Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation

General Description of Awards

Now accepting applications - Deadline to apply is July 15, 2025

The Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation was established in May 1995 to implement the bequest of Eleanor G. Luxton, the daughter and granddaughter of Banff and Bow Valley pioneers. The objective of the Foundation is to foster public awareness of the history of Banff and its environs during the period that the Luxton and McDougall families were influential in the community with emphasis on the careers of Norman K. Luxton (1876-1962: Banff newspaperman, entrepreneur and friend of the Stoney people), Georgina McDougall Luxton (1872-1965: artist, gardener and granddaughter of pioneer Methodist missionaries), and Eleanor G. Luxton (1908-1995: teacher, engineer, historian and collector) in that setting.

The Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation is offering graduate or postdoctoral fellowships for responsible historical research and publication in western Canadian history and in the roles of the Luxton and McDougall families in Banff, the Bow Valley, and western Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the prominent and relatively unstudied stories of this history are:

  • the history of expedition adventures, including Luxton and Voss's epic 1901 voyage from Victoria to Fiji in a coastal dugout canoe
  • the origins of newspaper journalism in Western Canada, including W.F. Luxton's leadership in the early days of the Winnipeg Free Press and N.K. Luxton's editorship of the Banff Crag and Canyon
  • Eleanor Luxton's varied career as teacher, design engineer of steam locomotives, museum researcher, scholar, historian, and author
  • the Luxton and McDougall families' relations with native communities in western Canada in Morley, the west coast, & Banff Indian Days
  • the origins of nature conservation in western Canada including N.K. Luxton's recovery of the Pablo buffalo herd
  • topics in the history of western Canada, including the Cordillera

Of course, these examples are illustrative and other topics may also be considered.

The Foundation aims to support the original research of one or more graduate students. Many of the primary documents for research in the above-listed areas are located in the newly opened Archives of the Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff. Others are in the Glenbow Museum Archives in Calgary and elsewhere.

Number and Amount of Awards Granted

The Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation Fellowships will be adjudicated and administered by the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. The fellowships will be awarded to full-time students registered in one of the university's graduate programs. The maximum amounts to be awarded are: MA - $5,000, PhD - $10,000, Postdoctoral - $10,000. The number of fellowships granted annually will depend on the quality of applications received and is subject to funding availability.

Eligibility

Awarded annually to graduate students and/or post-doctoral fellows who are continuing studies at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ for responsible historical research and publication in western Canadian history and in the roles of the Luxton and McDougall families in Banff, the Bow Valley, and western Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries. Students from outside the Department of History and Classics and the Faculty of Arts are eligible to apply.

Applicants registered in master's programs normally are eligible to hold this award once during the first two years of their program. Applicants registered in doctoral programs normally are eligible to hold this award once up to and including the fifth year of their program.

Application Procedures

There is one competition annually for these awards. The application form and supporting documentation must be sent directly to the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

Award applications are compiled, reviewed, and adjudicated by the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Applicants are assessed based on their academic record, letters of reference, statement of program, and a sample of their academic writing or publication.

Instructions

After carefully reading the award description and eligibility, submit your nomination request by email to humgrad2@ualberta.ca with the subject line: Request for nomination: The Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation Graduate Fellowship with the following documents in pdf format:
  • Current CV
  • Â鶹ÊÓƵ transcript
  • Statement of research (maximum 2 pages) which clearly states your eligibility for the award