For immediate release
Contact: Nicole Kranzler, 773-34265

Teachers Invited to Find Lewis and Clark

PIERRE—As the nation begins a four-year commemoration of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, South Dakota teachers will have a rare opportunity to learn about these landmark events from nationally recognized authorities and earn either teacher certificate renewal credit or graduate seminar credit through Black Hills State University.

            “Finding Lewis and Clark: Old Trails, New Directions,” an interdisciplinary conference, will take place in Pierre on April 10-12, 2003. The conference program was organized by James P. Ronda and Nancy Tystad Koupal. Professor Ronda is the foremost Lewis and Clark expert in the United States today. He holds the H. G. Barnard Chair in Western American History at the University of Tulsa and is the author of Lewis and Clark among the Indians.

            Professor Ronda notes that the saga of Lewis and Clark is “a many-voiced account that invites us, our readers, and our students to move beyond self-absorption to attempt conversation with others.” And what a rich conversation it is, encompassing peoples from Washington, D.C., to the Pacific Ocean, both in the past and in the present. Working with Nancy Tystad Koupal, director of Research and Publishing for the South Dakota State Historical Society, Professor Ronda has invited an all-star cast of national humanities scholars to come to Pierre to continue the conversation and address the history and modern meanings of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark journey. What did the 1803 purchase, which doubled the territory of the United States, mean to people living then, and what does it mean to people living now? Different perspectives give different answers. Scholars from disciplines ranging from archaeology and anthropology to public history (museums, archives, national parks, tribal cultural centers) to fine arts to natural history and technology will explore the size of the story and the multiplicity of perspectives.

            Professor Ronda will give the keynote address, “Journeys: The Shaping of America.” Other keynoters are Paul Andrew Hutton, presenting “Lewis and Clark and the Western Hero,” and Elliott West whose talk will be “Finding Lewis and Clark by Stepping Away.” Hutton is professor of history at the University of New Mexico. A frequent consultant on television documentaries, Hutton is the recipient of the 2003 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Wrangler Award for the screenplay of Daniel Boone and the Westward Movement. Elliott West, professor of history at the University of Arkansas, has won many honors for teaching excellence. He is the author of the multi-award winning book The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado.

            A number of distinguished scholars will join the keynoters. Gary E. Moulton, Thomas G. Sorenson professor of history at the University of Nebraska and editor of the thirteen-volume Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition will present “Leadership Lessons of Lewis and Clark.” John L. Allen, professor of geography at the University of Wyoming, will give a PowerPoint presentation, “Lewis and Clark and Landscape Change.” Roberta Conner, director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton, Oregon, will present “Two Weeks Two Hundred Years Later.” Richard Etulain, professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico, will examine the literary output of later generations on the saga of the Expedition. William Foley, professor emeritus of history and anthropology at Central Missouri State University, will reinterpret William Clark for the audience.

Paul Hedren, National Park Service superintendent of the Niobrara/Missouri National Scenic Riverways, will present “The Challenges of Presenting Lewis and Clark in the National Parks.” Peter Kastor, assistant professor of history at Washington University, will present “Gateways and Guardians: Lewis and Clark and the Louisiana Purchase.” Joni L. Kinsey, associate professor of art history at the University of Iowa, will review the artistic legacy of Lewis and Clark. Greg Mac Gregor, professor emeritus of photography at California State University-Hayward, will discuss photographing the route. His photographic exhibition, “Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day Photographs,” will open in the Cultural Heritage Center in conjunction with the conference.

            Clarence Mortenson, president of the Wakpa Sica Historical Society and member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, will examine the impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on the Upper Missouri tribes. Joseph A. Mussulman, producer of the web site “Discovering Lewis and Clark,” will review Lewis and Clark web sites in “Continuing the Journey in Cyberspace.”

            Of special interest to teachers using technology in the classroom will be the presentation by Robert J. Myers. A senior instructional designer for NASA Classroom of the Future at the Center for Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University, Myers will talk about engaging students through inquiry. He is a leader in educational technologies, virtual learning communities, problem-solving learning strategies, and on-line courses. Robert Peck, a Fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, an institution noted for its children’s museum, will present “The Scientific Contributions of Lewis and Clark.”

Brad Tennant, history instructor at Presentation College, will talk about “Lewis and Clark in South Dakota.” W. Raymond Wood, professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri will discuss “Tribal Relations on the Missouri River before Lewis and Clark.”

            Question and answer sessions will follow each presentation, and teachers will be able to interact directly with the presenters. Teachers will also have a chance to visit with presenters informally during the Friday evening reception and opening of “Revisiting Lewis and Clark” at the Cultural Heritage Center. Many of the presenters are authors and will be on hand to sign books during the reception.

The conference is sponsored by the South Dakota State Historical Society; the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; and BankWest of Pierre.

Don’t miss out. Contact the South Dakota State Historical Society, an office of the South Dakota Department of Education and Cultural Affairs, for registration materials as soon as possible. The preregistration deadline is April 1, 2003. Write to the society at 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone 605-773-3458; e-mail sdshs@state.sd.us; or visit the web site at www.sdhistory.org.

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