Theodore Roosevelt’s racist rhetoric complicates his legacy in North Dakota

By: Jacob Orledge

Outlets: North Dakota Monitor

Published: June 30, 2026

Words: 2,645

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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North Dakota’s leaders spent decades building up former President Theodore Roosevelt as a hero, highlighting his Badlands experience and conservation efforts.

But for Native Americans, who lived on the Northern Plains for thousands of years before the first European explorers set foot on the East Coast, Roosevelt’s name stirs a different set of emotions.

Roosevelt’s writings expressed a false belief in a racial hierarchy with white people considered to be superior to African …

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