Posted on Monday, February 16, 2026
Dr. David Horst Lehman, assistant professor of history at Westminster College, has received the Hoon Award to support his research during the current academic year.
Lehman’s current project focuses on transforming his dissertation into a book manuscript titled “On Potawatomi Soil: Mapping Native Homelands and Settler Invasions Over Time.” He grew up on Potawatomi homelands in what is now northern Indiana—a connection that has shaped his academic interests and deepened his engagement with the region’s history.
The book builds on his doctoral research, “Keeping Fires, Tending Lands: The Practices and Legacy of Potawatomi Farming Around Lake Michigan, 1700–1900,” which examines how the Potawatomi people shaped—and were shaped by—the environments of the southern Lake Michigan region.
His work argues that Potawatomi land use practices were not merely responses to environmental conditions, but active forces that influenced soil composition, prairie development and forest ecology over centuries.
In particular, Lehman’s research highlights the importance of controlled burning in maintaining prairie patches and oak barrens within the mixed prairie-forest landscapes of the region. These long-term fire practices, he argues, left lasting ecological and agricultural impacts that are still evident today.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, Lehman maps changes in soil, territory and land use over time to better understand how Native land stewardship practices shaped regional landscapes.
“American Indian history did not begin with European contact, and it did not end with violence in the 1800s,” Lehman said. “American Indian nations and their citizens are still managing whatever homelands they can today.”
A significant addition to the forthcoming book will connect Potawatomi history to the nation’s present, emphasizing the continuity of Indigenous land management and sovereignty. In his teaching at Westminster, Lehman encourages students to explore both the historical and contemporary experiences of Native nations, including the Seneca, Lenape and Shawnee, and to consider the histories of the lands on which they have lived.
Lehman joined Westminster’s faculty in 2023. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a B.A. from Goshen College.
The Hoon Award provides four credit hours of reassigned time and $1,250 for research-related expenses and travel. The award was established through the estate of William Legrand Hoon, a 1937 Westminster graduate, to encourage scholarly activity among tenure-track faculty.
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By Betsy Fontaine Hildebrand ’92
Betsy Fontaine Hildebrand ’92 is the director of communication in Westminster College's Office of Marketing and Communication.
