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Museum at Cultural Heritage Center announces programming schedule for new exhibit “‘The Right is Ours’: Women Win the Vote”

The nationwide celebration of women’s suffrage continues at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre with special programming beginning in January to support the new exhibit “‘The Right is Ours’: Women Win the Vote” that opened in November. 

The topic of women’s suffrage will be addressed in several programs at the Cultural Heritage Center over the next few months including:

  • Jan. 30, 7 p.m. CST: presentation on Her Flag, a nationwide art and travel project created by Oklahoma artist Marilyn Artus
     
  • March 1, 2 p.m. CST: Liz Almlie with the State Historic Preservation Office will present “A Movement of Many: Stories of Women’s Suffrage in South Dakota”
     
  • April 4, 10-11:30 a.m. CDT: Family Fun Saturday, Making Suffrage Signs
     
  • April 4, 2 p.m. CDT: Dr. Claire Jerry from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will present “Suffrage’s Top 10: Activists and Artifacts”
     
  • April 5, 2 p.m. CDT: Dr. Claire Jerry will present "Winning the Vote with Words—From East to West!” at the Capitol Lake Visitor Center

Each of the programs is free to the public, and the materials for the Family Fun Saturday event on April 4 are also free. More information about the Her Flag program can be found at www.HerFlag.com

“We are delighted to bring these programs to the Cultural Heritage Center and Capitol Lake Visitor Center because the topic of women’s suffrage is important to an understanding of both state and national history,” said Museum Director Jay Smith. “The museum is proud to assist the public in understanding how difficult it was to accomplish this goal and what a profound impact it had on American society – an impact that continues to be felt today.” 

The South Dakota State Historical Society is honoring and interpreting the importance of the suffrage movement with several projects, including the publication of three books over three years. 

The South Dakota Historical Society Press publications include “Born Criminal: Matilda Joslyn Gage, Radical Suffragist” by Angelica Shirley Carpenter, and “Equality at the Ballot Box: Votes for Women on the Northern Great Plains” edited by Lori Ludlum and Molly P. Rozum. Both books are available for purchase in the Heritage Store at the Cultural Heritage Center. The third book, “The Voice of Liberty” by Angelica Shirley Carpenter and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, is due to be released in fall 2020.  

“‘The Right is Ours’: Women Win the Vote” will be on display through Nov. 3, 2020. 

The museum is open from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CST Monday through Saturday, and 1-4:30 p.m. CST on Sundays and most holidays. Call 605-773-3458 for more information about exhibits, special events, and upcoming activities.

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.