A story of survival will be told during a program at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre this evening (Aug. 18, 2021).
Author and former Pierre resident Pamela Nowak will discuss her historical fiction novel “Never Let Go,” which follows the lives of five women living near Lake Shetek, Minn., during the Conflict of 1862.
The program will begin at 7pm CDT (6pm MDT). People may register at www.sdhsf.org to hear Nowak in person at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre or virtually via Zoom.
Everyone is welcome to attend the free program, sponsored by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Living in southwest Minnesota, Nowak grew up familiar with the story of the Conflict of 1862. She walked the areas around Lake Shetek, which is about 70 miles east of Sioux Falls, learning from a local expert and imagining what the events must have been like for the women involved.
“We know a great deal about the events at Lake Shetek due to the efforts of early historians, but the insights into the women were limited to the events,” Nowak said. “Only one of the women wrote extensively about her own experiences. For years, I wondered how these women felt about what they went through and how they were able to channel the strength to survive.”
She began researching the Lake Shetek women in 2017 by reviewing Lakota oral histories associated with the Fool Soldiers, consulting state and local archives, speaking to local experts and reading scholarly works. To get a sense of each of the five women, she poured over census and land records, county histories, genealogical sites and depredation claims. Around the facts, she crafted personalities, motivations, dialogue and scenes.
“I wanted this story to be more than just a recitation of facts,” Nowak said.
Nowak graduated from South Dakota State University in 1984, married and moved to Pierre. She taught history at Stanley County High School and served as arts coordinator for the Short Grass Arts Council before she and her late husband, Tim Nowak, relocated. Both Pam and Tim were living history enthusiasts and active in Pierre Players.
Book cover image credit South Dakota Historical Society.
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