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The first Dakota Day
The first Dakota Day at the University of South Dakota took place on November 20, 1914. The parade theme was Frontier Life, and the Coyote football team triumphed over Yankton College, 33 to 3. Read about the origin of Dakota Day in Cedric Cummins' University of South Dakota, 1862-1966. University of South Dakota, 1975, pages 118-119. The book is available in the University Libraries, the Archives and Special Collections, and the Digital Library of South Dakota. Articles abou
Doris Peterson
Sep 241 min read


The Life and Times of Pioneer Bandmaster, Musician, and Composer: Felix Villiet Vinateri
Although the Oral History Project consists primarily of University of South Dakota interviewers’ tapes of South Dakotans, other institutions donated in their interview tapes to the University of South Dakota Oral History Center. This blog describes a 1968 interview by John Troth and Richard Cropp, Friends of the Middle Border Museum (now the Discovery Museum at Dakota Wesleyan University). They interviewed Yankton historian Joseph Vinateri and his daughter Mrs. Vanita Grimm a
Evelyn Schlenker
Sep 214 min read


Volunteer Compensation - Messiah (Ghost Dance) War
Financial struggles between state and federal government are nothing new as both groups try to shift economic burdens onto the other but these struggles often left citizens in a bind, especially regarding payments. In the 19th Century, militias were often formed in response to periods of heightened tensions (perceived or real) between American settlers and their American Indian neighbors. Governments or individuals formed these militias with promises of payment at the end of
Ryan Mews
Sep 96 min read
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