- American Alliance of Museums Award for Excellence in Exhibitions for Nation to Nation exhibit, 2016
- Missouri Conference on History Award for Best Article of 2010
- Missouri Historical Review Article Prize, 2009
- Legacy Award from Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission, 2006, for Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide
- Missouri Governor’s Humanities Award, 2004, for Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide
- Missouri Conference on History Award for Best Book of 2003 for Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide
- Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for The Grand Portage Story, 1992
- Outstanding Academic Book of the Year award from Choice magazine (Association of College and Research Libraries) for The Way to Independence, 1988
- Award of Merit from American Association for State and Local History for The Way to Independence, 1988
- Award of Merit from American Association for State and Local History for Where Two Worlds Meet: The Great Lakes Fur Trade, 1983
- Theodore C. Blegen Awards for best staff-written article in Minnesota History, 1978 and 1980
author, historian, museum consultant