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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Steve Hackel, an associate professor in Oregon State University's Department of History, has won the Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Book Prize by the American Society of Ethnohistory.

The award is given to a book-length effort in the field of ethnohistory.

Hackel was recognized for his 2005 book "Children of Coyote, Missionaries of Saint Francis: Indian-Spanish Relations in Colonial California 1769-1850."

This is just the latest recognition for "Children of Coyote." It also was awarded the James Broussard Best First Book Prize at the annual SHEAR (Society for Historians of the Early American Republic) meeting this year. In addition, "Children of Coyote" was honored in a symposium in Nov. 2005 sponsored by the California Mission Studies Association, as well as by the Academy of American Franciscan History and the California Historical Society.

The American Society for Ethnohistory (ASE) was founded in 1954 to promote the interdisciplinary investigation of the histories of the Native Peoples of the Americas. The Society is the preeminent international organization in the field and sponsors the journal "Ethnohistory."

Hackel joined the history department at OSU in 1996. He specializes in the histories of the early American frontier, the American West and American Indians.

Hackel is working on "Father Junípero Serra: California's Founding Father," a biography of the controversial Franciscan who oversaw the creation of California's missions. This biography will be published by Hill and Wang as part of the American Portraits series, a new set of American biographies.