Community Calendar

September 7, 2026 at 2:00pm at Dakota Buttes Museum 400 11th St. S Hettinger, ND
Larry C Skogen Ph.D. Independent Historian, President Emeritus, BSC
"Can Education be the Slaughter of the Soul of a People?"

A native of Hettinger, ND, and a graduate of Hettinger High School, Dr. Larry C. Skogen, retired from a career in the US Air Force to serve as a high school teacher and later, as a college faculty member and administrator in a variety of military and civilian institutions, including the United State Air Force Academy and the New Mexico Military Institute.
From 2007-2013, he served as Bismarck State College's CEO, bringing to the campus the energy and innovation for which he became known. From November 1, 2013-June 30, 2015, he served as Interim Chancellor of the North Dakota University System, returning to BSC after.
In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Dr. Skogen is also an author, historian and professor and has co-authored with his brother Gary: Not All Heroes: An Unapologetic Memoir of the Vietnam War, 1971-1972, published by Dakota Institute in 2013.
Dr. Skogen's presentation at the Dakota Buttes Museum on Labor Day will outline the history of the National Educational Association's Department of Indian Education from 1900-1904 and from 1905-1909. The presentation will be enhanced with period photographs and papers. It will speak to the history of Indian schools, the educators who worked there, the curriculum they taught, and their beliefs about native students. Dr. Skogen is the author of Depredation Claims, 1796-1920 (University of Oklahoma Press 1996), and of To Educate American Indians: Selected Writings from the National Educational Association's Department of Indian Education, 1900-1904. A Second volume to this work covering the years of 1905-1909 is in progress.

Dr. Skogen's presentation at the Dakota Buttes Museum in Hettinger is free and open to the public. Discussion and refreshments to follow.