Norwegian-American Historical Association

THE MISSION OF THE NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION (NAHA) IS TO LOCATE, COLLECT, PRESERVE AND INTERPRET THE NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WITH ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND LIVELINESS. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, WE MAINTAIN AN ACTIVE ACQUISITIONS PROGRAM FOCUSING ON MATERIALS RELATED TO NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AND IMMIGRANTS. IN ADDITION TO MAINTAINING THE LARGEST ARCHIVE OF NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN IMMIGRATION MATERIALS, WE HAVE AN ACTIVE PUBLICATIONS PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE SCHOLARSHIP IN THIS AREA.

MEMBERSHIP: THE ASSOCIATION'S PRIMARY MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES INCLUDE HOSTING EDUCATIONAL EVENTS AND TOURS. NAHA ALSO PRODUCES A QUARTERLY PRINT NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND EDUCATE MEMBERS ABOUT OUR COLLECTIONS AND TOPICS RELATED TO NORWEGIAN- AMERICAN IMMIGRATION HISTORY. WHILE THE PANDEMIC CONTINUED TO LIMIT IN-PERSON EVENTS, WE MOVED OUR TWO MAIN EVENTS ONLINE, ENABLING US TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE AND BETTER CONNECT WITH OUR MEMBERS ACROSS THE NATION AND ABROAD. IN MAY, NAHA HOSTED ITS ANNUAL SPRING MEMBER MEETUP, FEATURING DR. KYLE WARD OF MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY-MANKATO, WHO SPOKE ON THE HISTORY OF THE 99TH BATTALION IN WWII. IN NOVEMBER, NAHA COLLABORATED ON A VIRTUAL EVENT WITH ITS PARTER ORGANIZATION IN NORWAY, NAHA-NORGE. OUR SPEAKER WAS PROFESSOR VIDAR L. HAANES OF MF NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, RELIGION, AND SOCIETY IN OSLO. HE PRESENTED "MILLENNIAL HOPES AND SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA: NORWEGIAN HAUGEANS IN CONTEXT." IN AUGUST, NAHA HOSTED "TELEMARKINGS IN THE LAND-TAKING: FROM HOUSTON COUNTY TO THE RED RIVER VALLEY," AT NORWAY HOUSE IN MINNEAPOLIS. OUR SPEAKER WAS DR. BETTY BERGLAND, EMERITA PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN- RIVER FALLS.

ARCHIVES: NAHA CONTINUES TO ACTIVELY COLLECT AND PRESERVE MATERIALS RELATED TO THE NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE; ASSIST MEMBERS, SCHOLARS, HISTORIANS, AND OTHERS IN ACCESSING OUR ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS; AND EXPAND OUR DIGITAL REPOSITORIES. IN 2021, 29 DONATIONS WERE ADDED TO OUR ARCHIVES. DOZENS OF SCHOLARS, HISTORIANS, AND FAMILY GENEALOGISTS USE THE NAHA ARCHIVES IN PERSON EACH YEAR. WHILE OUR DOORS WERE SHUT TO THE PUBLIC FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR AGAIN DUE TO COVID-19, WE FOCUSED ON SERVING PATRONS REMOTELY. OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, OUR STAFF RESPONDED TO NEARLY 170 RESEARCH OR MATERIAL REQUESTS. IN OCTOBER, NAHA WAS AWARDED AN 87,000 GRANT FROM MN ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FUND TO DIGITIZE SELECTED MATERIALS FROM ITS 1925 NORSE-AMERICAN CENTENNIAL COLLECTION. WORK BEGAN ON THE PROJECT IN FEBRUARY OF 2022.

PUBLICATION: IN THE FALL OF 2021, NAHA RELEASED VOLUME 39 OF OUR SCHOLARLY JOURNAL, NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES AND MAILED IT TO OUR MEMBERS. REDESIGNED AND RELAUNCHED IN 2019, THE JOURNAL IS NOW PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. IT IS DEDICTAED TO SHOWCASING THE BEST WORK BEING DONE IN THE FIELD OF NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES, INCLUDING THE RELATED FIELDS OF HISTORY, LITERATURE, RELIGION, ART, AND CULTURAL STUDIES. THE JOURNAL AIMS TO NOT ONLY PUBLISH SCHOLARSHIP ON NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN LIFE, BUT ALSO FACILITATE INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE BY PUBLISHING ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES ALONGSIDE DISCUSSIONS OF SCHOLARLY WORKS IN PROGRESS, THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES,REVIEWS OF BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE FIELD, AND MORE. DIGITAL ACCESS TO THE JOURNAL AND ITS BACK ISSUES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE TO NAHA MEMBERS VIA PROJECT MUSE DIGITAL LIBRARY.

ADJUSTMENT ACROSS ALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS RELATED TO FUTURE LIABILITY.