History 605

Writer Joseph Starita joins us to talk about his book "I am a Man" where he shares the remarkable story of how Standing Bear defeated General George Crook in 1879, not on the battlefield, but in federal court.

Who were the Lakota Code Talkers? What kind of language is Lakota? What can go wrong when two very conceptually different languages such as English and Lakota try to communicate in treaties?

How can we know what happened in the past? Historians use a wide variety of sources in order to answer that question. But how do we know what happened when there was no written language?

What prompts revolution and calamity? A sudden and sharp rise in grain prices, claims historian Scott Nelson, the UGA Athletics Association Professor of the Humanities at the University of Georgia. Nelson chatted with us about his book, Oceans of Grain: How American Wheat Remade the World.

Today we talk to Joseph Daniels about how history and heritage will be used to commemorate and celebrate the nation's Semiquincentennial, or the 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Daniels is the CEO of the America 250 Foundation charged with supporting the nation's celebration.

In this episode of History 605, I spoke with Roger Grant, a historian of the American railroad. Roger has had a long career teaching at Clemson University and has written several books. I spoke with him about his book, "Railroads and the American People," and his forthcoming essay on South Dakota's railroads with the Center for Western Studies. As Roger reminds us, "An idea is what an idea does," and the railroads were a practical idea that met a need — but also a source of great fascination with a profound influence on America. In this episode, you'll hear how the railroads shaped so much of South Dakota.

In this episode we ask, "how can we represent and best commemorate the Rapid City Flood?" Troy Kilpatrick and Corey Christianson of Rapid City's Journey Museum and Learning Center talk with us about how they answered that question with their current exhibit.

Much of history is an attempt to understand culture, and language is a window to culture like nothing else. So how can we understand the immigrants on the Northern Plains if we don’t speak their language? In the late 19th century, Germans left Europe in massive numbers and thousands settled in what is now South Dakota. What kind of culture did they bring with them? What kind of culture was created by them mixing with other cultures on the Northern Plains? German newspapers provide a great deal of insight on that and Istvan Gambocz has the rare talent to understand this aspect of South Dakota’s history. His article in the Fall 2021 South Dakota History won the Herbert S. Schell Prize for the best essay of the year.

The breaking of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and the creation of several smaller reservations in western South Dakota is often thought to have been President Ulysses Grant’s intent. However, historian Mary Stockwell argues in her book that Grant attempted to pursue a different policy, which included citizenship for American Indians. But despite his wishes, he was unable to make that happen. Understanding his circumstances is key to understanding a great deal of South Dakota’s history. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mary Stockwell, the author of “Interrupted Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant and the American Indians.”

The guest this time is you and me. We thought we’d wrap up the first season of History 605 with a review of how far we’ve come since we launched the podcast last July.