This thesis argues that accommodation to winter was an important — though not the only — response of early Dakotans to the annual challenges and hazards of winter. It examines first the challenges of winter, then what Dakotans did to protect themselves from and even profit from the season, then the ways that Dakotans spoke in positive ways about their winters or, using winter, themselves. / Master of Arts

This thesis details my applied thesis project and experience in the evaluation of a workforce development through sustainable construction program. It describes the need of my client, Sweet Grass Consulting and their contractual partner, the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, in the evaluation of Thunder Valley CDC's Workforce Development through Sustainable Construction Program. My role involved the development of an extensive evaluation package for this program and data analysis of evaluation materials to support Thunder Valley CDC's grant-funded Workforce Development Program. I place the efforts of Thunder Valley CDC in the context of their community, the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Lakota People, and within an historical and contemporary context to highlight the implications of the efforts of Thunder Valley CDC. Using the theoretical frameworks of cultural revitalization and community economic development, I attempt to highlight two important components of Thunder Valley CDC's community development efforts - cultural revitalization for social healing, and development that emphasizes social, community and individual well-being. Thunder Valley CDC's Workforce Development through Sustainable Construction Program is still in its early stages, and so this first year of implementation very much represented a pilot phase. However, while specific successes are difficult to measure at this point, general successes are viewable in the daily operations of Thunder Valley CDC that exemplify their stated mision and goals. These successes include initiatives that holistically address community needs; relevancy in the eyes of the community they serve; support for the community and for Program participants' unique challenges; and a cultural restoration and revitalization emphasis that underlies and strengthens all of this. The program thus has the potential to provide a model for community development by challenging dominant "development" paradigms and utilizing community resources and assets for community development that reflects the community's values and worldviews.

This thesis examines the cultural, geographical, and material influences on vernacular architecture by evaluating the works of one pioneer stone mason during the early development of western South Dakota between 1879 and 1911. The focus on the life of one man reveals the settlement and the commerical development of the city of Belle Fourche. His story illustrates how influences affected decisions that people like him made about their work. This thesis contributes to what little has been written about the architecture of the area.The thesis reviews the history and development of an area north of the Black Hills of South Dakota, the various stone working methods found in John Scotney's work, and the(including a commercial block and a residence on the National Register of Historic Places). John Scotney's work is unique in its use and treatment of indigenous sandstone, and, his designs are, for the time, simple, and well crafted. / Department of Architecture

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Lisa M. Harrington / Land-change science has become a foundational element of global environmental change. Understanding how complex coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) affect land change is part of understanding our planet and also helps us determine how to mitigate current and future problems. Upland birds such as the Ring-Necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) have been widely studied. While myriad studies have been done that show relationships between land change driving forces and the pheasant, what are not found are long-term, comprehensive approaches that show the historical importance of how past land change drivers can be used to gain knowledge about what is happening today or what may happen in the future. This research set out to better understand how human and natural driving forces have affected land change, pheasants, and pheasant hunting in South Dakota from the early 1900s to the present. A qualitative historical geography approach was used to assemble information from historic literature and South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department annual reports to show the linkages between human and natural systems and how they affect pheasant populations. A quantitative approach was used to gather information from hunters who participated in the 2006 pheasant hunting season. Two-thousand surveys were mailed that gathered socioeconomic data, information on types of land hunted, thoughts on land accessibility issues, as well as spatial information on where hunters hunted in South Dakota. Results from the hunter surveys provided some significant information. Non-resident and resident hunters tended to hunt in different parts of the state. Non-resident hunters were older, better educated, and had higher incomes than resident hunters. Resident hunters, when asked about issues such as crowded public hunting grounds and accessibility to private lands had more negative responses, whereas non-resident hunters, especially those who hunt on privately-held lands, were more satisfied with their hunting experiences. Linkages were also seen between changes in human and natural systems and pheasant populations. Some of the most important contributors to population changes were large-scale conservation policies (Conservation Reserve Program) and agricultural incentives, as well as broader economic issues such as global energy production and national demands for increases in biofuel production (ethanol and biodiesel). Many of the changes in pheasant populations caused by changes in human systems have been exacerbated by changes in natural systems, such as severe winter weather and less-than-optimal springtime breeding conditions.

No description available.

abstract: After the passing of the Homestead Act in 1862, a large wave of immigrants arrived in Dakota Territory, most of them during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Two of the largest immigrant populations in the Dakotas were the Norwegians and Germans who had spent approximately the last hundred years living in isolated rural colonies in Russia, referred to as Germans from Russia or russlanddeutschen. This document examines the role of music in the lives of these ethnic groups from the 1862 to 1930, and includes the discussion of sacred music, especially hymns, secular music such as folk songs and dance music, and music’s place in the rural one-room schools that their children attended. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

Current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water resources planning guidance directs the planners to consider all design alternatives with economic efficiency as the primary criterion. Recent criticism of the flood loss reduction planning is directed at the Corps. One criticism is that the traditional design practices of the Corps address only large flood events. The emphasis on large flood events precludes the use of nonstructural methods, whose economically feasible range is at smaller scales. However, the advantage of having nonstructural measures available to federal water resources planners is widely recognized. This study seeks to demonstrate that nonstructural means are at a disadvantage in the Corps planning process. It examines the institutional framework that directs the planning of these projects. Using data from Corps reports, the economically feasible ranges and optimal sizes are determined for selected nonstructural measures through a series of case studies. The resulting optimal sizes are compared to those recommended in the Corps reports. The optimal sizes of the nonstructural alternatives developed for this study are smaller than the recommended levels. In the current budget climate, the implementation of flood loss reduction projects may occur more frequently with the increased use of nonstructura1 measures since they require less investment. / Master of Science

Beginning in the mid 19th Century, intercontinental railroad service made it possible for theatrical road companies to move more freely across America and perform in the smaller community opera houses. This thesis is about one of these opera houses, the Homestake Opera House in Lead, South Dakota. This thesis chronicles the events from the conception of the opera house by Pheobe Hearst and Thomas Grier, to the construction of the structure, 1911 through 1914, and finally through some of the events that took place in the opera house from the opening in August, 1914 to late November, 1936, at which time the opera house was converted into a movie house. Focus is given to the road companies that performed in the opera house within the time period specified. Such performances are chronicled by date, company name, title and type of performance, and names of the author(s).

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This paper examines the history that influences the rate at which female justices are elected and appointed to state supreme courts. There are different variables like judicial campaign activity, limited pool, role expectations of women and advocacy that influence the selection process. I pick the states with the earliest history of selecting female justices (Ohio and New Mexico) and the states that selected female justices last (South Dakota and West Virginia) to address some of the variables mentioned above that have influenced the use of feminist jurisprudence on the bench. After selection, I examine if it is possible for said judges to use feminist theories (like liberal feminist theory) in decision-making processes on the bench. Specifically, can we, in fact use feminist theory to understand the decision making of female state Supreme Court justices? For the most part, I find that we can imply that they do and are additionally interested in creating policy and programs based on the decisions made. Does this change with political party affiliation, race and sexual orientation of the female judges? I determine that more research needs to be conducted in this area on the courts of last resort at both the federal and state level.