The South Dakota State Historical Society is governed by a twelve-member board of trustees. Six members are appointed by the Governor of the State of South Dakota, and six members are elected by the Society membership. The board also serves as the state review board for historic preservation purposes and includes an archaeologist, an architect, an architectural historian, an archivist, and a historian.

John D. Fowler, Elk Point
Richard Harnois, Pierre
Jeffrey A. Hazard, Sioux Falls
Robert E. Kolbe, Sioux Falls
Laurie Langland, Fulton
Jon Lauck, Sioux Falls
Peggy Sanders, Oral
Rolene Schliesman, Wilmot
Brad Tennant, President, Aberdeen
Tom Tobin, Winner
Francis Whitebird, St. Francis
David A. Wolff, Vice President, Spearfish
Jay D. Vogt (Director), Pierre

Meeting Schedule

July 13, 2018
10:00 a.m.
Cultural Heritage Center, Pierre, SD
Agenda

Minutes

September 7, 2018

9:00 a.m.

Cultural Heritage Center, Pierre, SD

Agenda

Minutes

December 7, 2018

8:45 a.m.

Cultural Heritage Center, Pierre, SD

Agenda

Minutes

 

Listed in alphabetical order.

 

Liz Almlie
Historic Preservation
(605)773-6056

Lisa Bondy
SD Historical Society Foundation
(605)773-6298

Laurie Bozzetti
Archaeology
(605)394-1031

Aidan Brady
Museum
(605)773-6935

Terri Bruce
Archaeology
(605) 394-1741

Matt Busch
Archaeology
(605) 394-2614

Dan Byrne
Archaeology
(605)394-1906

Jenna Carlson Dietmeier
Historic Preservation
(605)773-8370

Sara Casper
State Archives
(605)773-3780

Holly Crosby
SD Historical Society Foundation
(605)773-6346

Dorinda Daniel
Administration
(605)773-6006

Catherine Forsch
SD Historical Society Foundation
(605)773-6003

Michael Fosha
Archaeology
(605)394-1903

Nan Halvorson
Archaeology
(605)394-6123

Virginia M. Hanson
State Archives
(605)773-3616

Jim Haug
Archaeology
(605)394-1936

Nicole Hosette
State Archives
(605)773-4369

Susan Hunt
Archaeology
(605)394-1936

Kira Kaufmann
Archaeology
(605)394-1897

Sarah Kirchman
State Archives
(605)773-2089

Peter Kleinpass
Museum
(605)773-4373

Nancy Tystad Koupal
Research and Publishing
(605)773-4371

Amy Kucera
Research and Publishing
(605)773-8380

Katie Lamie
Archaeology
(605)394-1804

Michael Lewis
SD Historical Society Foundation
(605)773-6001

Jeff Mammenga
Administration
(605)773-600

Steve Mayer
State Archives
(605)773-3277

Jennifer E. McIntyre
Research and Publishing
(605)773-8161

Chris Nelson
Historic Preservation
(605)773-3103

Kate Nelson
Historic Preservation
(605)773-6005

Jeanne Kilen Ode
Research and Publishing
(605)773-6008

Paige Olson
Historic Preservation
(605)773-6004

Cherri Reed
State Archives
(605)773-2089

Matthew Reitzel
State Archives
(605)773-3615

Ronette Rumpca
Museum
(605)773-6011

Katy Schmidt
Museum
(605)773-6013

Jay Smith
Museum
(605)773-3798

Kimberly Smith
State Archives
(605)773-4233

Cindy Snow
Historic Preservation
(605)773-2907

Chelle Somsen
State Archives
(605)773-5521

Ted Spencer
Historic Preservation
(605)773-6296

Ken Stewart
State Archives
(605)773-3804

Caroline Uecker
Administration
(605)773-5344

Judy Uecker
Research and Publishing
(605)773-6009

Jay D. Vogt
Director
(605)773-3458

Jane Watts
Archaeology
(605)394-1939

David Williams
Archaeology
(605)394-1942

Roger Williams
Archaeology
(605)394-5128

A masterpiece of Lakota sculpture, the Sioux Horse Effigy dance stick, ca. 1870, was probably carved to honor a wounded horse and is considered one of the greatest equine sculptures in the world. This singular piece of the museum's collection is incorporated into the Society's logo.

Carved out of wood, this 3-foot-long sculpture is enhanced by its real horsehair mane and tail. Leather reins and bridle exhibit care with which this sculpture was made. The horse is also riddled with holes, bullet wounds. Red paint, blood, seems to seep from these wounds, suggesting that it died in battle. Blood also runs from the horse's mouth in the form of red horsehair. Its ears are backward slanting, showing fear and pain. The horse's elongated body and forward leaping motion suggest a leap from life to death.

The Horse Effigy is now traveling with the exhibit entitled The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky and it will be off display until the Fall of 2015.

The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky is the name of the traveling exhibition for which the Sioux Horse Effigy is a part. The exhibition brings together around 140 of the most important works of Plains Indian art from North American and European collections. The show features art from many Plains Indian Nations, including the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Omaha, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee and others. The exhibition sites are the musèe du quai Branly (Museum Branly) in Paris, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of art in Kansas City and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Sioux Horse Effigy has a very prominent position in the exhibition. The show's curator, Gaylord Torrence, described the Horse Effigy as being one of ten truly quintessential pieces to the show. Mr. Torrence is one of the nation's leading scholars of Plains Indian art and is the Fred and Virginia Merrill Senior Curator of American Indian Art at the Nelson-Atkins. The Plains Indians builds upon the legacy of the Nelson-Atkins' 1977 landmark exhibition Sacred Circles in which the Horse Effigy was included, and from which it gained its international fame.

The show premières at the musèe du quai Branly (April 7 – July 20, 2014) before showing at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (September 20, 2014 – January 11, 2015) and ending at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (March 2 – May 17, 2015). The Sioux Horse Effigy will return home to South Dakota in the summer of 2015.