Books published by publisher South Dakota State Historical Society

In Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life, Pamela Smith Hill delves into the complex and often fascinating relationships Wilder formed throughout her life that led to the writing of her classic Little House series. Using Wilder's stories, personal correspondence, a previously unpublished autobiography, and experiences in South Dakota, Hill has produced a historical-literary biography of the famous and much-loved author. Following the course of Wilder's life, and her real family's journey west, Hill provides a context both familial and literary, for Wilder's writing career. Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life is the first book in the South Dakota Biography Series, which highlights some of the state's most famous residents. Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends and Seth Bullock: Black Hills Lawman are also a part of this series. More information about this series can be found on the South Dakota Historical Society Press website.

Pickup trucks and eagles, yellow school buses and painted horses, Mother Earth and Sister Meadowlark all join together to greet the dawn. They marvel at the colours and sounds, smells and memories that dawn creates. Animals and humans alike turn their faces upwards and gaze as the sun makes its daily journey from horizon to horizon. Dawn is a time to celebrate with a smiling heart, to start a new day in the right way, excited for what might come. Birds sing and dance, children rush to learn, dewdrops glisten from leaves, and gradually the sun warms us. Each time the sun starts a new circle, we can start again as well. All these things are part of the Lakota way, a means of living in balance. S. D. Nelson offers young readers wonder and happiness as a better way of appreciating their culture and surroundings. He draws inspiration from traditional stories to create Greet the Dawn . His artwork fuses elements of modern with traditional. Above all, he urges each of us to seize the opportunity that dawn offers each day.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty came to America. If Liberty had been a real woman, she would have had no voice in her new country. She could not vote or run for office. The men in charge of unveiling the statue in New York Harbor even declared that women could not set foot on the island during the welcoming ceremony. That did not stop New York suffragists Matilda Joslyn Gage, Lillie Devereux Blake, and Katherine Devereux Blake. They wanted women to have the liberty to vote and participate in government. They were determined to give the new statue a voice. But, first, they had to find a boat. Matilda, Lillie, and Katie organized hundreds of people and sailed a cattle barge to the front of the day's ceremony, making news and raising their voices for LIBERTY.

Hidden away since 1930, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original autobiography reveals the true stories of her pioneering life. Some of her experiences will be familiar; some will be a surprise. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography re-introduces readers to the woman who defined the pioneer experience for millions of people around the world.Through her recollections, Wilder details the Ingalls family’s journey through Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, back to Minnesota, and on to Dakota Territory— sixteen years of travels, unforgettable stories, and the everyday people who became immortal through her fiction. Using additional manuscripts, diaries, and letters, editor Pamela Smith Hill adds valuable context and explores Wilder’s growth as a writer.Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography also explores the history of the frontier that the Ingalls family traversed and the culture and life of the communities Wilder lived in. The book features over one hundred images, eight fully researched maps, and hundreds of annotations based on census data and other records, newspapers of the period, and other primary documents.Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography is a publication of the Pioneer Girl Project, which is a research and publishing program of the South Dakota State Historical Society. For more information, visit www.pioneergirlproject.org.

2008 WILLA Literary Award Winner in the Scholarly Nonfiction Category—Women Writing the WestIndie Excellence Awards 2008 Winner in the Biography CategoryThis is "a fascinating and remarkable book that deserves a place on the shelf of every Laura fan."—The Homesteader"Pamela Smith Hill has [created] a work of considerable scholarship and insight. . . . She has dealt along the way with numerous issues raised by critics and by the general readership, together with other matters that few have previously thought to discuss. In all of this, her extensive research, her careful scholarship and her measured style, combined with her obvious enthusiasm for her subject, have produced a work which we believe adds in substantial measure to the critical literature involving Wilder and Lane."—The Little House Heritage TrustIn Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life, Pamela Smith Hill delves into the complex and often fascinating relationships Wilder formed throughout her life that led to the writing of her classic Little House series. Using Wilder’s stories, personal correspondence, an unpublished autobiography, and experiences in South Dakota, Hill has produced a historical-literary biography of the famous and much-loved author. Following the course of Wilder’s life, and her real family’s journey west, Hill provides a context, both familial and literary, for Wilder’s writing career. Laura Ingalls Wilder examines Wilder’s inspirations as a writer, particularly her tumultuous, but ultimately successful, professional and personal relationship with her daughter—the hidden editor—Rose Wilder Lane. Wilder produced her timeless classics with the help of, but not reliance upon, her daughter’s editorial insights. Over the course of more than thirty years, Lane and Wilder engaged in a dynamic working relationship, shifting between trust, distrust, and respect. Hill argues that they differed in their visions of the path Wilder’s career should follow, but eventually Lane’s editing brought out the best of her mother’s writing, and allowed her creativity, expression, and experiences to shine through.This book is the first in a new series of biographies highlighting South Dakota's most famous residents. Future volumes in the South Dakota Biography Series will focus on the lives of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock."This will most likely be the definitive published source for 'Pioneer Girl.'"—The Homesteader"In some ways, Laura fans have been waiting for the second half of this book since the 1994 publication of William Holtz's Ghost in the Little House."—The Homesteader"If you've ever wanted to peek behind the scenes of the "Little House" series and other vignettes, this is your book. . . . This biography is sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but always a page turner."—Roundup Magazine"Hill skillfully examines the complex relationship between Wilder and her daughter."—Kansas HistoryHill offers "fresh insights on open questions in Wilder and Little House studies, and are engaging, enjoyable reading."—Kansas History"Hill's dissecton of the personal and professional interactions between these two women, as mother and daughter and as collaborating (and rival) artists, is performed with delicacy and tact that, nevertheless, confirms Laura Ingalls Wilder's place in the canon of American writers."—Nebraska History

Perfect Reading for Ages Five and Up. Animals stop and listen. A new sound is in the forest. The beat vibrates through the trees and across the meadows. What is it? Where is it coming from? Muskrat and Skunk thump on a hollow log BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Birds begin to dance. Buffalo and Antelope join in. There is a rustle in the bushes; a large shape emerges. The animals scatter. Muskrat and Skunk drum on. The story of the drum connects the instrument s sound to the heartbeat of Mother Earth a beat inside all of us. For the Lakota people, the drum is more than something to be played. Its rhythm is felt, and it is central to many ceremonies. Donald F. Montileaux retells the origins of the drum, using traditional stories that Lakota people still tell today. His colorful images breathe life into Muskrat and Skunk, enhancing our understanding of the Lakota culture.

Virginia s old coat is too small. The cold South Dakota wind blows across the Rosebud Indian Reservation, making her shiver as she walks to school. Virginia dreams of a new coat arriving in the Theast boxes--parcels of clothing from churches in The East. But, she knows she may not have a chance for a coat this year. Her father is the village Episcopal priest, so her family chooses last, and as Mama always says, The others need it more than we do. Generosity and unexpected joy remind Virginia of the importance of community within this story from the author s childhood.

Myths surrounding two Wild West legendsAlthough Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane spent only a few weeks in Deadwood at the same time, their fame and fate have become intertwined and their relationship legendary. James D. McLaird examines the contemporary accounts that turned these two Wild West wanderers into dime-novel and motion-picture stars.Contemporary novelists and journalists created an astonishingly strong legacy for both Calamity Jane and Wild Bill, accounting for much of their notoriety. Gun fights, scouting missions, and daring escapes from enemies filled stories about the dashing pair; even their day-to-day existence seems to have been fraught with danger and excitement, teetering on the brink between lawful and unlawful.McLaird traces the role that writers and the city of Deadwood itself played in the creation of the legacies of the famous couple. Fact and fiction have become so intertwined that a definitive picture of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill is almost impossible. Their brief friendship and subsequent burial next to each other in Mount Moriah Cemetery simply added to their legendary status and made them stalwarts of Wild West pop culture and Deadwood mythology.

Radical, feminist, writer, suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage changed the course of history. She fought for equal rights not dependent on sex, race, class, or creed. Yet her name has faded into obscurity. She is forgotten when her comrades, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, are celebrated. To explain, Angelica Shirley Carpenter explores Gage s life, including her rise and fall within the movement she helped build.

Bang, bang, tap, tap - the scientists at an underground laboratory in South Dakota are busy with their experiments. A creature who has slumbered for many years under the earth wakes up. Soozy opens her eyes and, with a big yawn, emerges from the Black Hills. She makes her way across the state searching for food and friends. The world she discovers is far different from the one she left behind. Munching on motorcycles, chasing bison, and seeing the sites, Soozy hunts for a new place to call home. Illustrations from the cartoonist Chris Browne bring the prehistoric Soozy to life as he regales readers with the adventures of the traveling dinosaur. Her journey takes her across the state, and Browne incorporates facts about the Mount Rushmore State informing readers about the places she visits.

Curiosity leads a young warrior to track a new animal. It leads him far from home, but at last he finds a herd of the strange new creatures. They are horses that shimmer with colour and run swift as the wind. The Lakota capture and tame them, and the people grow rich and powerful. They become filled with pride. With their newfound strength they rule over the plains. Then the Great Spirit, who gave the gift of the horse, takes it away. Donald F. Montileaux retells the legend of Tasunka from the traditional stories of the Lakota people. Using the ledger-art style of his forefathers he adds colorful detail. His beautiful images enhance our understanding of the horse and its importance in Lakota culture.