Dakota is a Sioux word meaning "friends" or "allies".

The North Dakota state flag has a bald eagle above the state name with a shield protecting its breast and a ribbon in its mouth with the national motto "E Pluribus Unum," ("Out of one, many.")

The Dakota people consider Devils Lake holy because they believe it is the home of the underwater serpent Unktehi. The lake's name is derived from the Dakota words mni (water) and wak'áŋ (literally "pure source", but often translated as "spirit" or "sacred"). European-American settlers mistranslated the name to mean "Bad Spirit Lake" or "Devils Lake", the "bad" referring to the high salinity of the lake, making it unfit to drink, and "spirit" referring to the mirages often seen across the water.

The wild prairie rose (Rosa blanda or Rosa arkansana) has been around for about 35 million years and grows naturally throughout North Dakota. It sports five bright pink petals with a tight cluster of yellow stamens in the center. The petals and rose hips are edible and have been used in medicines since ancient times.

At an elevation of 3,506 ft (1,069 m), White Butte is the highest natural point in the state of North Dakota. The summit is located within the boundaries of the Little Missouri National Grassland and is about 35 miles (56 km) south of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

In Leprechaun (1993), Dan O'Grady returns home to North Dakota after stealing the pot of gold from a leprechaun in Ireland. O'Grady buries the gold, only to discover that the murderous leprechaun has followed him back to the states.

In addition to its official nickname, North Dakota is sometimes called the Flickertail State because of the many Richardson's ground squirrels (Urocitellus richardsonii), also known as dakrats or flickertails, that live in the central part of the state.

The British/Canadian Hudson's Bay Company established a fur-trading post on the site of present-day Pembina in 1797. It is the oldest European-American community in the Dakotas.

There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs in the world, but North Dakota chose the convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens) as its official insect. An important natural enemy of aphids, scales, thrips, and other pests, this species can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, forests, agricultural fields, gardens, and natural parks.

In 1931, the town of Rugby erected a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) rock obelisk, flanked by poles flying the United States and Canadian flags, marking the "Geographical Center of North America".