North
Dakota
From the fertile Red River Valley of the east, abundant with oceans of wheat,
to the vast plains and rolling hills, to the Missouri plateau and Badlands of
the west, there is majesty in the open land of North Dakota. There is majesty
in the skies of the day, and there is majesty in the stars of the night.
The Peace Garden State: (Official)
This name commemorates the International Peace Garden on North Dakota's border
with Manitoba, Canada. The International Peace Garden was dedicated on July 14,
1932. The nickname was made official by the North Dakota legislature in 1957.
Land of the Dakotas: This nickname
recognizes the Dakota tribes of North Dakota. The Dakota are also referred to
as Sioux. See below.
The Sioux State: Similar to "The
Land of the Dakotas," this name recognizes the Sioux or Dakota people of
North Dakota.
The Roughrider State: This nickname
was used to promote tourism in the state in the 1960s and the 1970s. It references
Theodore Roosevelt's short-live excursion into the cattle ranching business in
North Dakota. On a buffalo hunting trip to the North Dakota Badlands in 1883,
he was moved to purchase an interest in the Chimney Butte Ranch, also known as
the Maltese Cross Ranch. After the tragic deaths of his mother and wife on the
same day in 1894 and after the 1894 Republican convention in June, Roosevelt headed
back to North Dakota to seek some peace and solitude. He purchased another parcel
of land, located about 35 miles north of Medora, and named it the Elkhorn Ranch.
Roosevelt's ranches were run by others as he spent most of his time in the east.
His last visit to the Elkhorn Ranch was in 1892 and by 1898 he had sold all his
holdings.
The Flickertail State: This nickname
references the Richardson Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii) of North
Dakota. This squirrel flicks, or jerks, its tail while running and just before
entering its borrow. The Flickertail March, by James D. Ployhar is North Dakota's
official State March.
The Great Central State: North Dakota
is sometimes called "The Great Central State" because it of it's location
in the center of the great western Wheat Belt. |
