Joseph H. Cash, Ph. D. (1927-1991) Director (1976-1977, 1987-1990)

Dr. Joseph Harper Cash, 64, historian, educator, and former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Dakota, died in his Vermillion home on Tuesday, April 23, 1991. Born in Mitchell, South Dakota, on January 3, 1927, he was graduated from Bonesteel High School and, as a young man, served in the United States Marine Corps. On December 18, 1952, he married his college sweetheart, Margaret Ann Halla, in Vermillion.

Cash earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of South Dakota and his doctorate in history from the University of Iowa in 1966. He served on the faculty of Eastern Montana College (Billings) for three years, spending summers conducting oral history interviews on South Dakota's Indian reservations.

In 1968 Dr. Cash joined USD's faculty as professor of history. He held the position of Duke Research Professor of History and served as director of the American Indian Research Project, the Oral History Center, and the Institute of Indian Studies. He was founder and director of the South Dakota Oral History Project, a division of the Oral History Center. In 1977 he was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a position he held for ten years before returning to full-time teaching in the Department of History.

Dr. Cash was the author of ten books and numerous articles on South Dakota history, mining, Indians, and oral history, including To Be An Indian, The Sioux People, and the The Practice of Oral History. His book, Working the Homestake, was a Francis Parkman Prize nominee.

In 1990 he received the Robinson Award in recognition of his work in preserving South Dakota history. His accomplishments while serving the state historical society included work with the state's centennial celebration and realization of the Cultural Heritage Center constructed at Pierre.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Delta Theta, and many professional associations, Dean Cash was recognized in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the Midwest, and Who's Who of Authors. He was a charter member of the South Dakota Committee on the Humanities.

Survivors include his wife; one son, Joseph, Gaithersburg, Maryland; two daughters: Sheridan Cash Anderson, Pierre, and Meredith Cash Long, Denver, Colorado; and one granddaughter, Ayla Ann Cash. Memorial services were held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 26, in the United Church of Christ, Vermillion; long-time friends and colleagues, Dr. John Milton and Leonard Bruguier delivered eulogies.

Memorials may be directed to the Dean Joseph H. Cash Endowed Scholarship Fund, University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069.

[Reprinted from The Bulletin, Institute of American Indian Studies, Summer/Fall, 1991]

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10 December 1999, lrb