Northern Plains Studies
The part of the American West that concerns the Center for Western Studies is the Great Plains, specifically the northern section of the Great Plains. We define this area as South Dakota and its contiguous states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The Center’s founder, author and teacher Herbert Krause, conceived of this region as the center of the expansive American West. Research on the Northern Plains continues by the Center's staff.
Northern Plains Studies programs administered by the Center for Western Studies include the following annual events:
Dakota Conference on the Northern Plains
Artists of the Plains Art Show & Sale
Boe Forum on Public Affairs
Additional Northern Plains Studies programs include Book Publishing, Independent Study courses and Internships.
Northern Plains Studies Minor (18-19 hours)
Required Course: Northern Plains Studies 2xx (South Dakota and the Region: A Historical Approach). An introduction to Northern Plains Studies, this course is also intended to meet South Dakota state teacher certification requirements for secondary education history students.
Recommended Courses:
History 120 (American History to 1877)
History 121 (American History Since 1877)
Elective Courses:
History 303 (History of the American West)
History/Native American Studies 352 (History of the Lakota and Dakota)
Native American Studies 320 (Native American Social Systems)
Anthropology 270 (Introduction to Archaeology)
Anthropology 271 (Cultural Anthropology)
Biology 180 (Environmental Science)
English 340 (Native American Authors)
The minor in Northern Plains Studies was first proposed by Dr. Harry F. Thompson in his report to the Granskou Award Committee in 2003. Beginning in the fall of 2006, a group of interested faculty and administrators, called the Northern Plains Studies Planning Committee, met to discuss the details of how the proposed minor could be implemented. Working with the college’s Curriculum Committee, CWS board member and NEH Chair in Regional Studies Dr. Michael Mullin proposed the above sequence of courses. The minor was approved by the faculty in October 2007. Thompson’s report is available as a pdf “Fulfilling Its Mission: Northern Plains Studies at Augustana College”.
Pictured above is the Froiland Plains Indian Room,
one of the Center's permanent exhibits.