The state nickname
for the state of Minnesota is the "North Star State." because it is the
English translation and most frequently used translation for the
official French L’Etoile Du Nord that appears on other Minnesota state emblems — the seal and the state flag.
Minnesota is the only U.S. state to have a motto in French. While the
reason for this is not clearly known, most historians speculate that the
choice of the French language is a deferential nod to the early French
explorers, missionaries and traders who settled the wilds of Minnesota
before the region became a territory and a U.S. state. The "North Star
State" motto refers to Minnesota as the northernmost state in the United
States.
And Minnesota sits north of all the contiguous
U.S. states, its right border extending toward the Great Lake Superior.
Native American tribes populated the land until the arrival of traders
and missionaries from France and explorers from England in the 1600s.
After the American War for Independence, a portion of the territory was
incorporated into the United States of America. Minnesota became the
32nd state to join the United States in 1858.
