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The history of
the South Dakota Association of the Deaf (SDAD) can be traced as far back as
1899. At that time, a number of former South Dakota School for the Deaf
students and graduates expressed a desire to hold a reunion for the purpose of
social enrichment and to deliberate on matters pertaining to the progress and
welfare of SDSD in particular and Deaf America in general. This expressed
became a reality in the summer of 1900, when SDSD alumni gathered at the school
campus with this purpose in mind.
"The Board of Charities and Corrections, through Superintendent James Simpson,
kindly invited the former pupils to hold their gathering in this city (Sioux
Falls) as guests of the school." (The South Dakota Advocate).
During this gathering, regular daily meetings were held and questions of
interest and importance were discussed. A permanent organization was formed,
titled the South Dakota Association for the Advancement of the Deaf (SDAAD)
with a standard constitution and bylaws. The fundamental mission of the
organization - which continues to this day - was to safeguard the civil rights
of all deaf South Dakotans. Charles Loucks, a former SDSD student, presided
over this first collective meting.
The second reunion was held on the SDSD campus four years later, in 1904 and it
was at this time when resolutions were passed to incorporate the Association
under the laws of the state.
SDAD, an affiliated chapter of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), is
the oldest and largest consumer organization of, for and by deaf and hard of
hearing people in South Dakota. SDAD is committed to empowering and enriching
the deaf and hard of hearing community by increasing opportunities conductive
to a self-sufficient, positive and productive life.
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