Montana The Magazine of Western History

01/08/2026

Attention teachers in Eastern Montana: NHD MT & NHD North Dakota are offering a FREE workshop on evaluating student argumentation in historical research projects. We'll spend the first day (March 16) learning how to evaluate primary source analysis and historical interpretation. On day 2 (March 17), you'll get the chance to practice those skills by judging at the hybrid MonDak Regional History Day Contest in Dickinson, ND.

Travel stipends, lunch, and 16 renewal units provided. Apply now. Spots are limited.

https://www.ndstudies.gov/curriculum/teacher-resources/workshops/teacher-workshops

01/08/2026

📌 Mark your calendar for the 53rd Annual Montana History Conference, September 24-26, 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Billings.

The Montana History Conference committee invites proposals for Culture Keepers, Catalysts, and Cowboys: Exploring Billings and Eastern Montana. Topics of interest include Indigenous and ethnic histories, agriculture, women’s history, labor, archaeology, resource extraction, and the arts.

This is a public history conference welcoming a broad and diverse audience of Montana history enthusiasts and professionals.

🗓️ The deadline for submitting proposals is March 1, 2026.

Montana Historical Society

01/07/2026

A love letter from Kentucky ❤️

You don’t have to live in Montana to appreciate this magazine. Published since 1951, "Montana The Magazine of Western History" has a special way of connecting readers, wherever they are, to the land, the stories, and the spirit of the West.

Our Winter issue marks the magazine's 75th anniversary! We'd love to hear from you!

01/02/2026

As we celebrate the magazine's 75th Anniversary, we're sharing some of our favorite letters from across the decades. We love the imagery of being "the 800 pound gorilla" among state historical magazines in this letter from July 2002.

Our 75th Anniversary edition is here! Subscribe today at mths.mt.gov/pubs/Subscribe

12/29/2025

Check out this podcast interview with our MTHS Press author, Ian Campbell Wilson! We've got some exciting news about his book, Catastrophe At Custer Creek--it's in the works to become an audiobook, available on Audible. We'll keep you posted when it goes live.

In this powerful episode of The Dirt on the Past, Nancy and Crystal sit down with Ian Campbell Wilson, author of Catastrophe at Custer Creek: Montana’s Deadl...

12/25/2025

"Happy holiday wishes to you and yours, from the staff of the most widely read journal of authentic western history in existence." So read the back cover of our Winter 1957 issue. We couldn't say it better today, as we celebrate the magazine's 75th Anniversary!

The featured painting is a first reproduction of Russell's "Christmas at Line Camp," followed by the artist's 1914 poem from an illustrated card of watercolor, ink, and gouache. If you visit the new Montana Heritage Center this holiday season, look for the card, which is on display in the McKay Collection now permanently housed in the Charles M. Russell Gallery.

Best wishes for your Christmas
Is all you get from me,
'Cause I ain't no Santa Claus
Don't own no Christmas Tree

But if wishes was health and money,
I'd fill your buck-skin poke,
Your Doctor would go hungry
An' you never would be broke
— Charles M. Russell

12/24/2025

This love letter comes to us all the way from Essex in the southeast of England. Letters like these remind us that "Montana" is so much more than a publication. For many of our readers, whether they're across a state line or across an ocean, our magazine is a connection with a place that dwells within their hearts—a way to belong to this one big town that we call "Montana," even from afar.

12/24/2025

“Getting the email … that I had won the Emerging Scholar Contest and was going to get published was just the culmination of everything I had hoped for in my undergraduate and graduate education.” — 2025 Emerging Scholar Dylan Yonce.

Submit your manuscript for the 2026 Emerging Scholar Article Contest by January 4, 2026! Learn more at https://loom.ly/mYtI3kA



University of Montana History Department

12/23/2025

12/22/2025

12/22/2025

Submit your 5,500-7,500 word manuscript by January 4, 2026! We welcome manuscripts that deal with significant facets of Western history or provide a new interpretation of historical topics or trends. Manuscripts do not need to focus on Montana history, but must address a topic related to the American West. Learn more and submit your work at https://loom.ly/mYtI3kA

12/20/2025

Deep reads. Beautiful design. Limited advertising. Premium paper that feels good in your hands. Give the gift of "Montana The Magazine of Western History."

To order, call the Montana Heritage Center Gift Shop at 406-444-2890.