This online calendar of events emphasizes educational, archaeological, preservation, and history related programs throughout the year across South Dakota. Green entries denote activities at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Blue entries denote off-site activities sponsored by the SD State Historical Society and/or the Heritage Fund. If you would like to submit an event to be included on the calendar, please complete and submit the following form: Events form, PDF or Events form, Word.

January 2010

Event: "The People's House: Celebrating the Century" Exhibit
Description: This exhibit on the capitol’s 100th anniversary features include a wall-size mural of the capitol’s exterior telling about the building’s architectural elements. The original vault door from the Secretary of State’s Office holds a monitor running capitol construction photos. Artifacts include an original legislator’s desk and the 44-star flag that flew over the first capitol in 1889. Interactive stations let visitors try their hand at constructing a capitol with arches, columns and pediments, and laying a tile pattern with a special blue tile. People can see how well they can identify the capitols of South Dakota’s neighboring states with a matching game.
Location:  Cultural Heritage Center, Hogen Gallery, 900 Governors Dr., Pierre
Date/Time: through 2010, Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Sun. & Holidays 1-4:30 p.m. CT
Admission:  Members free; Adults $4, Seniors $3, 17 & under free (Free to all 1st Sunday of every month)
Sponsor: South Dakota State Historical Society
Contact: 605-773-3458

Event: SD State Archives Open
Description: The State Archives is open every 1st Saturday of the month. Staff will be available to assist with research. The State Archives manages a collection of photographs, films, maps, books, newspapers, state and county records, as well as personal and organizational records.
Location:  Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Dr., Pierre
Date/Time: January 2, 2010; 9 a.m to 4:30 p.m. CT
Admission:  Free
Sponsor: South Dakota State Historical Society
Contact: Archives (e-mail or web), 605-773-3804

Event: Free admittance to the Museum of the SD State Historical Society
Description: Admittance to the museum is free the 1st Sunday of the month. The Museum has 15,000 square feet of exhibition space with exhibits divided into five galleries.
Location: Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Dr., Pierre
Date/Time: January 3, 2010; 1- 4:30 p.m. CT
Admission:  Free
Sponsor: South Dakota State Historical Society
Contact: 605-773-3458

Event: The Homesteader by Oscar Micheaux - History & Heritage Book Club
Description: Discussion will be on The Homesteader by Oscar Micheaux. Micheaux is legendary as one of the first black filmmakers. The guest speaker will be Jerry Wilske, the director of the Oscar Micheaux Center in Gregory, SD. In 1917 he published this autobiographical novel. Jean Baptiste, the willful but warm-hearted main character, refuses to act as if he has no power to shape events. He cultivates his land and plans his future. In the face of drought, pestilence, and foreclosure, he turns to writing. His first marriage to the daughter of a Chicago minister collapses in acrimony and high drama. The circumstances that lead to its failure are a telling social commentary. Always learning, Baptiste demands respect and embodies the strengths of the pioneer, the vision of the empire builder. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion.
Location:  Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Dr., Pierre
Date/Time: January 12, 2010; 7 p.m. CT
Admission: Free
Sponsor: South Dakota State Historical Society & the South Dakota Heritage Fund
Contact: Dorinda Daniel (605) 773-6006, dorinda.daniel@state.sd.us
Additional Comments: The History & Heritage Book Club is open to everyone. People who want to join the discussion by telephone are welcome to do so by making arrangements in advance with Dorinda (see above).

Event: Spearfish & Spearfish Canyon - Historical Film Festival
Description: Historical film footage screened in the newly restored roundhouse building featuring area historians who will discuss the locations and eras represented in the films. This month's program is on Spearfish & Spearfish Canyon. Limited seating, reservations recommended, contact the Theater.
Location: Living Map Theater, 106 Glendale Dr., Lead
Date/Time:
January 13, 14, 15, 16, 2010; 7 p.m. MT
January 15, 16, 2010; 2 p.m. MT
Admission: Adults - $16, Seniors (60 & older) - $14, Students (18 & younger) - $12
Sponsor: Living Map Theater
Contact: Living Map Theatre (e-mail or web), 605-717-0296

Event: Battle of the Little Big Horn from a Lakota Family - Preservation Thursday
Description: Donovin Sprague, author & instructor at Black Hills State University, will discuss major events leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the 1876 battle and the role played by Sprague's Lakota family members.
Location: Adams Museum, 54 Sherman St., Deadwood
Date/Time: January 14, 2010; Noon MT
Admission: Donations welcomed
Sponsor: Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation, Mary Adams Balmat, Rapid City Journal, Black Hills Pioneer, Cadillac Jack's Gaming Resort, Celebrity Hotel, Deadwood Gulch Resort, Four Aces, Saloon No. 10 & the Deadwood Social Club, South Dakota Arts Council, South Dakota Humanities Council, TDG Communications, Trilliant Enterprises
Contact: Adams Museum (e-mail or web), 605-578-1928

Event: Pedestrians As Art: The Archeology of Tattooing - part of the Third Sunday Archeology Presentation Series
Speaker: L. Adrien Hannus, Ph.D., Director, Archeology Laboratory, Augustana College
Description: The presentation will consider the prehistoric and historic record of tattooing, body scarification, and body painting in early cultures. Currently, the earliest evidence of tattooing is "Otzi," the Iceman, preserved in the Alpine region of Italy and dating to 5,300 years before present (B.P.). Other early examples include multiple tattooed bodies preserved during the Bronze Age in the frozen tombs in Siberia, which date to approximately 2,500 years B.P.
Location: Augustana College, Gilbert Science Center Auditorium, 33rd & Summit Ave., Sioux Falls
Date/Time: January 17, 2010, 2 p.m. CT
Admission: free
Sponsor: Augustana College Archeology Lab and Sioux Falls Chapter of the SD Archaeological Society
Contact: Lynette Rossum (e-mail), 605-274-5493

Event: Vintage Tools - Preservation Wednesday
Description: Will Schweinle with the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission will give a presentation entitled "Vintage Tools". The public is encouraged to attend.
Location: Vermillion Public Library, 18 Church St., Vermillion
Date/Time: January 20, 2010; 7 p.m. CT
Admission: Free
Sponsor: Clay County Historic Preservation Commission
Contact: Jim Wilson (e-mail or web), 605-624-4579

Event: East Side Story: The Legend of a Quarry Town - Minnehaha County Historical Society monthly meeting
Description: Kevin Gansz, Curator of Education for the Siouxland Heritage Museums, will present the program. East Sioux Falls was once a thriving company quarry town that helped pave such cities as Sioux Falls, Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago and built local landmarks like the Old Courthouse Museum and the Federal Courthouse. A community that oncenumbered in the hundreds, it is almost forgotten today. Through historic photos, this presentation looks at the rise and fall of East Sioux Falls, and discusses the quarry industry and its importance to the economy,k history, and the area character. This free program is open to the public. Bring a friend.
Location: Old Courthouse Museum, 200 W. 6th St., Sioux Falls
Date/Time: January 21, 2010, 7 p.m. CT
Admission: Free
Sponsor: Minnehaha County Historical Society
Contact: Jim Carlson, 605-366-8403

Event: Custer Expedition Photo Sites: Lost & Found - The Journey Museum Storyteller Series
Description: The speaker will be Paul Horsted.
Location: The Journey Museum, 222 New York St., Rapid City
Date/Time: January 31, 2010; 2 p.m. MT
Admission: $3 for nonmembers, Free to members
Sponsor: The Journey Museum
Contact: The Journey Museum (web), 605-394-6923

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