STATE SEAL. A sealSymbol that belongs only to its owner is a symbol that belongs only to its owner. The Great Seal of North Dakota is owned by the state of North Dakota and cannot be used by anyone without the approval of the state. It may never be used in advertising or for commercial (money-making) purposes. It is illegal to print the Great Seal without permission from the North Dakota Secretary of State.
The Great Seal of North Dakota shows a tree with three bundles of wheat around the trunk, a plow, an anvil (steel block used for pounding metals), a large hammer, a bow with three arrows, and an American Indian chasing a bison toward the setting sun. Above the tree is a half-circle of stars. Above the stars is the state motto, “Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable.” The date “October 1st” is on the left side of the seal, and the year “1889” is on the right. Large lettering at the top says “Great Seal,” and the same size lettering at the bottom says “State of North Dakota.”
Figure 57. The Great Seal of North Dakota. The seal shown in the center is the official state seal. The other two are examples of the Great Seal. (ND Secretary of State)