Each year the Alaska Historical Society recognizes, through its awards program, individuals, historical societies, and public institutions for outstanding research, writing, and promotion of Alaska history.

The Esther Billman Award of Excellence is given to a local historical society, museum, government agency, or other organization which has completed a project or series of projects contributing to the preservation and understanding of Alaska history during the past year.  The Eagle Historical Society is the award recipient.  When the Yukon River broke up in early May this year, Old Eage Village as well as the town of Eagle were inundated with flood waters carrying enormous ice floes.  Twenty-five structures were destroyed, half the residents left homeless, and the historic Customs House was badly damaged.  When ice chunks pushed it off its foundation and it looked like the whole building might be lost down the river, a window was broken and historical records and artifacts were salvaged.  Through this award we honor the actions of Jean Turner and other Eagle Historical Socetiy volunteers, some of whom lost their own homes.

The Evangeline Atwood Award is given to an individual in recognition of significant long-term contributions to Alaska state or local history.  This year the award is to William E. Davis of Anchorage who has just returned to Sitka.  Bill recently retired as secretary of the Cook Inlet Historical Society after more than three decades of service.  He also served as president of the organization for six years, and although he always volunteered his time, he worked like a paid employee, coordinating the Society's activities.  He spearheaded a series of distinguished publications, organized programs, and wrote the guide to the Alaska History Gallery at the Anchorage Museum.  An anthropologist by training, Bill is also Professor Emeritus of Alaska Methodist University.  He is currently working on a project concerning the early history of Cook Inlet. 

The Historian of the Year Award is given to an Alaska resident for publication of notable new material about Alaska history during the past year.  This year's award recipient is Willie Hensley of Anchorage for his book Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People.  As one of the key players in the drive for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Hensley was tireless in seeking compensation and a measure of autonomy for Alaska's indigenous people.  His book is eloquent in telling of his personal journey from his birthplace in Kotzebue to the halls of Congress.  Through a lifetime spent educating and influencing those is power, he has brough national attention to Alaskan Native issues and cultural values.  Hensley spoke to us at last year's Alaska Historical Society annual meeting in Anchorage, and remains a respected elder. 

The Elva R. Scott Local Historical Society Newsletter Award is given for the best newsletter published by a local historical society over the past several years.  This year the award goes to Hope and Sunrise Historical Society.  From their tiny gold rush community on the shores of Turnagain Arm, the members of the Society produce a newsletter that keeps us in touch with the activities and collections centered around the Hope-Sunrise Historical and Mining Museum. 

The Contributions to Alaska History Award recognizes an individual who has made a singular and significant recent contribution to Alaska History.  This year the Society is recognizing John R. Bockstoce of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.  In his long career John has researched and published much of what we know about whaling and trading patterns off the shores of northern Alaska.  He was the Curator of Ethnology for the New Bedford Whaling Museum for many years and is the author of Whales, Ice and Men: The History of Commercial Whaling in the Western Arctic.  This title was recognized by the Alaska Historical Society in The Alaska 67: A Guide to Alaska's Best History Books.  Yale University has published his latest book, Furs and Frontiers in the Far North: The Contest Among Native and Foreign Nations for the Bering Strait Fur Trade.

The Student and Beginning Professional Travel Scholarship Awards help individuals attend and participate in the Alaska Historical Society annual meeting.  This year two awards of $1,250 plus full conference registration were made.  The recipients are Toby Sullivan of the Kodiak Maritime Museum and Ryan Jones of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.  Both awardees were featured on the conference program with Sullivan presenting "When Crab was King: An Oral History of the Kodiak King Crab Fishery," and Jones presenting "Lisanskiy's Mountain: Changing Views of Alaska's Nature in Russian America."