South Dakota state symbols
South Dakota’s state bird is the ring-necked pheasant (1943), its flower the American pasque flower (1903), its tree the Black Hills spruce (1947), and its motto “Under God the People Rule”.
How to read it
Chapter 1-6 of the South Dakota Codified Laws names each one. The “ring-neck pheasant”, Phasianus colchicus in the Secretary of State’s list, was adopted in 1943. The floral emblem is “the American pasque flower (pulsatilla hirsutissima) with the motto ‘I Lead’”: the flower has a motto of its own. The Secretary of State dates that law to 1903. The tree is the Black Hills spruce, Picea glauca densata, named in 1947. The state motto, “Under God the People Rule”, was first suggested by Dr. Joseph Ward with the design of the great seal; the Constitutional Convention of 1885 adopted the design and motto, and they were modified in 1889 in Article XXI of the constitution. Since 1992 the official nickname is “The Mount Rushmore State”.
Also searched as: official symbols of south dakota, south dakota state bird, south dakota state flower, south dakota state motto, south dakota state symbols, south dakota state tree.
Two mottoes
South Dakota has the state motto on its seal and a second motto that belongs to its flower. The law naming the pasque flower gives it the motto “I Lead”, and the Secretary of State quotes the same words from the law of 1903.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsTennessee state symbolsTennessee’s state bird is the mockingbird (1933), its cultivated flower the iris (1933), its wildflowers the passion flower and the Tennessee coneflower, its tree the tulip poplar (1947), and its mottoes “Agriculture and Commerce” and, since 2023, “Send Me”.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of MauritiusMauritius’s flag is four horizontal stripes of equal width, red, blue, yellow and green from the top. Mauritian law gives each a meaning: red the struggle for freedom and independence, blue the Indian Ocean in which Mauritius lies, yellow the new light of independence, and green the agriculture of Mauritius and its colour through the twelve months of the year.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with squares and rectangles.
Sources
- South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 1-6 (State Emblems), SDCL §§ 1-6-1, 1-6-2, 1-6-9, 1-6-10, 1-6-11, 1-6-16.5, South Dakota Legislature (Legislative Research Council), § 1-6-1; § 1-6-2; § 1-6-9 State bird; § 1-6-10 State floral emblem; § 1-6-11 State tree; § 1-6-16.5 State nickname (and Source notes)
- State Seal and Symbols (South Dakota Secretary of State), South Dakota Secretary of State, "State Seal and Symbols," General Information: About the State of South Dakota, South Dakota Secretary of State, Great Seal; State Bird; State Flower; State Tree; State Nickname
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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