Western Washington University
10/20/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/20/2025 11:50
Can-Am Studies grad receives ACSUS humanities award for his research essay
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Can-Am Studies grad receives ACSUS humanities award for his research essay
October 20, 2025
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Gibson Steinert, '25
New graduate Gibson Steinert was honored by the Association for Canadian Studies in the U.S. for his research essay about the British fur trade.
Steinert, who graduated in June with a major in Canadian-American Studies, received the association's Jeanne Kissner Undergraduate Essay in Humanities Award for his essay, "The British Fur Trade in the Pacific Northwest: A Means to Lay Claim to the Land (1770-1840)."
Steinert also presented a poster of his research at Western's 2025 Scholars Week.
The essay, Steinert's capstone paper in Canadian-American Studies, addresses the development of the British fur trading network in the Pacific Northwest to demonstrate that the Hudson's Bay Company was instrumental in transitioning this region from a hinterland to a heartland. He worked under the guidance of both Assistant Professor Madison Heslop and Can-Am Studies Director Christina Keppie.
Steinert has been invited to receive his award at the ACSUS biennial conference in Seattle Nov. 13-16.
Submissions for the Jeanne Kissner Award were solicited from faculty and scholars in Canadian Studies around the globe. Entries were judged by a committee of five graduate students of Canadian studies, including 2019 Western alum Sara Chute who is pursuing a Ph.D. in history at the University of Toronto.
About the Center for Canadian-American Studies
Western Washington University's Center for Canadian-American Studies draws upon the Western's interdisciplinary expertise to explore the complex cultural, economic and historical relationships between Canada and the United States. The Center for Canadian-American Studies is the only center of its kind in the U.S. that offers both a major and a minor in Can-Am studies. Center affiliates include faculty members in history, business, economics, journalism, political science, urban and environmental planning, environmental studies, anthropology, English, art history and more. The center also hosts Study Canada K-12, which provides professional development opportunities to K-12 teachers who want to broaden their students' perspectives about the shared geography, history and culture of North America.
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