American Experience of Immigration

FAIN: PG-263561-19

Hermosa Arts and History Association (Hermosa, SD 57744-0175)
Candice Leigh (Project Director: May 2018 to March 2021)

The purchase of preservation supplies and environmental monitoring equipment for the association’s humanities collections, which hold some 6,000 documents and photographs in addition to 300 wood, glass, and metal objects; 300 media documents; and 200 books. The items, such as personal journals, letters, newspapers, and ranching and homesteading artifacts, tell the story of immigration, homesteader migration, conflict, settlement, and community-building in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. This small-town, volunteer-run organization offers robust programming, as well as community involvement that includes Native American Reservation schools and residents.

The Hermosa Arts & History Association’s Collections record stories waiting to be told, revealing and preserving the history of a particular geographic area in western South Dakota, a small part of the American experience of immigration. Our stories will tell of the human movement of people from a variety of cultures coming to settle on the Great Plains prairie and in the Black Hills, an often-repeated historical theme that is still modern in our time. The stories we record can answer questions: Who came? Why did they come? Who was already here? Was there conflict? How was it resolved? Does conflict linger? What were the hardships? Who were the heroes? Who were the thieves? How was a community carved out? How did they meet needs for food, clothing, shelter? How did they prosper or despair? The experience of immigration is a human one. Hearing the stories may add to understanding, reflection, and open minds. HAHA is asking for financial assistance for archival supplies and tools.