The Office of Undergraduate Research proudly presents 2024 EURA Winner Max Halbach 

Max Halbach currently studies History and Education as a junior at the University of Iowa. In addition, he is working toward an Anthropology Minor and a certificate in Native American Indigenous Studies. Director of Graduate Studies and History Department Associate Professor Tom Arne Midtrød, facilitates Halbach's research endeavors. 

Describe your current project.

I am exploring Indigenous understandings of usufruct treaty rights during Northern Removal in the 1830s. I hope to see how treaty stipulations like the right to fish, harvest, and cut lumber transformed Native American foodways, perspectives on land, and identity.

What do you enjoy most about research?

I enjoy diving into a primary source and constructing a fragment of their world. Between the crossed out words, affectionate closing phrases, and animals drawn in the margins, a close reading of primary sources reminds me of the common thread of humanity that links our experiences across time.

Outside of research and academics...

Outside of research and coursework, I deliver tours on Iowan history at the Pentacrest Museums and am vice-president of the student organization Aspiring Educators at Iowa. I also enjoy bird watching and reading books on early North America.

He has major plans after graduation.

After I graduate next year, I will attend grad school to explore European-Indigenous diplomacy in early colonial America. Encouragement from the History department faculty has helped crystallize my plan. Beyond that, I hope to share my passion for history as an educator --either at the high school or college level.

Thank you for your contributions to our research community!