FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Feb. 27, 2015

CONTACT: Jeff Mammenga, Media coordinator, (605) 773-6000; Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us

Elizabeth Cook-Lynn to speak at History and Heritage Book Club

PIERRE, S.D. – A noted American Indian author will be the guest speaker at the March meeting of the History and Heritage Book Club.

Elizabeth Cook-Lynn of Rapid City will lead the discussion of her novella, “That Guy Wolf Dancing.” The program begins at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday, March 10, at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Everyone is welcome to attend the free program, made possible by a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“Cook-Lynn is considered one of the nation’s leading voices on American Indian issues. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas in 2007 and has been a presenter at the South Dakota Festival of Books,” said Michael Lewis, president of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. The foundation is the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society and helps sponsor the History and Heritage Book Club.

Cook-Lynn is an enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. She taught in high schools in South Dakota and New Mexico, and then had a long career as professor of English and Native American Studies at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash. After retiring in 1990, she has been a visiting professor at universities around the country. Among her many honors are receiving the South Dakota Living Indian Treasure Award and the Distinguished Native American Alumnus Award from the Native American Club at South Dakota State University.

She has written novels and books of poetry and essays, and her collection of essays “Why I Can’t Read Wallace Stegner: A Tribal Voice” was awarded the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in North America in 1997. Her latest book, “That Guy Wolf Dancing,” is the story of a young tribal man becoming a part of the world of non-tribal people. It’s a story about how to acknowledge the past and take a chance on the future.

“That Guy Wolf Dancing” is available for sale at the Heritage Stores at the Cultural Heritage Center and the Capitol. Book club members receive a 10 percent discount, and SDSHS members receive an additional 5 percent discount, when they purchase book club selections at either Heritage Store.

For more information about the History and Heritage Book club, call (605) 773-6006.

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The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation is a private charitable nonprofit that seeks funding to assist the South Dakota State Historical Society in programming and projects to preserve South Dakota’s history and heritage for future generations.

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council and the State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.