Andy Fisher's "Invasion of the Boardheads" wins McClelland Award

Few historians get to write about windsurfing and barleywine ale. Fewer still write award-winning articles about them, but Andrew Fisher's most recent article, "Invasion of the Boardheads," about the conflict between windsurfers and Yakima Indians over the Columbia River Gorge has done just that.

Fisher received the the John McClelland, Jr. award from Washington State Historical Society. The prize goes to the article that best exemplifies the popular history approach of their journal Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History.

Fisher is an assistant professor of history at the College of William & Mary. His research focuses on modern Native American history, environmental history, and the American West. His first book, Shadow Tribe: The Making of Columbia River Indian Identity, is scheduled to be published by the University of Washington Press in 2009. Professor Fisher had previously won the Historical Society's James B. Castles fellowship in 2006. Professor Fisher will be in traveling in France in June and will unable to attend the awards banquet.