Once home to Crazy Horse and Red Cloud and now to Oglala Lakota College, one of the first tribal colleges in the U.S., this part of the northern plains has a complex history of contacts between whites and Indians, Federal government and tribal representatives, and other quintessentially American conflicts and controversies. With a geography as diverse as its peoples, the Pine Ridge area in South Dakota provides a rich study for geological and environmental studies.

This seminar focused on four multidisciplinary approaches.

• Places explored the diversity of ecosystems of the region: short grass prairies, forested canyons, sand hills, and badlands through site travel and lectures.


• Peoples investigated the links between events and places and traditional “Lakota Winter Counts.” Using Wounded Knee, site of the 1890 massacre, and the 1973 protest of the American Indian Movement, faculty modeled this research approach. Teams of students traveled to event sites at Devil’s Tower, Fort Robinson, and Fort Laramie to perform similar research.


• Boundaries examined how the land and the events that have occurred there generated conflicts as well as continuities, especially how the General Allotment Act of 1887 or the Dawes Act, influenced individuals and communities.


• In the final unit, Perspectives, students met with the people who live and work in the region ­ ranchers and farmers, business and community leaders, tribal and governmental officials. Students also considered the role of tourism and examined the competing claims being made on this unique landscape by the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.

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