Governor's Heritage Award - Erasmo Gamboa

Dr. Erasmo Gamboa of Kenmore, Washington is the leading historian of the Latino experience in the Northwest. Gamboa is a professor of history at the University of Washington. Gamboa’s parents emigrated from Mexico, settling in Sunnyside, in the Yakima Valley, where he finished high school and attended Yakima Valley Community College. At the University of Washington, he became an activist advancing Latino economic and political causes. Gamboa received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington in 1984. He has authored scores of articles and several books, on such themes as Spanish exploration and Latino settlement and labor history in the Northwest. His book, Nosotros: The Hispanic People of Oregon, received the 1996 Helen and Martin Schwartz award from the National Federation of State Humanities Councils. Gamboa’s work has also won recognition form the governors of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.