| Summary: | Nicknames Peace Garden State - The International Peace Garden straddles the international boundary between North Dakota and the Canadian province of Manitoba. In 1956, the North Dakota Motor Vehicle Department, on its own initiative, placed the words "Peace Garden State" on license plates.The name proved so popular that it was formally adopted by the 1957 Legislature (North Dakota Century Code [NDCC], Section 39-04-12). Flickertail State - Flickertail refers to the Richardson ground squirrel, which is abundant in North Dakota. The animal flicks or jerks its tail in a characteristic manner while running or just before entering its burrow. On December 15,1889, during the first session of the North Dakota Legislature, Representative Frank Thompson from Cass County introduced the following resolution in the House: Whereas, The Spirmophilus Richardsoni, or flicker-tail gopher, is a creature endemic to this land of the Dakotas; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the house of representatives of the state of North Dakota, do by this resolution christen every child born or who may hereafter be born within the boundaries of this state with the name "Flickertail," which christened name shall be applied in the same manner as the word "Sucker" is applied to children born in Illinois, "Wolverine" to those born in Michigan, "Badger" to those born in Wisconsin, etc. A flickertail peering out ofhis home. The resolution was adopted and, for 10 minutes, North Dakota stood dubbed "the Flickertail state." It was then reconsidered and all mention of it was expunged from the House Journal. In 1953, the Legislative Assembly defeated Senate Bill (S.B.) 134 that would have adopted the Flickertail facsimile as the official emblem of the state. Roughrider State - This name originated in a state-supported tourism promotion of the 1960s and 1970s. It refers to the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, which Theodore Roosevelt organized to fight in the Spanish-American War. In fact, the "Roughriders," which included several North Dakota cowboys, fought dismounted in Cuba due to logistical problems. In both 1971 (H.B. 1383) and 1973 (H.B. 1443), the Legislative Assembly defeated bills intended to change the words "Peace Garden State" on state license plates to "Roughrider Country." Dakota - An attempt to drop the word "North" from the state name was defeated by the 1947 Legislative Assembly (House Concurrent Resolution [H.C.R.] J). Again in 1989, the Legislature rejected two resolutions (Senate Concurrent Resolutions [S.C.R.] 4031 and 4032) intended to rename the state "Dakota." Chapter Two - North Dakota almanac 53
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