Originally published on October 27, 2022 (Episode 290)
Introduction
What do you think of when you hear South Dakota? For many, it’s Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, or the rolling prairie. But behind the landscape lies a rich, complicated, and often overlooked history—one that stretches from Native nations and frontier struggles to homesteaders, modern statehood, and cultural memory.
My guest, Dr. Ben Jones, is Director of the South Dakota State Historical Society and the South Dakota State Historian. With a career spanning 23 years in the United States Air Force, teaching at the Air Force Academy, serving as dean at South Dakota State University, and later as Secretary of Education of South Dakota, Jones brings a unique perspective to the task of stewarding the state’s history. He is also the author of Eisenhower’s Guerrillas: The Jedburghs, the Maquis, and the Liberation of France (University Press of Kansas, 2016), and is currently at work on a comprehensive history of South Dakota.
About the Guest
Ben Jones is the ninth director in the 120-year history of the South Dakota State Historical Society. In addition to his administrative and scholarly work, he hosts History 605, a bi-monthly podcast exploring the stories of South Dakota’s people and past.
For Further Investigation
Cultural Heritage Center of the South Dakota State Historical Society
Episode 13: Jon Lauck on the history of the Midwest
Episode 58: What Black Hawk Wore (Native American history and memory)
“All Guns Fired At One Time”: Native Voices of Wounded Knee, 1890 (South Dakota State Historical Society Press)
💬 Listen & Discuss
What histories of South Dakota—or the Great Plains more broadly—deserve more attention? Share your reflections in the comments, and pass this episode along to someone who thinks of South Dakota only in terms of Rushmore.
