South Dakota Historical Society Press

South Dakota Historical Society Press
Name	South Dakota Historical Society Press
Founded	1997
Country	United States
Headquarters	Pierre, South Dakota
Publications	Books, journals
Topics	South Dakota history, Native American history, regional studies

Contents

South Dakota Historical Society Press The South Dakota Historical Society Press is a state-affiliated publishing imprint based in Pierre, South Dakota, focused on regional history, biography, and cultural heritage. It publishes works relating to South Dakota, the Lakota people, the Dakota Territory, and topics tied to figures such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Chief Red Cloud and events like the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Press issues monographs, edited volumes, and primary-source collections that engage with institutions including the South Dakota State Historical Society, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

History

The Press was established to extend the mission of the South Dakota State Historical Society and to document territorial-era narratives, frontier settlement, and Indigenous histories related to Pierre, South Dakota, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, South Dakota, Deadwood, Sturgis, South Dakota and the broader Great Plains. Early projects encompassed documentary editions of correspondence connected to figures such as Henry Sibley, Red Cloud, Black Elk and Wilbur F. Maki and archival initiatives tied to collections from the Homestake Mine and the Dawes Act era records. The Press collaborated with university presses like the University of Nebraska Press, the University of Oklahoma Press and the University of Minnesota Press while drawing on materials from repositories including the South Dakota State Archives, the Newberry Library, and the American Philosophical Society.

The Press produces scholarly and popular titles on subjects such as frontier exploration, railroad expansion, and conservation linked to Buffalo Bill Cody, George Armstrong Custer, Frederick H. Billings, James J. Hill, and environmental histories involving the Missouri River, Badlands National Park, and the Black Hills. Series include documentary editions of treaties like the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), edited letters from territorial governors, and photographic histories featuring collections from the South Dakota State Historical Society Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The Press issues critical editions of primary sources tied to events such as the Ghost Dance, the Red Cloud's War, and the Great Sioux War of 1876–77, and publishes regional biographies covering figures like Francis Case, Tom Brokaw (regional reporting), William Jennings Bryan, Calvin Coolidge (visits), and local leaders documented in county histories.

Operational oversight resides with the South Dakota State Historical Society board and professional staff including acquisitions editors, production managers, and archivists who liaise with academic departments at institutions such as the University of South Dakota, the South Dakota State University, and the Augustana University (South Dakota). Editorial processes conform to standards used by the Modern Language Association, the Chicago Manual of Style (imprint practice), and peer review conventions similar to those at the American Historical Association and the Western History Association. The Press coordinates with printers, binders, and distributors, and maintains editorial collections drawn from donations related to families like the Pittsburg-Pennsylvania Railroad magnates and businesses such as the Homestake Mining Company.

Authors published by the Press include historians and scholars who study topics connected to Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala-Ša), Ely S. Parker, John Trudell, Deloria family members, and chroniclers of settlement such as Walter F. Mondale (regional ties), Ernest T. "Ernie" Deere (illustrative local histories), and academic contributors from the Center for Western Studies. Notable titles document the aftermath of the Buffalo Soldiers era, the legal history around the Marshall Trilogy, and case studies involving the Indian Reorganization Act and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. The Press has published annotated collections of journals from explorers and traders tied to Lewis and Clark Expedition, fur-trade era narratives mentioning the American Fur Company, and photo-essay volumes showcasing photographers of the Great Plains and the Northern Plains.

Distribution networks extend through regional museum shops, academic bookstores, and national distributors that serve libraries including the Library of Congress, state libraries such as the South Dakota State Library, and university libraries at the University of South Dakota School of Law and the South Dakota State University Library. Partnerships include collaborative projects with the National Endowment for the Humanities, grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and cooperative agreements with tribal institutions like the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and cultural centers including the Akta Lakota Museum and the Niobrara Historical and Cultural Center.

Titles from the Press have received awards and recognition from organizations such as the Western History Association, the Organization of American Historians, the American Association for State and Local History, and regional prizes honoring regional scholarship, public history, and Indigenous studies; specific recognition has included shortlistings for prizes administered by the Center for the Study of the American West and citations by the South Dakota Humanities Council. The Press’s editorial work in documentary editing and source publication has been cited in scholarship produced at institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution Scholars Program, the National Endowment for the Arts panels, and by juried book-award committees in regional history.