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Her Vote. Her Voice. Raising funds to ensure historical collections are accessible to all

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the Her Vote. Her Voice. (HVHV) campaign is requesting support to digitize important historical documents in the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre.

The following collections identified for preservation will be readily available to the public via the internet for use in research, publishing projects, student history assignments, genealogy, and personal use once they’re fully funded and archiving is complete. Digitizing costs for all of the collections include an estimate of $7,500 to $23,000 to prep the collection, digitize, catalog, provide quality control, and upload to the South Dakota Digital Archives.

Jane Rooker Breeden papers
In 1892, Jane Rooker Breeden homesteaded with her husband, James Knox Breeden, in Stanley County, Dakota Territory. She would become active in the temperance movement and with many local women's and literary clubs. Breeden played a vital role in the development of Pierre's Carnegie Library. This collection includes correspondence, notes, manuscripts, and other papers relating to women's suffrage and temperance movements.

Lt. Gov. Carole Hillard records
This collection consists of correspondence, letters, photographs, and speeches of Lt. Gov. Carole Hillard from 1986-2006. This collection includes correspondence, notes, graduation diplomas, magazines featuring articles of Carole, bound materials, and oversize items such as posters, framed photographs, and photograph albums.

General Federation of Women's Clubs of South Dakota records
This collection consists of records of the GFWC of South Dakota, 1899-1958, including the Pioneer Daughters Collection. The Pioneer Daughters Collection results from a statewide GFWC effort to collect and preserve the stories of female pioneers in South Dakota. Arranged by county, this collection includes obituaries, written histories of varying lengths, and some photographs. Many of the letters are typed, but some are handwritten.

Commission on the Status of Women records
This series contains state and national discussions of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), among other administrative files pertaining to the Committee on Women's Status in the Department of Social Services from 1976 to 1980. The collection includes correspondence, notes, memos, slides, photographs and negatives, news releases, monthly expenditures, budget files, legislation, reports, brochures, newspaper clippings, and topical files.

The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, in partnership with HVHV, is aiming to preserve women’s history through digitizing papers, artifacts, and historical collections that focus on women’s contributions to the state.  But they need additional funding to ensure that the collections are not lost and are more accessible to the public.

Pat Miller, chair of the HVHV delegation, noted the public can help preserve these documents and thousands like them for future generations.

“With the public’s help to fund the collections, they will be available to you no matter where you live for years to come,” said Miller. “All sizes of donations are extremely helpful.”

For more information go to bit.ly/SDcollections.

Photo: This photo from the Lt. Gov. Carole Hillard Collection shows the Lt. Gov. greeting President Ronald Reagan. (Photo courtesy South Dakota State Historical Society-Archives)

About Her Vote. Her Voice.
Her Vote. Her Voice. is a grassroots movement of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation and the office of Governor Kristi Noem. Governor Noem appointed a group of 16 delegates to celebrate, commemorate, and educate the public about the work of early suffragists and women’s contributions to the history of South Dakota. It is a project of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. This diverse group of nonpartisan professionals brings relevance to the historical topic while connecting people to the present issue: history is happening and still being made today. Funds raised by the Her Vote. Her Voice. campaign will support women’s history preservation through projects defined by the South Dakota State Historical Society and Historical Society Foundation. For more information on how you can help, go to www.hervotehervoice.org or call 605-773-6003.

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 since 2013, 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 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and serves as the fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society. The foundation assists in securing funds to collect, preserve, research, exhibit, and interpret history for the lifelong education and enrichment of present and future generations. For more information go to www.sdhsf.org or call 605-773-6003.