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The Vietnam War: Legacies & Lessons in South DakotaA discussion guide to accompany Ken Burns & Lynne Novick’s The Vietnam War – a new 10-part, 18-hour documentary premiering Sunday, September 18 on SDPB.Through outreach events and TV, radio, and digital programming, SDPB seeks to ask and answer – via multiple voices and perspectives – the question: What does the Vietnam War look like in South Dakota today? Specifically, how did the experiences that South Dakotans accumulated and endured during the Vietnam War affect the arc of individual lives and, in turn, communities throughout our state? How did the unprecedented qualities of the Vietnam War – including the high number of American and Vietnamese casualties; the fervent protests; the embedded, televised reports; homecomings met with hostility – affect South Dakotans’ individual life courses, career paths, artistic statements, political leanings, community involvement, civic discourse and more? This discussion guide is intended as a starting point for conversations. The Veteran’s Story – 28,000 South Dakotans served in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975. How has South Dakota been shaped by those who answered the call of duty?What was your service experience?What was your Coming Home experience?Was a homecoming celebrated? How?Did you become involved in veterans affairs activities, support groups or protests after returning? How?The Native American’s Story – South Dakota is home to nine Lakota Sioux / Yankton American Indian Tribes. Over 42,000 Native Americans served in the Vietnam War, and it’s estimated that up to 80% of Native servicemen who fought in Vietnam volunteered to go. Additionally, South Dakota itself lost 24 Native American soldiers during Vietnam, a majority of whom were Lakota, Dakota or Yankton. (Between Cultures: Sioux Warriors & The Vietnam War, John Little, 2015)Why did South Dakota’s Native American veterans feel compelled to serve, even in light of the legacy of mistreatment by and distrust of U. S. governmental departments? To what degree was signing-on due to factors such as a tradition of “warrior culture” and the desire to escape poverty and the lack of opportunities on reservations?How did the Vietnam era’s robust environment of protest and civil rights affect American Indians and what was its impact on 1973’s Wounded Knee Occupation, when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation? Some tribes provided homecoming ceremonies for their returning warriors – how did those rites help alleviate the difficulties of coming home? And what were other attitudes on Indian Reservations of those returning from service in Vietnam?The Immigrant’s Story – Over 2,000 people from Vietnam and other East Asia countries currently make their home in South Dakota (tabulation of data from 2015 U.S. Census Bureau, Migration Policy Institute). How has South Dakota been impacted by refugees resettled to the state from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos? What has the immigrant experience been like for refugees who have lived, worked, and gone to school in South Dakota since resettling here via church and social service agency sponsorships 40 years ago?What have been the experiences of First Generation immigrants raised in South Dakota? How have you bridged the intersections of their identities as American citizens and children of refugees from the country which was the site of such a deadly and controversial war for both Americans and Vietnamese?The War Protestor’s Story – Marches and protests against the Vietnam War took place throughout South Dakota, particularly at college campuses. At the University of SD, 250 students stormed and took over the ROTC building and several professors at state colleges lost their jobs due to anti-war statements.What was the war protestor’s experience protesting the war in predominantly conservative South Dakota and how has speaking out against the Vietnam War influenced their political activity in the time since?How did South Dakota Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign and refusal to support America’s Vietnam policies affect South Dakotans decisions to protest the war?What historic events – Tet and My Lai, Kent State and campus protests, televised reports and Walter Cronkite’s analysis, demonstrations in Detroit and Watts, Los Angeles – influenced or impacted their activism?Did any South Dakotans participate in Moratorium Day (Oct. 15, 1969)? Have those who protested the Vietnam War continued to participate in anti-war organizations and movements? Which ones?The Gold Star Family’s Story – 192 South Dakotans from communities throughout the state died in service during the Vietnam War. How did the loss of these loved ones impact the lives of those who were left behind? What goals may have gone unfulfilled or changed?How did their loss during an “unpopular” war affect their attitudes about their nation and their neighbors?How does the loss affect them and subsequent generations 40 years later?The Artist’s Story – South Dakota is home to over a dozen colleges and universities, nine Indian Reservations, and other creative communities that have generated a high number of artists, writers, and musicians whose work was influenced by the Vietnam era.What served as inspiration for artists’ responses to Vietnam?How did their experiences surrounding the war affect their art?What lasting influences did the Vietnam experience have on their art/music?Vietnam in the News – The Vietnam War was one of the first in which reporters were embedded with military units and first-person accounts were featured in TV news accounts and newspaper reports. How did the nightly televised news reports and in-depth first-person accounts coming out of Vietnam affect how South Dakotans? “General Questions” – How old were you during the Vietnam War Era? (1955-1975). What are your memories of the war during this time? What kind of discussions about the war occurred at home, school, church or elsewhere? What are your memories of family members who served or who lost their lives during the war? Do you remember philosophical disagreements about the war occurring in the family/community circles around you? What characterized those discussions?What were the homecomings like for veterans returning to your community?Did you or someone you know change your feelings toward the war during the war or in the time since the war? Why? ................
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