The U.S. state of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

has 17 official state emblems, as well as other designated official and unofficial items. The majority of the symbols in the list are officially recognized and created by an act of the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. They are listed in Indiana Code Title 1, Article 2, State Emblems which also regulates the appearance and applicable use of the items. Compared to other states, Indiana has few official symbols. The first symbol was the

Seal of Indiana The seal of Indiana is used by the governor of Indiana to certify official documents of the U.S. state of Indiana. The seal has gone through several revisions since the region was a part of the Northwest Territory. It is likely that the original ...

, which was made official in 1801 for the Indiana Territory and again in 1816 by the state of Indiana. It served as the state's only emblem for nearly a century until the adoption of the state song in 1913. For many years, Indiana was the only state without a flag. The official state banner was adopted in 1917, and renamed the state flag in 1955. The newest symbol of Indiana is the state fossil,

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

, which was declared in 2022.

Insignia

Species

Geology

Culture

Unofficial symbols and unsuccessful proposals

While most states have an official

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

, the Indiana General Assembly never officially adopted one. Indiana's unofficial nickname is ''The Hoosier State''. A word of unknown origin, ''Hoosier'' is the official

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

for the people of Indiana. The state has had several unofficial marketing slogans through the years, including "Restart Your Engines" (2006–2014), "Honest-to-Goodness Indiana" (2014–2022), and most recently, "IN Indiana". Indiana's unofficial state soil,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, is a brown silt loam found widely across the state. The soil is productive for cultivation, contributing to the state's robust agricultural economy. The Indiana Senate approved a resolution naming

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

as the official state beverage in 2007. Sugar cream pie (or "Hoosier Pie") was designated the "unofficial state pie" in 2009.

Notes

:At the time, the

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis''), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States fro ...

's scientific name was ''Richmondena Cardianalis Cardinalis''. It was changed in 1983. :From 1923 to 1931, the state flower was the flower of the tulip tree. From 1931 to 1957, the state flower was the Zinnia.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Indiana State Symbols State symbols