The University of South Dakota

Our Goals

The major goals of the American Indian Studies Department are:

• To encourage and conduct original scholarly research of American Indian history and life ways. The perspectives of Indigenous peoples within the University of South Dakota and Vermillion communities and the fourteen nearby Indian nations located in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska contributes to the development of research skills relevant to the needs of these communities. 
• To encourage and support Native scholars and honor their achievements.
• To foster academic and teaching excellence.
• To understand and appreciate Native societies and acknowledge the contributions of those societies to the South Dakota, national, and international communities.
• To foster and value cultural diversity, while promoting cross-cultural understanding and eliminating racial intolerance and stereotypes.
• To contribute to the development of Native Studies as its own discipline, within a culturally appropriate framework founded in Indigenous life ways.

Our Resources

The U offers the region's most comprehensive resources and organizations related to American Indian history and culture:

• The Institute of American Indian Studies
• Native American Cultural Center
• Tiospaye U. (Native American Student Association)
• Joseph Harper Cash Memorial Library
• Native American Law Students' Association
• South Dakota Oral History Center's American Indian Research Project
• Oscar Howe Archives and Gallery
• W.H. Over Museum
• I.D. Weeks Library, including the Chilson Collection of Western Americana
• Archeology Club
• Wawokiya Mentoring Program
• Annual USD Wacipi
• Dakota/Lakota/Nakota pronunciation guide and short definitions

Scholarships 

We award scholarships ranging from $100 to over $5,000 each year to Native American students. To be eligible, you must:

• Be a member of a federally-recognized American Indian tribe within the United States.
• Be a full-time degree-seeking student (12 credit hours per semester).
• Attend classes at the Vermillion campus during the academic year for which they apply.

Affiliates

• Institute of American Indian Studies
• Joseph Harper Cash Memorial Lecture 
• South Dakota Oral History Center