CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. – Situated just off I-90 on the banks of the Missouri River, with an unmistakable Army helicopter perched out front, is the South Dakota Hall of Fame. It sits just west of the 55-foot tall Dignity of Earth and Sky and just east of the Aktá Lakota Museum, both of which are emblems of the Chamberlain area.
The Hall of Fame’s new fundraising efforts are working to make it a similarly essential stop for travelers coming through town.
The Legacies of Excellence campaign, which aims to raise $4,455,000 by the end of 2026, will supplement the Hall of Fame’s initiatives through multiple avenues, including exhibits and collections and the visitor and education center. The campaign began in 2024 and has raised $2,360,422 to date.
Education program to reach elementary-age students
Laurie Becvar, CEO of the hall, said one of the most crucial goals of the fundraising campaign is expanding the Legends and Learning program, which provides free lesson plans to public school teachers who want to implement more South Dakota history into their classrooms.
This year, it partnered with Dakota State University in Madison to offer a single-credit graduate course for teachers looking to implement Legends and Learning into their classrooms.
Under the fundraising campaign, $1 million would go to expanding the program, with $500,000 reserved as an endowment. Michelle Hovland, program manager, created the original lesson plans that are provided to teachers.
A long-term goal of Legends and Learning is to drastically expand its reach state-wide, with a goal of support from the state Department of Education. The department’s current social studies standards state that “an important element of history and civic education is teaching students about the history and government of their state, tribe, reservation, or locality.”
“If we could partner with the Department of Education, that would be fabulous because they're the ones that are really leading the charge,” Hovland told News Watch. “Getting their blessing would be a way for us to reach more people and have administrators and teachers really comfortable using our material.”
The Department of Education did not return a request for comment.
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Becvar explained that the program especially reaches kids in rural areas by highlighting successful individuals who got their start – and stayed – in their rural hometown.
Hovland echoed similar sentiments.
“There used to be a kind of stigma (amongst children) like, ‘I want to leave my state. There's nobody successful in my state,’” Hovland said. “Where that's just not even remotely true. There's so many amazing people with their stories that talk about their failures, their success, how they overcame their obstacles.”
Modernization campaign hopes to boost Hall of Fame tourism
Some of the other priority projects under the fundraising campaign include replacing the furnace and air conditioner for the museum as well as fixing the foundation of the building, which has housed the Hall of Fame since 2000 when it moved to Chamberlain from Fort Pierre.
There’s also a goal to support the comprehensive integration of technology into the museum’s exhibits and collections. Becvar said there's potential for hologram technology, updated digital displays and interactive materials to become part of the permanent exhibits.
That could help make the museum a destination in and of itself, she said.
The hall's goal is to attract 5,000 visitors this year. That's well below its more popular neighboring attractions: the 50-foot-tall Dignity sculpture that honors the Lakota and Dakota people and the Aktá Lakota museum on Saint Joseph's Indian School that preserves Lakota culture.
Becvar sees an opportunity to capitalize on those attractions’ popularity and work cooperatively, with a combination of exhibitions and marketing techniques.
The use of geofencing and targeted advertising has helped Dignity visitors become aware of the additional information about the sculpture they can access at the hall and extend their stay in Chamberlain a bit longer, she said.
“We had a woman come in, and that's how she found us – on her phone (through targeted ads),” Becvar said. “She was at Dignity and she wanted to learn more about it, the making and meaning of Dignity, and she wanted Dignity souvenirs.”
The Hall of Fame offers all of those. It also hosts the original cast of Dignity’s head, which hangs imposingly over the museum as well as extensive information about its creator, artist Dale Lamphere, a 1987 Hall of Fame inductee.
2025 induction ceremony
One of the Hall’s busiest times is during the annual induction ceremony for the new Hall of Fame honorees, which takes place in September.
This year, 11 inductees will be honored Sept. 12-13 rather than the usual 10 because of the addition of Valentine McGillycuddy, the hall’s first historical figure honoree. It marks the introduction of the new historical figure category, which aims to highlight the work of South Dakotans from decades past.
Molly Wetsch
McGillycuddy, who died in 1939, has a corner of the museum dedicated to his life story thanks to his efforts in medicine, as attending physician to Crazy Horse and in government service as Indian agent on the Pine Ridge reservation. The exhibit is still being curated to its finality but currently holds artifacts from the McGillycuddy house as well as information about his life and work.
Updated inductee bios
Becvar spoke to News Watch about ensuring that past inductees still feel connected to the Hall of Fame long after the ceremony passes.
“This is not a transactional, once a year you have your honor ceremony, and then it's over,” Becvar said. “We need to deliberately and strategically foster those relationships with our inductees of the past.”
Some of that relationship-building could mean ensuring the inclusion of inductees’ accomplishments after their honor ceremony through maintaining updated biographical information on the website and at the museum. That doesn’t only support inductees but the long-lasting mission of the Hall of Fame, Becvar said.
Bart Pfankuch
The hall functions not only as an interest point but as a critical resource for historical preservation and education. With the recent closure of the state library in Pierre to the public, the Hall of Fame is in a unique position to use its resources and years of archives that not many other organizations provide.
“I am amazed at the number of people across the world that tap our resources for so many different reasons: somebody writing a book, the obituaries for someone's life,” Becvar said. “It's a serious thing. The mission is huge. There's no one else that does this work in our state.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
