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American Artery:  A Pan American Journey  $19.95

From Winnipeg through South Dakota and Nebraska to Panama on America’s Longest Road with Jerry Wilson.  Just one highway links the nations and people of North America.  And just one book tells the story:  American Artery.

Baum’s Road to Oz 

Baum’s Road to Oz: The Dakota Years explores a little-known but influential period in the life of children’s author L. Frank Baum and highlights a sampling of his baseball poems, newspaper editorials, and animal fairy tales.

Black Elk Speaks  $12.95

Named one of the ten best spiritual books of the twentieth century, Black Elk Speaks is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people during the momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century.  Black Elk grew up in a time when white settlers were invading the Lakotas’ homeland, decimating buffalo herds, and threatening to extinguish the Lakotas’ way of life.  Black Elk and other Lakotas fought back, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee.

Country Congregations  $11.95

These true tales were collected from people who knew that the country congregation was more than a gathering for worship.  The regular assembly made possible a more intimate sharing of life.  It was a bond that held community together.

Dahcotah; or, Life and Legends of the Sioux $24.99

First published in 1849, Dahcotah; or, Life and Legends of the Sioux presents an unparalleled glimpse into Sioux (Dakota) customs and manners by a writer who had the advantage of long-term residency among the Indians. The wife of army officer and illustrator Seth Eastman, Mary Eastman gathered the material for this book during their seven years at Fort Snelling in what became the Minnesota Territory.  Illustrated with watercolor drawings from Seth Eastman's frontier portfolio, this new edition of a celebrated classic is a feast for the eyes.

Dakota Cowboy $16.95

“Many of the cowboys who have written about their experiences never really looked at any wider segment of the cattle business than was visible between their horses’ ears, but Ike Blasingame did.  He paints a big picture without omitting details.” --  New York Herald-Tribune

Dakota:  A Spiritual Geography $13.00

The Great Plains may never be quite the same after Dakota…With humor and lyrical grace, [Norris is] at once a pondering visionary and a news reporter covering the essence of what there is to see and touch in a land so vast that it seems more like an ocean than it does earth.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Dance In a Buffalo Skull  $14.95

Dance in a Buffalo Skull is a tale of dange and survival on the prairies of the Great Plains.  This American Indian story passed from generation to generation befor writer Zitkala-Sa translated it into English in 1901.  Award winning Lakota artist S. D. Nelson has created vibrant pictures that add drama to the story.  He mixes traditional Lakota Indian art with modern styles to provide visual clues to the ancient words.

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern: A Modern Granger Railroad $34.95

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern tells of a success story in the modern railroad era.  Created in 1986 from former Chicago and North Western Railway lines in South Dakota and Minnesota, DM&E has struggled and prevailed to become part of the largest regional railroad system in the United States.

Grandma Always Said. . .  $14.95

The Little Book of Farm Country Wisdom.  Such wise and common-sense advice from everyone’s favorite relative make Grandma Always Said . . . an amusing and gentle reminder that being  “down to earth” is the best way to be.

Grass of the Earth  $12.95

An engaging, richly detailed biography of a family of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders in eastern North Dakota in the late 1800s.

Hometown S.D.  $24.95

151 full color photographs of life in South Dakota’s small towns.

Images of America:  Watertown and Codington County, South Dakota $19.99

This is the latest pictorial history to be released by the Codington County Historical Society.  Within its pages are over 200 photographs offering a nostalgic look back at local history from the early 1900s to 1960.  The photos are drawn from the Museum's collection plus those of local postcard and photograph collectors.  The book is one of the well known Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing.

Land of the Burnt Thigh  $12.95

"Mrs. Kohl has told this story of South Dakota with a simplicity, a directness, and an understanding of its quietly heroic element which make her book an appealing as well as a significant contribution to the latter-day history of the pioneers." Saturday Review

Legends of the Mighty Sioux $6.95

Here is a compilation of forty-five legends of the famous Sioux Indians of South Dakota.  All of the legends pertain to the Sioux’ traditional lore, to tales told around the campfire, to legends associated with places or mountains, and battle and hunting legends.  Indian foods, dances, and songs are also included.

Lewis & Clark - A Photographic Journey  $18.00

Join the Corps of Discovery as they navigate the lengths of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers in this unforgettable photo documentary.  Along with their vibrant color photographs, Bill and Jan Moeller add carefully researched text and quotes from the journals of William Clark and Meriwether Lewis to create a fascinating look at the uncharted West.  Feel the “secret pleasure” described by Lewis as you find yourself surrounded by the mountains and mighty waters of the West just as the explorers saw it.

M is for Mount Rushmore $17.95

From the Badlands and the Black Hills to the Flaming Fountain in Pierre, from the Buffalo King and Borgulm’s massive carving to ranching on the prairies,  M is for Mount Rushmore  is sure to delight all.  This A to Z pictorial is brimming with information about South Dakota’s notable people, famous landscapes, and historic events.  Each letter topic includes a simple poem for young readers and sidebar text that provides detailed information for older readers.

Maggie:  The Civil War Diary of Margaret Wylie Mellette $5.00

Diary of the wife of South Dakota's first governor, Arthur Calvin Mellette, covering the years of Arthur's service in the Civil War, before the two were married.

Memory Songs  $9.00

“Lydia Whirlwind Soldier’s Memory Songs opens in us that broad expanse of sky, grasses, and cottonwoods that is home to the Sicangu.  In this beautiful collection of poems, we feel her experiences and listen with her to the voices of her Lakota ancestors and relatives.  Her words carry both love and memory, moments of intense perception, of moving through history on those ever-present winds, and singing about what matters most.” – Roberta Hill, University of Wisconsin

Memories of a Former Kid $12.95

For more than 50 years, beloved artist Bob Artley has delighted us with his distinctive, folksy recording of farm history.  Memories of a Former Kid is a delightful look at the challenges and charms of growing up on a farm - many of them Artley's own remembrances.  From chored to farm animals, from machinery to school days, Artley captures the universal pains of adolescence in this classic collection of reminiscences and drawings.

Ode to the Outhouse  $14.95

Small in size but big in heart, this treasured  keepsake of privies pays tribute to the real deal:  outdoor plumbing without the plastic, sanitized frills.

One Hundred Years of South Dakota High School Activities and Athletics  

A Celebration of One Hundred Years of South Dakota High School Athletics and Activities showcases a century of organized high school athletics and fine arts activities in South Dakota high schools.  This text is of immeasurable value as a reference tool that can be utilized for years to come.  This book is an essential documentation for each of the sports and activities.

One-Room Country School  $11.95

In this delightful collection of true tales, people from across South Dakota share their common experience and show how truly personal education can be.  It’s a chorus of memories sure to strike a chord with the many millions who are the country school experience.

Oscar Micheaux:  Dakota Homesteader, Author, Pioneer, Film Maker  $10.00

The first African-American to produce feature-length films, Oscar Micheaux repeatedly drew on his experiences homesteading in South Dakota in the early 1900s for successful autobiographical novels, later rewriting these earlier stories to create new films.  An advocate of the self-help philosophy of Booker T. Washington, he saw no barriers preventing African-Americans from achieving success if they persevered.  Betti VanEpps-Taylor’s biography of Micheaux places his life and philosophy in context and provides an objective assessment of his work.

Picturing the Past  $29.95

Black and White photography of South Dakota published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press.

Pioneer Girl  $6.99

Readers around the world know and love Laura, the little girl born in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and raised in covered wagons and on wide open prairies.  Now Little House fans can learn more about “Half-pint” in this, the first picture book biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Plain Pictures:  Images of the American Prairie  $21.00

Illustrated with works by such artists as Georgia O’Keefe, Grant Wood, Dorothea Lange, and Terry Evans, this book celebrates 160 years of artistic responses to the grasslands of the American Midwest, and is the first to consider representations of the prairie as a genre distinct form American western art.

Skeletons of the Prairie:  Abandoned Rural Codington County, South Dakota  $19.95

Long before the first homesteader settled in South Dakota the Lakota Native Americans who lived here followed a tradition of placing their dead on scaffolds erected on the open prairie.  Left tot the elements, the body returned to the earth.  To some extent, white pioneers followed this tradition.  The buildings they lived in, worked in, played in, and sometimes died in, are now abandoned.  These scaffolds were left standing long after the people they held passed on.  They are silent reminders to a way of life now gone—unmarked gravestones in a forgotten cemetery. 

South Dakota 1900-1930  $19.99

Postcards provide an easy way to go back in time to the early days of South Dakota, to see what the place looked like, to catch a glimpse of how people saw themselves, to begin to understand what has changed and what remains constant.  This is the first book to focus entirely on historical postcards from South Dakota, including images from more than 50 counties and 100 different communities.

South Dakota Railroads  $19.99

Using over 200 images, authors Mike Wiese and Tom Hayes take the reader on a historic tour of the depots, trains and wrecks that defined South Dakota railroading in the early part of the 20th century.  Drawing on their immense collections of images and postcards, they tell a story of railroad development and local history in South Dakota.

South Dakota, 1900-1930, In Vintage Postcards  $19.99

Postcards provide an easy way to go back in time to the early days of South Dakota, to see what the place looked like, to catch a glimpse of how people saw themselves, to begin to understand what has changed and what remains constant.  This is the first book to focus entirely on historical postcards from South Dakota, including images form more than 50 counties and 100 different communities.

Souvenir Books of Watertown and Codington County Reprints

1889   $6.00

1901   $8.00

1916   $3.00

All Three  $15.00

Tatanka and the Lakota People  $16.95

After the Great Spirits created the world, the Trickster fooled the Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation) into leaving the Underworld.  They became the Ordinary People and needed help to survive.  Tatanka, the holy man, turned himself into a Buffalo and sacrificed his powers for the people.  With all that Tatanka provided, the Ordinary – or Lakota – People adapted to the earth around them and prospered. 

The Children’s Blizzard  $13.95

Thousands of impoverished Northern European immigrants were promised that the prairie offerd “land, freedom, and hop.”  The disastrous blizzard of 1888 revealed that their free homestead was not a paradise but a hard, unforgiving place govered by natural forces they neither understood nor controlled, and America’s heartland would never be the same.

The Civil War Diary of Arthur Calvin Mellette (Revised Edition) $5.00

Diary of the first governor of South Dakota, covering the years he served in the American Civil War, 1864-1865.

The Dakota War of 1962  $14.95

Igniting the devastating Plains Indian Wars of the latter nineteenth centry, the Dakota War erupted during the summer of 1962 while the Civil War rages in the South and East.  Hemmed in on a narrow reservation, frustrated by broken treaties, angered by dishonest agents and traders, and nearly starved because of crop failures and late annuity payments, Dakota (Sioux) Indians attacked white settlers living on the Indian's former homelands in southwestern Minnesota.  More whites were killed in the fist few days of the war than at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  Dakota casualties have never been counted.  The most accurate, concise, and balanced history of this tragic and significant conflict, The Dakota War of 1862 draws on a wealth of written and visual materials by white and Indian participants and observers to show the sources of the Dakotas' justified and bitter wrath  and its terrible consequences.

The Discontented Gopher  $14.95

When Zikky the Gopher wins the golden ball, he faces a tough decision - riches of happiness?  Zikky follows his choice and enjoys his new life for a short while, but soon he finds himself in trouble. Did the little gopher make the wisest decision, or will it be the end of him?  L. Frank Baum's Discontented Gopher is a true American fairy tale.  Danger lurks around every corner, and wisdom is hard-earned in this classic fable.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark  $14.00

“These journals are a national literary treasure . . . What you get from DeVoto is the heart of the story, without sacrificing the narrative or much of the natural history. . . It is the ideal selection for the citizen-reader, an American classic in its own right, a book that will be read as long as the Republic lasts.” – From the foreword by Stephen E. Ambrose.

The Missouri  $24.95

The Sioux in South Dakota History  $18.95

These thirteen essays, taken from the pages of South Dakota History, the quarterly journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society, explore modern American Indian political and cultural life.  In five themed sections, contributors examine the tremendous changes the Sioux experienced during the twentieth century.  The political and social ramifications of land heirship, the damming of the Missouri River, and shifting federal policies are among topics discussed.

The WPA Guide to SD  $17.95

The WPA Guide to South Dakota  is a candid, detailed, and lively introduction to the state and its people.  Much has changed since the book’s first publication in 1938, when the authors noted, “South Dakota has been, and still is, a pioneer state.”  But the book vividly recaptures the era when no driver’s licenses were required, when liquor could not be sold on election days until after 5:00 p.m., when Pierre’s recreational groups included polo riders and skeet shooters,  when Morrell packing plant at Sioux Falls offered free tours on weekdays.

This Old Tractor:  A Treasury of Vintage Tractors and Family Farm Memories  $29.95

This Old Tractor pays homage to farm life, farm families, and to the classic farm tractor.  Part family farm nostalgia, part reminiscences about faithful old tractors, This Old Tractor is chock-full of endearing pieces written by all the well-known tractor-book authors and historians.  The text is enhanced by a variety of artwork, cartoons, historical photos, and full-color photos.  Colorful old ads, tractor catalogs and magazine cover, and tractor toys are sure to bring back warm memories of cherished days spent on the family farm.  Tractor buffs, anyone interested in farming or collectibles, and anyone who grew up on a farm will cherish this collection of stories and artwork devoted to the classic farm tractor.

Woven on the Wind: Women Write About Friendship in the Sagebrush West   $29.95

The unsentimental, unflinching, and utterly unforgettable voices in Woven on the Wind take us into the souls, kitchens, barns, and along the country roads of nearly 150 western women, showing us how, in a life stripped down to what really matters, friendship can ground us and help us to grow. Each story contributes to a deeper understanding of the West as women experience it – the beauty, isolation, joy, and tragedy. This is a book filled with heroines. A nun recounts the courageous story of pioneering sisters who left Bavaria to establish a Benedictine convent in Colorado. A mother makes a harrowing bus trip during a legendary storm to bring her blind daughter home for Christmas, encountering very different women who bring her comfort and perspective. A woman comes to terms with the role her husband's mistress played in her own freedom and independence. Daughters learn how to cook, how to drive, how to ride, and how to work. Through marriage, childbirth, drought, careers, and suicide, these stories show that friendship knows no boundaries. In the West, women find and lean on each other without regard to differences in race, religion, politics, or age.

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