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South Dakota

Native American tribes lived in the region that is now South Dakota for thousands of years before 1803, when the Louisiana Purchase resulted in the region becoming part of the United States. Many of the Sioux continued to live in the region. In 1861, the Dakota Territory was established, and South Dakota gained statehood on November 2, 1889. Currently, more than a fifth of the population is of German descent, and an eighth is of Scandinavian descent.

Strongly identified in the public mind with the “Wild West,” it was where Calamity Jane (Martha Cannary) lived for much of her life, part of that time associated with “Wild Bill” Hickok. Jane represented the public image of the pioneering woman, but for most of the early settlers, bringing up their children in farms around South Dakota was difficult, with the isolation of the townships and the lack of extended family adding to the problems.

Gradually, as another generation grew up in South Dakota, the links between families, with grandmothers, aunts, and in-laws, helped pioneer mothers in the process of bringing up children. It was in 1883 that South Dakota—not yet having achieved statehood—introduced compulsory education from the ages of 6 to 16. After the hardships of the pioneer days, farming life introduced hazards of its own, with farm accidents often leaving a father injured or dead, or the premature death of a child through an accident, illness, or misadventure.

Abortion and Health Care

As of January 2008, South Dakota required parental consent for a minor seeking an abortion, and women seeking abortions must be provided with state-directed counseling and wait 24 hours before having the procedure. Only in the case of life endangerment may public funding be used for abortions. In 2005, there were two abortion providers in South Dakota; 98 percent of counties had no abortion provider, and 78 percent of the female population of South Dakota lived in counties without an abortion provider. Nineteen percent of women obtaining abortions traveled at least 50 miles, and 9 percent more than 100 miles. The abortion rate was 5.1 per 1,000 women of reproductive age, a decline of 8 percent since 2000, when the rate was 5.5 per 1,000. Five percent of all pregnancies in 2005 resulted in abortions.

The health care system in South Dakota is well advanced. The state's birth rate is 15.2, but the fertility rate is the fourth highest of any state in the Union with 2.4 children to every woman—far above the rate of 2.14 for North Dakota, and only below Idaho, Arizona, and Utah. In 2008, 68.9 percent of women were in the civilian labor force. Pregnancy is considered a temporary disability and must be treated like any other temporary disability. In 2007, the marriage rate in South Dakota was 8.1 per 1,000 population. The median age for brides was 26; for grooms the median age was 28. The divorce and annulment rate was 3.2 per 1,000 population.

  • South Dakota
  • abortion
JustinCorfieldGeelong Grammar School, Australia
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412979276.n625
See Also:

Bibliography

Milton, John R.South Dakota: A

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