PIERRE, S.D.(KCCR)- As America prepares to celebrate the country’s 248th birthday Thursday, a group of South Dakotans continues to prepare for America’s 250th celebration in 2026. The America’s 250th S-D Commission is looking to collaborate with the University of South Dakota regarding the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. State Historical Society Director Dr. Ben Jones says that act recently celebrated it’s one-hundredth anniversary.
Kurt Hackemer is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at U-S-D. He says he’d like to see a round table discussion on the Indian Citizenship Act.
Hackenmer would love to see involvement in the round table from all of South Dakota’s universities.
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 allowed Native American a limited right to vote, but only if they severed ties with their tribes and as determined on a case-by-case basis.