A New South Dakota History

Winner of the Oakland “Blue Collar” PEN Award A work of history, a manifesto, and an intergenerational story of resistance that shows how two centuries of Indigenous struggle created the movement proclaiming “Water is Life” In 2016, a small protest encampment at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota, initially established to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, grew to be the largest Indigenous protest movement in the twenty-first century, attracting tens of thousands of Indigenous and non-Native allies from around the world. Its slogan “Mni Wiconi”—Water is Life—was about more than just a pipeline. Water Protectors knew this battle for Native sovereignty had already been fought many times before, and that, even after the encampment was gone, their anti-colonial struggle would continue. In Our History is the Future, Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance leading to the #NoDAPL movement from the days of the Missouri River trading forts through the Indian Wars, the Pick-Sloan dams, the American Indian Movement, and the campaign for Indigenous rights at the United Nations. While a historian by trade, Estes also draws on observations from the encampments and from growing up as a citizen of the Oceti Sakowin (the Nation of the Seven Council Fires), making Our History is the Future at once a work of history, a personal story, and a manifesto.

This book gives an overview of the history of Dakota from prehistoric times of geological formation to the list of Dakota senators at the year of book publishing. A reader can find out interesting facts about Dakota Indian tribes, the first white settlements, the role of the aria in the civil war, and the most prominent personalities and events related to the state.

"Using the writings of his grandmother, Margaret Spader Neises, and mother, Joan Neises Volk, author Craig Volk creates a one-year diary that details the life and times of a woman during 1932."--

South Dakota is quietly nestled in the grasslands and Black Hills, but its history is far less hidden. One day at a time, author Brad Tennant presents intriguing, event-driven anecdotes of state history. On July 17, 1925, the state American Legion passed a resolution to initiate American Legion baseball. On April 29, 1930, Congress passed an act honoring the deceased chiefs of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the valiant men who made the supreme sacrifice in service in World War I. Celebrate an entire year of history in the Mount Rushmore State or enjoy it one day at a time.