The Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets the social, political, and cultural history of the State of South Dakota and Dakota Territory. The museum makes its collections available through exhibitions, loans to other museums, and publications. The collections in storage are open for study by appointment.

Collections Scope: The museum houses a diverse collection of materials relating to the history and culture of South Dakota, and numbers over 25,000 objects, documenting the breadth of the South Dakota experience. The collections illustrate: the ethnic diversity of a state settled by a mix of old stock Americans, Scandinavians, Dutch, Germans, Bohemians, Czechs, Russians, Irish, and French Canadians, and their interaction with one of the largest indigenous Native American populations in the country; the dominance of an agrarian economy and a rural lifestyle; the importance of transportation networks in a large, sparsely populated state divided by the Missouri River; the pioneering spirit and the exploitation of the land and its mineral resources; and the political tensions in a state rooted in both populism and conservatism.

This lead plate, found in 1913 at Fort Pierre, was buried in 1743 by the Verendrye brothers claiming the territory for France.

The Sioux Horse Effigy dance stick, ca. 1870, was probably carved to honor a wounded horse, and is considered one of the great equine sculptures in the world. This singular piece of the museum's collection is incorporated into the Society's logo.

Of particular importance is the museum's collection of 1,313 Native American objects. The collection, which focuses on the Sioux Indians, is noteworthy for both its quality and its documentation. For the core of the collection, which was collected between 1880 and 1910, information is usually available as to the tribe, band, and individual owner or maker of an object. In recent years, the museum has also received significant collections that document life on South Dakota Indian Reservations prior to World War II. To broaden the representation of contemporary Sioux artists in the collection, the museum purchases new work at Northern Plains Tribal Arts, a juried show.

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