FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 7, 2013
CONTACT: Jeff Mammenga, Media Coordinator, (605) 773-6000, Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us
PIERRE, S.D. – The Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society will host a special webcast of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) program entitled, “Feeding America: Labor, Politics and Food” at 2 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Aug. 11, at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre in the center’s education room.
The program is hosted by NMAH and features a panel discussion led by Curator Steve Velasquez along with Authors Matt Garcia, Don Mitchell and Melanie DuPuis. Much of the discussion focuses on labor issues related to the bracero program, a 1940s program dealing with the importation of temporary contract laborers from Mexico to the United States, and other topics.
There is no fee for the program, but standard admission fees apply for visitors wanting to go into the museum.
“This is a great opportunity to enjoy a historical discussion of issues important to our state from the perspective of scholars and authors outside South Dakota,” said Jay Smith, director of the Museum of the State Historical Society. “We are pleased that NMAH has offered to make this a public programming opportunity, and we look forward to working with them again on future programming and other projects.”
The State Historical Society became a Smithsonian Affiliate in January and is the only one in South Dakota.
“Feeding America: Labor, Politics and Food” was originally broadcast in February 2013 in the Warner Brothers Theater at the National Museum of American History in conjunction with the new “FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000” exhibition.
About Smithsonian Affiliations
Established in 1996, Smithsonian Affiliations is a national outreach program that develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums, educational and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. The long-term goal of Smithsonian Affiliations is to facilitate a two-way relationship among Affiliate organizations and the Smithsonian Institution to increase discovery and inspire lifelong learning in communities across America. More information about the Smithsonian Affiliations program and Affiliate activity is available at https://affiliations.si.edu.
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The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council, and the State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.
