Feb 27  | Doris Ann Mertz, Sarah Jones-Lutter, and Hanna Glissendorf – Literacy Rates in South Dakota: What’s Going On? – Doris Ann Mertz, library coordinator for the Custer School District & school chair for the South Dakota Library Association (SDLA); Sarah Jones-Lutter, library director & past president of SDLA, and Hanna Glissendorf, director of the Black Hills Reads program at the United Way of the Black Hills, join SDHC to talk about the current status of youth literacy rates in South Dakota, including what can – and needs – to be done to turn things around.

March 13  | Dr. Jenna Borseth and Dr. Lucas Wiscons – South Dakota’s Criminal Justice System: Incarceration, Education, and Reentry – Dr. Jenna Borseth, assistant professor of Political Science at the University of South Dakota, and Lucas Wiscons, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Northern State University, join SDHC to talk about current incarceration trends in South Dakota, the recently adopted SAFER SD Reentry Initiative, and the importance of meaningful programming for those incarcerated in South Dakota prisons. 

March 27  | Dr. Craig Howe – Lakota Star Knowledge – Dr. Craig Howe, founder and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), joins SDHC to discuss the importance of Lakota Star Knowledge and its relationship to mainstream space science, including the primary understandings of Lakota Star Knowledge, its relationship to the Spring Equinox, and how NASA/mainstream science has taken an interest in this knowledge.   

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 the South Dakota Humanities Council.