Jackie Hendry

Over the last few years especially, the Native Studies program at the University of South Dakota has undergone significant change. After the resignation of its lone faculty member in 2013, Native Studies lost its departmental status and became an interdisciplinary program instead. Two new faculty members with joint appointments in other departments were hired. A new curriculum was developed which was largely supplemented with cross-listed classes–much to the chagrin of the few remaining students who were skeptical of this approach. It seemed, at least for a time, that Native Studies at USD was on the brink of total non-existence.

 

Because of USD's unique position as the flagship university in a state with one of the highest populations of native peoples–not to mention its proximity to so many sites of historic importance to westward expansion and the indigenous resistance–I was one of many students appalled by the apparent lack of a robust Native Studies degree. By making this documentary, I sought to determine how Native Studies at USD reached this state, how it might recover, and the importance of this degree to the campus community.