Politics of Montana - State Symbols

State Symbols

Montana's motto, Oro y Plata, Spanish for "gold and silver," recognizing the significant role of mining, was first adopted in 1865, when Montana was still a territory. A state seal with a miner's pick and shovel above the motto, surrounded by the mountains and the Great Falls of the Missouri River, was adopted during the first meeting of the territorial legislature in 1864-65. The design was only slightly modified after Montana became a state and adopted it as the Great Seal of the State of Montana, enacted by the legislature in 1893. The state flower, the Bitterroot, was adopted in 1895 with the support of a group called the Floral Emblem Association, which formed after Montana's Women's Christian Temperance Union adopted the bitterroot as the organization's state flower. All other symbols were adopted throughout the 20th century, save for Montana's newest symbol, the state butterfly, the Mourning Cloak, adopted in 2001, and the State Lullaby, "Montana Lullaby," adopted in 2007.

The state song was not composed until 21 years after statehood, when a musical troupe led by Joseph E. Howard stopped in Butte in September 1910. A former member of the troupe who lived in Butte buttonholed Howard at an after-show party, asking him to compose a song about Montana and got another partygoer, the city editor for the Butte Miner newspaper, Charles C. Cohan, to help. The two men worked up a basic melody and lyrics in about a half-hour for the entertainment of party guests, then finished the song later that evening, with an arrangement worked up the following day. Upon arriving in Helena, Howard's troupe performed 12 encores of the new song to an enthusiastic audience and the governor proclaimed it the state song on the spot, though formal legislative recognition did not occur until 1945. Montana is one of only three states to have a "state ballad," "Montana Melody," chosen by the legislature in 1983. Montana was the first state to also adopt a State Lullaby.

Montana schoolchildren played a significant role in selecting several state symbols. The state tree, the ponderosa pine, was selected by Montana schoolchildren as the preferred state tree by an overwhelming majority in a referundum held in 1908. However, the legislature did not designate a state tree until 1949, when the Montana Federation of Garden Clubs, with the support of the state forester, lobbied for formal recognition. Schoolchildren also chose the Western meadowlark as the state bird, in a 1930 vote, and the legislature acted to endorse this decision in 1931. Similarly, the secretary of state sponsored a children's vote in 1981 to choose a state animal, and after 74 animals were nominated, the Grizzly bear won over the elk by a 2-1 margin. The students of Livingston started a statewide school petition drive plus lobbied the governor and the state legislature to name the Maiasaura as the state fossil in 1985.

Various community civic groups also played a role in selecting the state grass and the state gemstones. When broadcaster Norma Ashby discovered there was no state fish, she initiated a drive via her television show, Today in Montana, and an informal citizen's election to select a state fish resulted in a win for the blackspotted cutthroat trout after hot competition from the Arctic grayling. The legislature in turn adopted this recommendation by a wide margin.