Contact: Bruce Conley, Associate Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 274-5526
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu

April 5, 2005

‘The Changing Black Hills’ Theme of 37th Dakota Conference

SIOUX FALLS – The Center for Western Studies at Augustana College presents the 37th annual Dakota Conference on Northern Plains History, Literature, Art, and Archaeology April 22-23.
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 examines issues of ownership, natural resource use, and cultural identity in the Black Hills. The two previous conferences in this series considered new inhabitants and new economies transforming the prairie (2003), and land and water issues affecting the plains (2004).

Among the featured presenters this year is Charmaine White Face, coordinator of Defenders of the Black Hills. Her luncheon talk on Saturday, April 23, is entitled “Remember, the Black Hills are Sacred.”

An Oglala Tetuwan (Lakota language speaker) from the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation), Charmaine White Face is the spokesperson for the Teton Sioux National Treaty Council which has been attending meetings at the United Nations for the past 22 years. She is a writer and a grandmother.

The Defenders of the Black Hills is a group of volunteers, without racial or tribal boundaries, whose mission is to ensure that all of the provisions of the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 are upheld by the federal government of the United States.

Former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate George McGovern will present “Conservaties and Liberals” during a session entitled “Writing the Plains II.”

This year’s presenters come from South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, California, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, and Norway. In addition to Augustana, colleges and universities represented include Southern Illinois University, Northern State University, Presentational College, Dakota State University, North Dakota State University, Dakota Wesleyan University, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, South Dakota State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, St. Olaf, Pacific University, University of South Dakota, Lawrence University, and Brown University.

Two Augustana students, sophomore Laura Anderson from Evansville, Minn., and senior Peter Olsen from Sioux Falls are among the presenters. Anderson’s topic is “Camp Dewey and Sioux Falls: An Unforgettable Aspect of Life.” Olsen’s presentation is entitled, “John McClellan: The Untold Story of an Early Sioux Falls Settler.”

Augustana senior Amanda Larson from Brandon, S.D., is the recipient of the Cedric Cummins Student Award. She receives $100 for the best paper submitted by a student for the 2004 Dakota History Conference.

Marian Cramer, a retired music teacher and amateur historian from Bryant, S.D., is the recipient of the Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of South Dakota and the Northern Plains. She has presented papers at the Dakota Conference regularly since the 1970s. She has been a columnist for the East River Guardian, Brookings Register, and Daily Plainsman.

Registration is required for all conference attendees. Registration fees include $40 for all sessions, $25 for one day, and $10 for a single session. Registration takes place in the Fantle Building for the Center for Western Studies, 2201 S. Summit Avenue.

For additional information contact Dakota Conference Director Dr. Harry F. Thompson at the Center for Western Studies (605-274-4007).

The Dakota Conference is supported by the South Dakota Humanities Council.