diversity and updated it in 2017:


“The North American West has been both home to many different groups with divergent belief systems and cultural practices, and a place in which people often experience shifting identities. The Western History Association strives to reflect the richness of our regions. We seek to be an association of historians of diverse backgrounds who thrive in the spirit of mutual respect and engaged curiosity.” 

WHA Response to AHA Statement

In August 2019 the American Historical Association published the "Statement from the AHA on Domestic Terrorism, Bigotry, and History." You can read the context of this statement draft and the fine draft on the AHA website. Several governing boards of the AHA Affiliated Societies, including the Western History Association's Council, signed the statement in support of its message.


The WHA Council did not, however, think this statement adequately discusses the historical and contemporary violence again Indigenous peoples in North America.


To this end, the WHA has released the following public statement: "The WHA supports the AHA Statement on Domestic Terrorism, Bigotry, and History. But the WHA Council does not believe this Statement adequately addresses the violence perpetrated against Indigenous peoples throughout North American history. At the Fall 2019 Council Meeting (October 16) the WHA governing body will create a separate statement on violence and history that augments the AHA document with language that more explicitly recognizes this issue. The WHA looks forward to releasing that statement at the end of October." 


Mission

"The Western History Association strives to be a congenial home for the study and teaching of all aspects of North American Wests, frontiers, homelands and borderlands. Our mission is to cultivate the broadest appreciation of this diverse history." 

To accomplish this mission, we

  • Enable collaborations among peoples, institutions and organizations, devoted to the study of western history.
  • Conduct an annual meeting  at which scholars and other professionals join students and laypeople to share their research, to exchange ideas, and to develop programs that facilitate further study of the north American west
  • Publish a journal that employs rigorous peer reviews to identify, improve and distribute original scholarship
  • And promote public education through active involvement with teachers, museums, libraries, and other venues”

Read the Western History Association's Constitution & By Laws Here


The WHA is hosted on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and benefits from the generous support of the College of Arts and Sciences.


Western History Association | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Department of History | 6001 Dodge Street | Omaha, NE 68182 | 

| (402) 554-5999 | westernhistoryassociation@gmail.com


The Western History Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.