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The Year of Reconciliation (and the newly renamed holiday Native Americans' Day) was established in 1990 by South Dakota Governor George S. Mickelson and South Dakota Secretary of Indian Affairs Francis White Bird. Information about the Year of Reconciliation can be found in the Institute of American Indian Studies' The Bulletin, Winter 1990, page 17. Copies of the IAIS Bulletins and News Reports are in the Digital Library of South Dakota, USD Archives, and South Dakota Gover

History: The Young Citizens League chapters were established in grade schools to teach democratic principles and provide children opportunities for self-determination. The first chapter was established in 1910 in Brown County, South Dakota. By 1941, YCL had 7,500 chapters in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Colorado. The first South Dakota State Convention was held in Pierre on April 25, 1927. In March 1971, the South Dakota State Steering Committee decided to disco

For the 250th birthday celebration of the United States of America, we are resharing this wonderful 2014 blog post by Archives and Special Collections' employee Abigail Proehl about our music book collection: American History in the Mahoney Music Collection This week we celebrate the birth of our nation, with this Friday marking the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout those two centuries, music has played a key role in shaping our American culture

A library book that is 50+ years overdue is a common trope in books and movies. Though it is not common here, the library recently (and happily) received an overdue book that was checked out for 56 years. This image of the check-out slip for the overdue book shows that it was checked out in 1970. Guinness world record for the most years that a returned library book had been overdue is 288 years.

To honor Indigenous traditions, languages and stories during Native American Heritage Month, we are highlighting Dakota and Lakota language classes at the University of South Dakota. The newsletter of the Institute of Indian Studies recounts, “There is an interesting story behind the development of the course. It started as a topic introduced from the floor […]

Please let us know if you find miniature books in the Herman P. Chilson Collection not shown in the image above. We know there are more. “Miniature books are books measuring 10 centimeters or less in height and 10 cm. or less in width. A book exceeding 10 centimeters in its longest dimension is not […]

The Archives and Special Collections recently wrote finding aids for our two sets of phonograph albums, the Richardson Phonograph Collection and the USD Phonograph Collection. Most of these are 12-inch, 33 1/3 rpm vinyl disks, though a few other sizes, rpms, or materials are present. The Richardson Phonograph Collection consists of albums by South Dakota Musicians. […]

The following collections in the Archives and Special Collections have information about the Pathfinder Atomic Power Plant: Ralph Herseth papers, box 61 Herbert Samuel Schell Papers, box 17

In preparation for July 4, 2026, the Archives and Special Collections staff are searching our collections for items related to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, previous anniversary celebrations, or the five research themes suggested by the American Association for State and Local History. (See 10-18-2024 blog post.) During United States’ Bicentennial celebration, a […]

cover of USD commencement program

The Mahoney Music Collection covers a wide range of musical subjects. Within the subject of musical instruments — construction is an unusual set of books, the Hough’s Encyclopaedia of American Woods. While the 1957 set in the Mahoney Music Collection is not complete, a complete set has 16 two-ring binders with samples of wood and […]

While researching another topic, I recently found in a 1975 Volante student newspaper that the League of Women Voters established an all-volunteer recycling center in Vermillion SD, and it was in a restructured building below the bluff. The article does not mention when. If you know when this recycling center started and stopped, please let […]

“Filibuster is an extended debate, generally in the United States Senate, which, because of its rules, allows unlimited debate for those who can count votes well enough to know that their side will lose should a vote be taken on an issue.” Sen. James G. Abourezk (D-Sd.) In the 1970s the United States faced and […]

Y2K was a potential computer problem that could have occurred when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. The William J. Janklow papers contain information about the taskforce that was formed to solve any issues that may materialize in South Dakota.

This mosaic was compiled by the Remote Sensing Institute at SDSU in Brookings, SD, in 1973 using satellite images from the first human-made Earth-observing satellite designed to study and monitor our planet’s landmasses. The satellite carried a camera and a scanner sensitive to four spectral bands (green, red, and two infrared bands). This map is […]

Information about this time capsule was discovered in the Volante (student newspaper). The April 27, 1994, issue has a photograph of two women standing before a wall under construction and holding a 3 feet x 1 foot plywood box. The picture caption tells us that the capsule was sponsored by the USD Student Association and […]

Dr. Cable received B.A. (1926) and M.A. (1927) degrees from the University of South Dakota. She worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, later called the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from 1927 to 1970.

Bobby Penn graduated with a BFA from the University of South Dakota in 1974. While at USD and after his graduation, Penn worked as an art instructor and illustrator. Beginning in 1986, he pursued his painting career full-time. Penn lived and worked in Vermillion, South Dakota until his death in 1999. Penn’s work is in […]

The Archives and Special Collections recently received buttons (or pins) related to this event. For the full story of how Southern State College became the University of South Dakota/Springfield, and then a state minimum-security prison, consult the William J. Janklow papers at the Archives and Special Collections and read “Closing Time: A Twenty-Five-Year Retrospective On […]

Is the figure chemistry related? The building was finished in 1915 and in 1957-1958, the building was repaired after a fire. It is now called the Pardee Estee Laboratory, and its current entrance features a chemistry-themed tile mural on the wall above the door. USD Photograph Collection contains many images of buildings on campus. These […]