Omaha, Winnebago, Ponca, Iowa, Santee Sioux, Sac, and Fox are all Native American tribes from Nebraska. The Early European Settlements were the first settlers in Nebraska. The US acquired Nebraska from the French as part of the Louisiana Purchase for $15,000,000. Nebraska became a state on March 1, 1867. Nebraska's state name comes from a Native American word that means flat water. In 1865 the first Railroad to the Pacific Coast was begun at Omaha. It was completed in 1869.