Flag of Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Use	Civil and state flag
Adopted	November 1, 2006[1][2]
Design	Buffalo-skin shield with seven eagle feathers on a sky blue field.
Designed by	Louise Fluke

The flag of the state of Oklahoma consists of a traditional Osage Nation buffalo-skin shield with seven eagle feathers on a sky blue field.

Symbolism

The Oklahoman flag flying outside of the Oklahoma Capitol.

The Osage shield is covered by two symbols of peace: the Plains-style ceremonial pipe representing Native Americans, and the olive branch representing European Americans. Six golden brown crosses, Native American symbols for stars, are spaced on the shield. The blue field is inspired by the Choctaw flag adopted by the tribe in 1860 and carried though the American Civil War.^[3] The blue field also represents devotion. The shield surmounted by the calumet and olive branch represents defensive or protective warfare, showing a love of peace by a united people.^[4]

In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Oklahoma's flag 39th in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territory flags ranked.^[5]

Salute

The state legislature adopted the following salute to the flag in 1982: "I salute the Flag of the State of Oklahoma: Its symbols of peace unite all people."

History

Former Oklahoma flag, used from 1911 to 1925.

Former Oklahoma flag, used from April 2, 1925 to 1941.

Unauthorized Oklahoma flag design.

Unauthorized Oklahoma flag design.

Oklahoma's first flag was adopted in 1911, four years after statehood. Taking the colors red, white, and blue from the flag of the United States, the flag featured a large centered white star fimbriated in blue on a red field. The number 46 was written in blue inside the star, as Oklahoma was the forty-sixth state to join the Union.^[1]

A contest, sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, was held in 1924 to replace the flag, as red flags were closely associated with communism. The winning entry by Louise Fluke, which was adopted as the state flag on April 2, 1925, resembled the current flag without the word Oklahoma on it. That word was added in 1941^[1] in an effort to combat widespread illiteracy.^[6][7]

The official design of the state flag has not changed since 1941, however, unauthorized Oklahoma flag designs became prevalent throughout the state, so much so that the correct and official design of the flag was becoming lost. These unauthorized flags displayed stylized eagle feathers, incorrectly shaped crosses, an incorrectly shaped calument, wrong colors, or combinations of these and other errors. In 2005, an Oklahoma boy scout leader designing patches for a National Jamboree contingent was looking for an image of the Oklahoma state flag and noticed that there were multiple unauthorized designs of the Oklahoma state flag displayed on state government, historical, and educational websites. With some research he was able to identify the official design to use, but because of the prevalence of unauthorized designs, he contacted his state representative,^[8] and was the impetus to standardize the colors and shapes by Oklahoma Senate Bill 1359^[2] and signed into law by Governor Brad Henry on May 23, 2006, taking effect on November 1, 2006.^[2] A new specialty licensce plate honoring the first flag was authorized by the legislature and signed into law. A minimum of 100 pre-orders were required and fulfilled. ^[9]

Flag of the Governor

Standard of the Governor of Oklahoma

According to a statute adopted in 1957, the flag of the governor of Oklahoma consists of a forest green field, fringed in gold, charged with the state seal surrounded by a pentagram of five white stars.^[10]

See also

• Flags of the U.S. states
• History of the flags of the United States
• State of Oklahoma
• Symbols of the state of Oklahoma
• Great Seal of the state of Oklahoma

References

Further reading

• Hickam, Mrs. Andrew R., "The State Flag of Oklahoma", Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 9, No. 1 (March, 1931), pp. 10–11.

External links

• Oklahoma (U.S.) at Flags of the World

State of Oklahoma
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