The Dakotas is a collective term used in the United States to refer to the states of North and South Dakota together. (North and South Dakota were the unified Dakota Territory until their organization as separate states in 1889.) The name "Dakota" comes from the name of a Native American group, a branch of the Lakota. A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia and Palmyra Atoll (an uninhabited incorporated unorganized territory), form the United States of America. ... State nickname: Peace Garden State, Roughrider State, Flickertail State Other U.S. States Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Governor John Hoeven (R) Official languages English Area 183 272 km² (19th)  - Land 178 839 km²  - Water 4 432 km² (2. ... State nickname: The Mount Rushmore State Other U.S. States Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Governor Mike Rounds (R) Senators Tim Johnson (D) John Thune (R) Official languages English Area 199,905 km² (17th)  - Land 196,735 km²  - Water 3,173 km² (1. ... Dakota Territory was the name of the northernmost part of the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... Eddie Plenty Holes, a Sioux Indian photographed about 1899. ...

See also North Dakota. State nickname: Peace Garden State, Roughrider State, Flickertail State Other U.S. States Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Governor John Hoeven (R) Official languages English Area 183 272 km² (19th)  - Land 178 839 km²  - Water 4 432 km² (2. ...