March 27  | Dr. Craig Howe and Caitlin Bordeaux – Lakota Star Knowledge & Mainstream Science – Dr. Craig Howe, founder and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), and Caitlin Bordeaux, STEM Educator and recent NASA Intern, join SDHC to discuss the importance of Lakota Star Knowledge and its relationship to mainstream space science, including some of the primary understandings of Lakota Star Knowledge, the interplay between this Knowledge and mainstream science, and how NASA has taken an interest in this Knowledge, including its implications for the development of STEM education.

April 10  | Dr. Daniel Mourlam and Dr. Kyle Kopplin – South Dakota’s Teacher Shortage: Challenges and Change – Dr. Daniel Mourlam, Chair of the Division of Teacher Education at the University of South Dakota, and Dr. Kyle Kopplin, Assistant Professor of Economics at Black Hills State University, join SDHC to discuss  the ongoing issue of South Dakota’s teacher shortage. 

April 24  | (Guests TBA) –We’re #1! – In the Nation…for Medical Debt?! – Invited guests join SDHC to discuss why South Dakotans have the highest medical debt in the nation…and what can be done to turn that around. 

May 8  | Dr. John Little  – Everywhere and Nowhere: Moving Beyond Mascots, Stereotypes, and Cultural Appropriation – Dr. John Little, director of Native Recruitment & Alumni Engagement at the University of South Dakota, filmmaker, and enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, joins SDHC to discuss the persistence and presence of Indigenous peoples, moving beyond mascots, stereotypes, and cultural appropriation.

May 22  | Dr. Richard Kyte  – The “Mean-ing” of Society & The Need for “Third Places” – Dr. Richard Kyte, author, Director of the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership, and Endowed Professor of Ethics at Viterbo University, joins SDHC to discuss why Americans are seemingly so cruel to each other, what happened to empathy, compassion, understanding and community, and how we can work to get it all back.

June 5 | (Guests TBA) – Native Tourism in South Dakota – Invited guests join SDHC to talk about a move toward increased Native Tourism in South Dakota – what it means and why it’s so important to the state.

June 19  | HOLIDAY – NO PROGRAM

Disclaimer: The opinions shared by Humanities Cafe guests and panelists are their own and are not to be considered representative of any state organization and/or the South Dakota Humanities Council.