O. Alan Weltzien Receives Montana Historical Society Heritage Keeper Award

August 10, 2026

The University of Montana Western is proud to announce that Professor Emeritus O. Alan Weltzien has received the Heritage Keeper Award from the Montana Historical Society.

The UMW community and the public are invited to attend a ceremony honoring Dr. Weltzien on Thursday, September 17, at 5:00 p.m. in the Lewis & Clark Room on the UMW campus. Members of the Montana Historical Society staff and board will be on hand to present the award and recognize Dr. Weltzien for his contributions to Montana’s history and cultural heritage.

The Heritage Keeper Awards are conferred on people or organizations that demonstrate an exemplary commitment to a significant Montana history project or have identified and preserved objects or property of significance to Montana’s history and culture.

Dr. Weltzien is recognized at a particularly timely moment—the 50th anniversary of Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It. Since 1990, Dr. Weltzien has dedicated his career at the University of Montana Western to “practical humanities,” bridging academic rigor and public engagement as a leading authority on Maclean and the primary force behind the rediscovery of novelist Thomas Savage. His edited volume The Norman Maclean Reader is widely regarded as the definitive commentary on Maclean’s work, and his biography Savage West rescued a vital voice of southwestern Montana from obscurity.

Dr. Weltzien’s influence extends through service on the board of Humanities Montana, two Fulbright lectureships, contributions to Montana: The Magazine of Western History, and his celebrated “Savage Tours,” guiding students and Oscar-winning director Jane Campion through the landscapes of Savage’s novels.

For more information on the Montana Historical Society and Heritage Awards, visit https://mths.mt.gov or contact [email protected].