THE CENTER FOR WESTERN STUDIES
A T AU G U S TA N A C O L L E G E NEWSLETTER
VOL. 28,NO. 1 SPRING 2008
RiverTransportation IsThisYear’s Dakota ConferenceTheme
Eighty-seven presenters and author-presenters
from 15 states and two
foreign countries are scheduled to
participate in the 40th Annual Dakota
Conference, April 25-26, 2008. More
than 20 of the papers and panels to be
delivered will address some aspect of
river transportation, the focus of this
year’s conference. This is the second in
a series on transportation, following the
2007 conference on railroads.
Dedicated to examining
contemporary issues in their historical
and cultural contexts, the conference is
a signature event of the Center for
Western Studies, which provides
programming in Northern Plains Studies
for Augustana College and other
colleges and universities.
The Dakota Conference is the
largest annual gathering of humanities
scholars in South Dakota, representing
20 colleges and universities, from
Brandon University in Canada, to the
University of Missouri-Kansas City, and
from Sogn og Fjordane University
College in Norway to Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo, California. Its hallmark, though,
is the inclusion of non-affiliated scholars
and other experts in their field.
The three plenary sessions (with
meals) will feature talks on river
transportation and culture: author
Robert Goodman, speaking on
paddlewheels on the Upper Mississippi
(Friday lunch); poet Allison Hedge Coke
on the ancient village of Blood Run on
the Big Sioux (Friday dinner); and USD
anthropologists L.E.
Bradley and Brian
Molyneaux on
steamboats on the
Missouri (Saturday
lunch).
In addition to
the individual
presentations, there
will be three panels
on various topics:
the debate over
ownership of the
quartzite markers
along the shared
Dakota border, with
Gordon Iseminger
as moderator; the story of the Fool
Soldiers during the Minnesota Dakota
Conflict of 1862, with filmmaker Barbara
Britain as moderator; and areas of South
Dakota scholarship that need more
attention, with Michael Mullin as
moderator.
Several students will present papers
at the conference, including Augustana
senior and CWS intern Kelly Goertzen.
Students from Kansas State University,
University of South Dakota, and Valley
City State University will also give
papers.
The 2008 Award for Distinguished
Contribution to the Preservation of the
Cultural
Heritage of
South Dakota
and the
Northern
Plains will be
presented to Elaine Nelson McIntosh.
The award is presented by the Board of
Directors of the Center for Western
Studies to individuals who have made
exceptional contributions to our
Contact CWS if you would like a copy of the 20-page Dakota
Conference program, or go online to www.augie.edu/cws/
and click on the Dakota Conference icon.
June Event to Feature
Great Moments in
130Years of
Sioux FallsTheater
On June 17, 2008, on the stage
of the Great Hall in the Washington
Pavilion, the Center will present our
19th annual dinner-theater. The
300 guests that we expect to
attend will enjoy a smorgasbord of
dramatic treats from the earliest
days of theater in Sioux Falls right
up to the present and productions
in the Pavilion. And there is a
gourmet meal to boot. The event
is a fund raiser for the Center’s
annual and endowment funds.
Directing the evening’s
entertainment, titled Footlights to
Spotlights, will be CWS intern
Andrew Erickson, a junior theater
major at Augustana and the
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