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The Dakota Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. This is the Dakota Territory's historical coat of arms, illustrated by Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published by Louis Prang in 1876. The design is based on the great seal of the territory, which was officially described as follows:
Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew ShivaA tree in the open field, the trunk of which is surrounded by a bundle of rods, bound with three bands; on the right plow, anvil, sledge, rake and fork; on the left, bow crossed with three arrows; Indian on horseback pursuing a buffalo toward the setting sun; foliage of the tree arched by half circle of thirteen stars, surrounded by the motto: "Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever".