Before the lecture, Native Student Services will host a public reception at the Native American Culture Center from 5:30-6:45 p.m. Opening prayer and song will be provided by the USD Drum Group.

The featured lecturer is Joe Williams, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Reservation from Sisseton, South Dakota, and director of Native American Programs at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. Williams is a storyboard artist working in both digital and analog drawing formats and host of the popular podcast “5 Plain Questions.”

“It’s important to be a storyteller in art, whether it’s 2D, 3D, spoken or video, because it’s the way we connect with the audience,” Williams said. “Our work inspires people to do better, try harder or, at best, just keep going on with their life with meaning. My hope in my work is to help a community of creators create art through storytelling to do just that.”

Williams received his master's degree in visual effects from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California, and his bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies from USD.

Special guest America Meredith will also be in attendance. Meredith is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation and is based in Norman, Oklahoma. She is the publishing editor of “First American Art Magazine” as well as an art writer, critic, visual artist and independent curator, whose curatorial practice spans 28 years.

Meredith earned her master's degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has taught Native art history at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe Community College and Cherokee Humanities Course.

The annual Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture was established in 1989 by USD to help preserve Howe's message that Native American art is a vital cultural force in today's world and to promote cutting-edge Indian art on the Northern Plains. Past Howe Memorial Lectures have featured leading scholars and artists, including Arthur Amiotte, Bill Anthes, Keith BraveHeart and Donald Montileaux.

Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe served as USD artist-in-residence and art faculty member for 25 years, bringing international recognition to both the university and the state of South Dakota. Over his 40-year career, Howe earned many honors and awards, including numerous grand and first prizes in national competitions. He was designated artist laureate of South Dakota, awarded the prestigious Waite Phillips Trophy for Outstanding Contributions to American Indian Art and was recipient of the first South Dakota's Governor's Award for Creative Achievement in the Arts.
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