That is a question you'll get different answers about depending on who you ask. It's one of those things that have been around so long that nobody knows the ACTUAL meaning or origins of, LOL Well over a 150 years Indiana has been referred to the Hoosier state.
The explanation I accept is "Hoosier" was the nickname given to the native americans around this territory and just hung on from there. I've heard stories of it orignating from flatboat men too, but who knows?
LostandConfused....I lived in Ohio on Lake Erie for a big chunk of my childhood and I KNOW why you guys are called Buckeyes........they are EVERYWHERE! LOL
I'd only heard the one about the typical reply to a knock on the door was, 'who's here?', which got muddled into hoos-ier...
I don't think Missourians have that kind of nickname but we are the 'show-me' state, as in, 'I don't believe your BS, you'll have to show me.'
I do believe the term 'piker' came from Pike County, MO, during the Gold Rush era in California. Guess those Missourians got a reputation for being cheapskates.