State of Montana Newsroom
Montana Historical Society Names 2026 Research Fellowship Recipients
Helena, MT — The Larry Len and LeAnne Peterson Library and Archives at the Montana Historical Society has selected three recipients for its 2026 research fellowship programs. The fellows will be in residence between May and October 2026, marking the return of the program following a three-year pause during construction of the Montana Heritage Center.
The fellowships support scholars conducting research on Montana history at one of the state's premier collections of historic documents, photographs, and primary source materials. Since 1983, the fellowships have supported 91 scholars, whose work has resulted in more than 30 articles in Montana The Magazine of Western History and more than 10 books.
"We are delighted to welcome these three fellows into the newly opened reference room,” said Roberta Gebhardt, Library and Archives program manager. “Each of their projects speaks to a different dimension of Montana's history, and together they reflect exactly the kind of rigorous, community-centered scholarship these fellowships were created to support."
Sally Thompson - James H. Bradley Fellowship
Thompson's project, "In the Blink of Napi's Eye: Cultural Transformation of the Judith Basin, 1855–1888," examines the rapid and profound changes that reshaped life in the Judith Basin in the three decades following the Judith River Treaty of October 1855. Thompson plans to follow individuals and families season by season through the years when tribal bison hunters in the Judith Basin were displaced by cattle ranchers, aided by decisions of the federal government. The James H. Bradley Fellowship supports academic research making a significant contribution to the study of Montana history.
Samantha French - Dave Walter Research Fellowship
French will research the history of Old Fort Belknap, established in the early 1870s to serve as a subagency for the tribes of the Milk River Valley. One of the earliest centers of commerce in what is now northern Blaine County, Old Fort Belknap was a hub of interaction between the Aaniiih and Nakoda peoples and the federal government, and home to the region's first non-Native residents. Though two original buildings still stand at the site southwest of Chinook, no historical signage marks their significance, and the fort is largely absent from local museums. French's research aims to recover and share this history for the benefit of the Blaine County community and future preservation of the site. The Dave Walter Research Fellowship supports researchers working on public history projects focused on local Montana history.
Arizona Duff - Montana History Network Fellowship
Duff's project, "Echoes of the Open Range: Montana Cowboys, Music, and Working-life Soundscapes, 1890–1950," examines how cowboy songs, oral traditions, audio recordings, and performance reflected working conditions, identity, environmental relations, and cultural values among Montana cowboys across six decades. The project is grounded in Montana's well-documented ranching past while contributing to the emerging field of sensory history — an approach that treats sound and music as primary historical sources rather than peripheral curiosities. Duff will conduct research at all three institutions in the Montana History Network: the Montana Historical Society, Montana State University, and the University of Montana. The Montana History Network Fellowship supports students enrolled in master's or doctoral programs in history or a related field at a Montana university.
For more information about the fellowship programs, visit mths.mt.gov/research/fellowships or contact the Library and Archives at mthslibrary@mt.gov.