The Western History Association (WHA) was organized in 1961 "to promote the study of the North American West in all its varied aspects and in its broadest sense." In 1969, the Western Historical Quarterly was established as the official journal of the WHA. The mission of the WHA continues today in the pages of the journal which publishes original articles which focus on topics such as twentieth-century regional studies, the Spanish borderlands, and Native American history.