Members of Congress in session in the chambers of the United Stated capitol building

President Richard Nixon delivering his budget address to Congress

Rosebud Agency as seen from the northwest approach road. The Agency is about 12 miles southwest of Mission, South Dakota. Show the log Sioux Indian Museum on the right

Sioux Indian Museum at Rosebud Agency, South Dakota

Part of the business district at Rosebud Agency, South Dakota

Catholic Mission Church at Rosebud Agency, South Dakota

Rosebud Agency as seen from the northwest approach road. The Agency is about 12 miles southwest of Mission, South Dakota

Representative Ben Reifel with three West Point graduates at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York

Ben Reifel in his U.S. Army Reserve uniform

Senator George McGovern, Representative Ben Reifel, Representative E.Y Berry, Senator Karl Mundt. Ken Holum, and Floyd Dominy work on the Oahe Irrigation Project in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel in his Washington D.C. office with a group representing Veterans of Foreign Wars

Representative Ben Reifel and Alice Reifel holding up a Hobo Day promotional sign in Washington, D.C., the US Capitol is visible in the background

Former Representative Ben Reifel (third from left in back row) served as a member of the South Dakota Memorial Art Center board of directors. South Dakota State University President Berg (first on left in back row) and President Briggs (fifth from left in back row) are also present

Representative Ben Reifel meets with VFW representatives from South Dakota, R.W. Hodson, Martin, and Bob Whittemore, Watertown who were raising money for the Battleship USS South Dakota Memorial

Representative Ben Reifel holding a proclamation by Archie Gubbrud, governor of South Dakota, appointing Reifel as honorary admiral of the U.S.S. South Dakota battleship while he is looking at a framed photograph of the battleship

Young Republicans from Northern State Teachers College; Bob England, Lloyd Duncan, Bill Walker, Sue Walker, Gary Kulm

Representatives Ben Reifel and E.Y. Berry meet with a group of South Dakota Farmers Union bus trippers in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel addresses South Dakota Farmers Union bus trippers in the Veterans Affairs Committee Room in Washington, DC

Main school building and one of the dormitories at the Rosebud Indian Boarding school, about one mile east of Mission, South Dakota

Main school building and one of the dormitories at the Rosebud Indian Boarding school, about one mile east of Mission, South Dakota

Representative Ben Reifel at a powwow on the Rosebud Reservation with dancers dressed in American Indian costume. Reifel is wearing a headdress

Boy Scouts at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico

Representative Ben Reifel from the First District of South Dakota is riding in a car in the Santee Sioux Tribes Siouxtennial Parade in Flandreau, South Dakota with Ida Allen, Rolly Samp, and others

Representative Ben Reifel from the First District of South Dakota leaning against a car at the Santee Sioux Tribes Siouxtennial Parade in Flandreau, South Dakota, with him are (left to right) Ida Allen, two Santee Sioux children, and Gene King of KSOO radio

Alice Reifel crouching down petting a dog near Pactola Reservoir in the Black Hills of South Dakota

Visitors from abroad surround the speaker of the day, Representative Ben Reifel, at the International Crossroads Sunday Morning Breakfast

Visitors from abroad surround the speaker of the day, Representative Ben Reifel, at the International Crossroads Sunday Morning Breakfast

Visitors from abroad surround the speaker of the day, Representative Ben Reifel, at the International Crossroads Sunday Morning Breakfast

People seating at tables at a YMCA International Crossroads breakfast

People seating at tables at a YMCA International Crossroads breakfast

Representative Ben Reifel at a YMCA International Crossroads Sunday morning breakfast, he is standing by Takao Kawachi, the 13,000th to register and a student at Columbia from Japan, Hon. John B. Anderson of Illinois, and Paul C. Bievdle

Representative Ben Reifel at a YMCA International Crossroads Sunday morning breakfast

Representative Ben Reifel talking with three men at the Inter-American Defense College located on Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel with a group of other politicians at the Inter-American Defense College located on Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C.

Ben Reifel and a former Congressman from Alaska at a Former Members of Congress meeting in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel with three others at a Former Members of Congress meeting

Representative Ben Reifel at a Former Members of Congress meeting

Representative Ben Reifel shaking hands with a Boys Scout leaders at the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1964

Representative Ben Reifel with Boy Scouts from the Aberdeen, South Dakota area, from left to right: Clayton Roseth (Aberdeen), Bob Gill (Aberdeen), Dale Hieb (Ipswich), and Paul Gill (Aberdeen)

Representative Ben Reifel standing in front of a tipi and holding a tipi lamp on the Santee Sioux Reservation in Flandreau, South Dakota

Holdy Rosary Mission Church and dormitory. This mission the Mother Catholic Mission for the Pine Ridge Reservation

Ben Reifel at his Bureau of Indians Affairs desk when he served as farm agent to the Oglala Lakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation

Ben Reifel at the Red Scaffold Day School on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Red Scaffold, South Dakota in the Fall of 1959

Bureau of Indian Affairs area director at the dedication of the Twin Buttes School 12 miles north-northwest of Halliday, North Dakota, with him are Ernest Magnuson, principal of the Sac and Fox Day School in Tama, Iowa, Owen Morken, superintendent at Ft. Berthold Agency, John Star and Knute Lee, directors of schools

Dr. Ned A. Hatathli, President of Navajo Community College, received the 1971 Indian Council Fire achievement award; from left to right: George Lavatta, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Ben Reifel, director, Office of Indian Programs, National Park Service; Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Dr. Ned A. Hatathli, President of Navajo Community College; Leo W. Vocu, executive director, National Congress of American Indians; Forest Gerard, director, Office of Indian Affairs, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

Dr. Ned A. Hatathli, President of Navajo Community College, received the 1971 Indian Council Fire achievement award from Ben Reifel; from left to right: Dr. Ned A. Hatathli; Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Ben Reifel, director, Office of Indian Programs, National Parks Service; Elmer Bennett, Arrow Inc.

Indian Council Fire Achievement award ceremony held at the National Aviation Club in Washington, D.C., Dr. Ned A Hatathli is the 1971 Indian Achievement award winner; from left to right: Ben Reifel, director, Office of Indian Programs, National Park Service; Leo W. Vocu, executive director, National Congress of American Indians; Louis R Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Dr. Ned A. Hatathli, President of Navajo Community College; Forrest Gerard, director, Office of Indian Affairs, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; Tom Colosino Director or Arrow Inc.; Hon. Virgil L. Kirk, Chief Justice, Navajo Tribal Courts; Elmer Bennett, Arrow Inc.

Representative Ben Reifel (center) presents Wilma L. Victor with the Achievement Award of the Indian Council Fire Achievement Award, Inc. Looking on are Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce (left) and Marion Gridley (right), editor of the Amerindian, Chicago, Illinois. The award was made in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel and another man discussing the Oscar Howe exhibition in a gallery in the South Dakota Art Museum

Representative Ben Reifel and three others standing outside of Republican Headquarters building

Representative Ben Reifel standing by a voting booth during the 1962 election

Ben Reifel standing between his wife, Frances, and Virginia Smith after Reifel gave a talk to the Clearwater Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution meeting

Representative Charles Goodell (R-NY), Representative Ben Reifel, and Admiral Ben Moreell, director of the Americans for Constitutional Action, talk at the conservative awards

Ben Reifel with a group at the American Public Works Association conference at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois

Representative Ben Reifel at the American Legion World Series banquet in 1965

Representative Ben Reifel is shaking hand with Admiral Ben Moreell, director of the Americans for Constitutional Action, Reifel was honored with the distinguished service award

Representative Ben Reifel (seated) with four 4-H representatives; standing left to right: Dennis Yeaton, Mary Jean Steinheuser, Sandra Jenter, and Donald Hoar

Congressman Ben Reifel and Senator George McGovern meet with a group of 4-H club members visiting Washington, D.C. in the Senate dining room

Representative Ben Reifel shakes hands with a 4-H club member while holding an award, other 4-H club members stand nearby, the United States capitol building is in the background

The Frank E. Denholm Papers consist mostly of materials generated during the time he served as the representative to South Dakota’s First Congressional District, from 1971 to 1975. These materials document his work for rural America, particularly his effort to reinstate the Rural Electrification Act and numerous legislation regarding agriculture, rural water, and rural development. Press releases and newspaper clippings about his activities in Congress can be found in the papers. The collection also includes scrapbooks and memorabilia about his campaigns for Congress. In addition, there are several files of correspondence, some of which was with members of Congress and other notable people such as George McGovern and Richard Kneip. The collection includes nearly 1,500 photographs and slides, most of which relate to his campaigns for Congress. There are reel-to-reel audio recordings and video recordings on 2-inch quad video tape that consist of campaign advertisements and his work in Congress. The collection also documents Denholm’s career as a sheriff, auctioneer, F.B.I. agent, and lawyer.

The papers also contain documents relating to Frank Denholm’s wife, Mildred Niehaus Denholm. Mrs. Denholm was born May 9, 1927 to Frank F. and Elizabeth C. (Schuring) Niehaus from Andover, South Dakota. She married Frank Denholm on June 12, 1950 in Webster, South Dakota. She attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, SD and taught in rural schools. Mrs. Denholm also went to the Aberdeen School of Business, the Strayer Business College in Washington, D.C., and the University of Utah where she studied music. She worked as a medical and legal secretary. Mrs. Denholm actively campaigned for her husband. She was involved in the Congressional Women’s Club while Denholm was in office. Mrs. Denholm passed away August 14, 2014. The collection includes correspondence between Frank and Mildred Denholm and her activities with the Congressional Women’s Club.

People supporting the Goldwater-Miller ticket during the 1964 United States Presidential campaign at a rally in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Man presents Representative Ben Reifel with the 1960 Boys Scouts of American Silver Antelope award

Man presenting Ben Reifel (center) and three other men with the Silver Antelope Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the Silver Antelope Award is the highest award in scouting for leadership

Representative Ben Reifel with Boys Scouts leaders at the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1964

Representative Ben Reifel, Rev. Robert Aldrich, United Church of Christ, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Robert Wood on the US Capitol steps

South Dakota delegation and their spouses at an event, from left to right: Representative E.Y. Berry, Senator Karl Mundt, Rose Berry, Web Hill of Rapid City, South Dakota, Alice Reifel, Representative Ben Reifel, and May Mundt

Vice presidential candidate William Miller deboarding a plane at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Representative Ben Reifel and Senator Karl Mundt standing behind vice president candidate William Miller at a podium at a Republican campaign rally in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Representative Ben Reifel with members of the New Korea Party, Yil Hyung Chyung, Chae-Kwang Kim, and Vincent W. Allin, on the steps of the US Capitol

Representative Ben Reifel and five other people pose for a photograph, Reifel and the woman standing in front of him are holding elephant figurines

Representative Ben Reifel is sitting at his desk nest to Cub Scout, James Foss, Jr. of Bethesda, Maryland, James Foss is wearing a Native American headdress, Reifel is showing him how to make a hand gesture

Representative Ben Reifel greets Wilma Victor, first woman deputy secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton stands behind them

Burdette Solum, president of Norwest Bank in Watertown, South Dakota, Fritzie, Class of 1933, and Ben Reifel, Class of 1932 were all welcomed as members of the Campanile Society by South Dakota State University president Robert Wagner

Representative Ben Reifel standing next to the South Dakota Cherry Blossom Princess Judy Sorenson from Flandreau, South Dakota who is shaking hands with Don White, President of the South Dakota State Society from Pierre, South Dakota in Reifel's Washington, D.C. office

Representative Ben Reifel and Alice Reifel with 1964 Science Talent Search scholarship winner Lee Snyder, from Huron, South Dakota. Snyder was awarded a $5000 scholarship

South Dakota State College Class of 1932 reunion; from let to right; row 1: Garrett Holleman, Frances O'Connell, James Etteldorf, Jennie Bang VanDenBerg. Nina Mae Cranston Garthune; Row 2: Ben Reifel, Wesley Neufeld, Eli Ferguson, Ken Schoenwether, Marjorie White Ashbaugh, Adeline Dahl Muehlbeier, Charlotte Christie Jones, Paul Jones; Row 3: Vivian Swenson Strand, Otis Dahl, Merwin B. Wheeler, Liguri Gannon, Donald Craig, Fred Frame; Row 4: Ozzie Stockland, William Garthune, Everard Opsal, Herman Stallbaum, Millard MacComb, Don Pier

Representative Ben Reifel and Whit Rork, Northern States Power, Sioux Falls, South Dakota on the US Capitol steps

Senator Jim Abdnor is with Representative Ben Reifel, Frances Reifel, and Miss Indian America

Ben and Frances stand in front of a pine tree with two other people

South Dakota State College Class of 1933 reunion; from let to right; Row 1: Edith Braun, Helen Walters, Francis Ryland Reifel, Winifred Brown Lee, Ethel Bowe Gilbertson; Row 2: Paul Freeburg, Harold Braun, Francis Johnson, Willis Dahlmeier, Kris K. Gilbertson, Elmer Johnson

Alice Reifel, wife of Representative Ben Reifel, and Myrtle Case, wife of Senator Francis Case at an event

Representative Ben Reifel and his wife Alice Reifel with Joe and Nellie Bottum, who were are of Reifel's campaign in 1962

Representative Ben Reifel and his wife Alice Reifel with Senator Karl Mundt and another man at an event

Ben Reifel and his wife Alice Reifel speaking with Representative Don Short of North Dakota

Representative Ben Reifel and his wife Alice Reifel with three woman on a boat en route to Hawaii

Alice Reifel in San Juan, Puerto Rico with two other women

Alice Reifel with two campaign volunteers making telephone calls seeking support for Ben Reifel

Congressman Spark M. Matsunaga, Hawaii, Harlan F. Hagen, California, Ben Reifel, South Dakota, John D. Fuqua, Florida, Albert Watson, South Carolina, Graham D. Purcell, Texas (behind Watson), and Col. Benjamin Anderson, OCLL, pause for a moment of relaxation in a snow cave prepared by men of 172d Infantry Brigade, during a mountain and cold weather survival demonstration by the Brigade, at the Ski Bowl training area at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Congressman John D. Fuqua, Florida, Frank J. Horton, New York, Graham D. Purcell, Texas, and Clark MacGregor, Minnesota, watch exercises held at the Ski Bowl training area at Fort Richardson, Alaska

Representative Ben Reifel and three other standing in front of the U.S. Capitol. The photograph is signed by Reifel, Graham Purcell, and Burt Talcott

Representative Ben Reifel and three other standing in front of the U.S. Capitol. The photograph is signed by Reifel, Graham Purcell, Burt Talcott, and Howard Pollock

Ben and Francis Reifel with Senator Larry Pressler in Washington, D.C.

Representative Ben Reifel with Don Pottratz and students on the steps of the US Capitol

Representative Ben Reifel, Don Pottratz, Douglas Dittburner, Carroll Torberson, Gary Swenson, Steve Bogue, and Lynn Myers in Washington, D.C. The US Capitol is in the background

Representative Ben Reifel meeting with South Dakota constituents in his Washington, D.C. office. Standing left to right: Don Pattratz, Flandreau, instructor at Canton High School; Greg Eiseland, Canton; Ronald Johnson, Canton; Robbin Bong, Beresford; Leon Yelinek, Canton. Seated are Representative Reifel and James Lounsbery, Beresford

Representative Ben Reifel and Minnesota Representative Ancher Nelsen congratulate Ken Marber for winning the George T. Mickelson Outstanding Club award in 1965. Representative Nelsen was speaker at the convention

Vice presidential candidate William Miller speaking at a podium at a Republican campaign rally in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Vice presidential candidate William Miller walking next to a man on the airstrip at Joe Foss field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Senator Karl Mundt speaking with a woman

Representative Ben Reifel and Alice Reifel with the Ken Vaughn family and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lay on the steps of the US Capitol