Sitting Bull to Phil Jackson, cattle to prairie dogs, knoephla to lefse. North Dakota's legacy includes many strange stories of eccentric towns, war heroes, and various colorful characters. Hear all about them on Dakota Datebook, your daily dose of North Dakota history.
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Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You can find all Dakota Datebooks from 2018-today below. Our archive of Datebooks from 2003-2017 can be found here.
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The challenges farmers faced during the “Dirty Thirties” took a U-turn with the outbreak of World War II. The rains returned, crops were good, and land was cheap. The American military’s increased demand for crops and meat drove up prices for those commodities. While the state lagged behind in war-specific industrial production, North Dakota’s contribution in the form of agricultural products should not be underestimated. -
It took many years for Theodore Roosevelt National Park to become a reality. When Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919, proposals were immediately put forward to create a national monument in his honor.
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By 1911, North Dakota was looking less like the Wild West and more like eastern civilization. Education was a big part of the state’s progress. Even small communities had elementary schools, but high school was a more expensive undertaking. Education often ended after sixth grade. Many families sent their children to larger towns to earn a high school diploma. Reflecting the state’s farming culture, the 1911 Legislature provided financial support for communities that approved high schools with an emphasis on agriculture.
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The Fourteenth Amendment conferred citizenship on those born in the United States, but one group was left out: Native Americans. In 1884, a case challenging that position made its way to the Supreme Court. John Elk brought a case against a registrar in Omaha for refusing to register him to vote because he was not considered a citizen. In a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to Elk because, as an Indian, he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
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The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 by former Confederates to obstruct the extension of voting rights to Black Americans. Strong Reconstruction Acts were passed by Congress in 1867 and 1868. By 1870, the Klan had chapters in almost every Southern state. Members waged a campaign of intimidation against Black citizens and their white supporters. Klan participation gradually declined and was largely inactive by 1890.
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In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear from Kevin Locke, enrolled member of the Standing Rock Nation, in part one of “Hinhan Kaga and The Milky Way.”
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Every year, dozens of communities from across the country compete for the prestigious All-America City Award, presented by the National Civic League. George Gallup, founder of the Gallup Poll, once called it the “Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship.”
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Bismarck is home to a house inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The beige brick house built in 1963 and 1964 is of the Usonian design. These “modest” houses, represent Wright’s ideals in construction, in part because they are “bound to nature, and responsive to the lives of their inhabitants.”
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May is National Historic Preservation Month! Today, we’ll hear about some of the historic places in North Dakota that are included in the state’s Historic Sites Registry.
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For years and years, the biggest tree in North Dakota grew along the Goose River in a pasture on the farm of Arthur Hanson.
Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.