It’s a party in Rapid City with authors, refreshments and the opportunity to meet people interested in South Dakota’s history.
The social and author signing party will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. MDT on Thursday, April 26, at Arrowhead Country Club, 3675 Sheridan Lake Road. The event is sponsored by Arrowhead Country Club and is a fundraiser for the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve of Rapid City, author of “Sioux Women: Traditionally Sacred,” and Michael Casler of Williston, N.D., an editor of “Fort Tecumseh and Fort Pierre Chouteau: Journal and Letter Books 1830-1850” will be present to sign copies of their books.
Sneve was born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation. Many of her more than 20 book focus on American Indians. Sneve is the first South Dakotan to receive the National Humanities Medal. She drew on winter counts and oral records of her ancestors to discover their past for “Sioux Woman: Traditionally Sacred.” The book explores the struggles and joys of women in Lakota culture.
Casler is a former park ranger with the National Park Service who has written numerous articles on the Upper Missouri fur trade. Fort Tecumseh and Fort Pierre Chouteau were important fur trading posts located near what came to be the city of Fort Pierre. Letter books consisted of copies of outgoing letters written by the managers of the posts to their company officers and subordinates in the field. Company employees recorded daily activities in journals. “Fort Tecumseh and Fort Pierre Chouteau” reveals day-to-day details of the business transacted at the fur trading posts and a glimpse into the lives of the men who staffed them.
Both books were published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press.
In addition to meeting the authors, those attending will be able to meet staff and members of the foundation’s board of directors and trustees of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided.
The cost for the social is $50 per person, payable at the door. People may register by calling 605-773-6003 or going online at www.sdhsf.org/historyconference.html.
The Thursday social precedes the annual South Dakota State Historical Society History Conference, taking place April 27-28 at the Best Western Ramkota in Rapid City. For more information about the conference, visit www.history.sd.gov or call 605-773-6000.
About the South Dakota State Historical Society
The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. 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 www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.
About the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation
The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation is a private charitable nonprofit that seeks funding to assist the South Dakota State Historical Society in programming and projects to preserve South Dakota’s history and heritage for future generations.
