July 5, 2001

Plains Folk: The State of Bison

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

It was unfortunate the framers of the constitutions of South Dakota and North Dakota, the men who split Dakota Territory and named the two states, were so unimaginative. Of course you have to remember that the founding fathers of these states were territorial politicians. Many were talented, intelligent, and articulate, but territorial politics was distinguished more by roguery than by vision.

I'll lay money that person for person, the New Economy Committee of the Greater North Dakota Association packs more, way more, statesmanship than did the scheming politicians of Dakota Territory.

It was the NEC that, about a month ago, suggested North Dakota drop the "North" from its name and call itself simply "Dakota." (This would require an amendment to the state constitution and the consent of Congress. I should note, too, that the idea is not new. A few years ago State Senator Tim Mathern brought it into the legislature, which rejected it.)

The response of commentators elsewhere--from Jay Leno to the BBC--is about as perceptive as you might expect and is not pertinent. The response of commentators in North Dakota, though, is revelatory.

The Grand Forks Herald has come out in favor of the change, pointing out that "Dakota" and not "North Dakota" already is the favored usage for business and organizational names. The Herald may be owned by heartless colonial interests, but its editorial page remains forthright and open-minded.

The Bismarck Tribune has commenced a reader poll, and of course, response to the proposed name change has been overwhelmingly negative. Former governor Ed Schafer has taken the interesting position that the proposal is a good one, even though the name never will be changed, because the discussion will attract attention to the state. That seems to be exactly what all the other commentators fear.

The Dakota issue has been a staple lately of commercial talk radio. If you aren't familiar with talk radio in North Dakota, then imagine that you have walked into the coffee klatch of your home-town cafe, and the tables are full. Half the guys there have been taking anabolic steroids, and the other half are in clinical depression without medication. It's a great place for creative thinking.

In my own tacky way, I'm saying that since the NEC--and specifically a sub-group chaired by travel professional Joyce Satrom--brought forward its suggestion, it has received no substantial attention, and that is not necessarily because the proposal lacks merit. It's because of the way we are in North Dakota.

Now, as I say what I am about to say, I want you to remember I am talking about public rhetoric and not the true spirit of people on the northern plains. I love the people dearly. It's our public rhetoric I despise.

Colonialism and 80 years of out-migration have fostered a perverse conservatism and a mean-spirited cynicism dedicated to the suppression of initiative and imagination. Good ideas, bad ideas and interesting ideas are equal in this environment. All are non-starters.

So I'll offer this comment on the name change, one informed, I think, by both regional and global history. We should change the name, but "Dakota" does not go far enough. Dropping the "North" from the name lays bare the cultural appropriation committed by our ancestors (speaking here as a Euro-American) who stole the name of a native people and gave it to their settler state. In this post-colonial world filled with identity issues and native aspirations, we need a different name, one that invokes the land and its heritage without prejudice.

Imagine BISON emblazoned across a map of the northern plains. Bison. The State of Bison. Let's call it Bison. Let's be bison. Let's be at home on the range.

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Source: Tom Isern, (701) 799-2941, tom@plainsfolk.com 
Editor: Gary Moran, (701) 231-7865, gmoran@ndsuext.nodak.edu 

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