Contact: Brad Heegel, Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 351-3602
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu

November 16, 2004

37th Dakota Conference: Call for Proposals

SIOUX FALLS, SD - The Center for Western Studies has issued a call for proposals for the 37th annual Dakota Conference on Northern Plains History, Literature, Art, and Archaeology. The conference will be held at Augustana College April 22-23, 2005. The theme of the 2005 conference is "The Changing Black Hills."

Many voices speak on behalf of the Black Hills, the geologic upthrust on the Northern Plains that the Lakota Sioux call Paha Sapa. Imbued with spiritual significance by some and with economic promise by others, the Black Hills have undergone significant cultural and environmental changes. As the third and final program in a series examining the major geographic and cultural identities that define the Dakotas and a large portion of the Northern Plains, the 2005 Dakota Conference invites proposals for papers and sessions examining issues of land ownership, natural resource use, historic preservation, commercial and residential development, and cultural identity with respect to the Black Hills. Paper and session proposals on all aspects of the Dakotas and Northern Plains are also welcome.

Send one-page paper or session proposal with title, brief description, and biographical sketch, along with presenter name, address, phone number, and email address, to Dr. Harry F. Thompson, Dakota Conference Director, Center for Western Studies, Box 727, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD 57197, harry_thompson@augie.edu. Proposals are due on or before January 21, 2005.

Cash awards of $150 and $100 are offered for best papers in professional, amateur, and student categories.

The Dakota Conference is sponsored in part by the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.