Seal of South Dakota of Fort Pierre and shall be the basis for all reproductions of the great seal of the State of South Dakota. The South Dakota Secretary of State is the designated custodian of the South Dakota State Seal. Seal of South Dakota The Great Seal of the State of South Dakota was designed while the area was a territory, in 1885. The outer ring of the seal contains the text "State of South Dakota" on the top and "Great Seal" on the bottom. Also the year of statehood, 1889. Inside the inner circle of the seal contains the state motto "Under
History of South Dakota History of South Dakota The history of South Dakota describes the history of the U.S. state of South Dakota over the course of several millennia, from its first inhabitants to the recent issues facing the state. Human beings have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. Early hunters first entered North America at least 17,000 years ago via the Bering land bridge, which existed during the last ice age and connected Siberia with Alaska. Early settlers in what would become South Dakota were nomadic hunter-gatherers, using primitive Stone Age technology to hunt large prehistoric