flag of Oklahoma

{{Infobox flag

| Name = Oklahoma

| Image = Flag of Oklahoma.svg

| Alt = Flag of Oklahoma

| Nickname = Oklahoma flag

| Morenicks = Native America's flag

| Use = 110000

| Symbol = {{FIAV|110000}}{{FIAV|Normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}{{FIAV|Vertical normal}}

| Proportion = {{ratio|2:3}}

| Adoption = {{Start date and age|1925|04|02}} (original version)
{{Start date and age|2006|11|01}} (standardized version)

| Design = A rectangular field of light blue on which is placed an Osage war shield with six crosses and seven pendant eagle feathers above the word 'Oklahoma' in white. Superimposed onto the crosses of the war shield is a calumet and an olive branch.

| Designer = Louise Fluke

| Type =

}}

The flag of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, also known as the Oklahoma flag, is a rectangular field of sky blue on which is placed an Osage war shield with six crosses and seven pendant eagle feathers above the name of the state in a white Eurostile text in all capitals. Superimposed onto the crosses of the war shield is a calumet (peace pipe) and an olive branch.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Fluke, Louise Funk (1900–1986) |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |date= |last=Wilson |first=Linda D. |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |location=Oklahoma City |id=FL005 |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FL005 |access-date=October 2, 2023}}

==History==

File:Oklahomacapitolandflag.jpg in 2007.]]

Oklahoma's first flag was adopted in 1911, four years after statehood. 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.{{Cite web|url=http://thislandpress.com/2010/04/13/oklahomas-first-state-flag/|title=Oklahoma's First State Flag|date=April 13, 2010|access-date=2020-01-21}} It was designed by Ruth D. Clement, a founder of the state branch of the Daughters of the Confederacy.

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 the red flag of communism. The winning entry by Louise Fluke, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, 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{{Cite web|date=February 6, 2014|publisher=NState, LLC|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/ok_flag.htm|work=NetState|title=The Oklahoma State Flag|access-date=January 26, 2015|quote=Colors shall be colorfast and shall not bleed one into another. Added by Laws 1925, c. 234, p. 340, § 1. Amended by Laws 1941, p. 90, § 1; Laws 2006, c. 181, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2006.}} as part of an effort to combat widespread illiteracy,{{Cite web|url=http://genealogytrails.com/oka/Oklahomaflags.html|title = State of Oklahoma Genealogy Trails Data}} although there is no evidence the change to the flag played any significant role in such.

class="wikitable" style="margin:20px auto; text-align:center"

{| cellspacing=3 cellpadding=3

class="noresize"

| style="width:180px"|File:Flag of Oklahoma (1911–1925).svg

| style="width:180px"|File:Flag of Oklahoma (1925–1941).svg

| style="width:180px"|File:Flag of Oklahoma (1941–1988).svg

| style="width:180px"|File:Flag of Oklahoma (1988–2006).svg

style="vertical-align:top"

| State flag (1911–1925) {{FIAV|historical}}

| State flag (1925–1941) {{FIAV|historical}}

| State flag (1941–1988) {{FIAV|historical}}

| State flag (1988–2006) {{FIAV|historical}}

Design

{{Multiple image

|image1=Oklahoman state flag from postcard, 1961.jpg

|caption1={{FIAV|historical}} Oklahoman flag from 1961 with erroneous design

|image2=Oklahoma Bicentennial 13c 1976 issue.jpg

|caption2=The Oklahoma state flag as depicted in the 1976 bicentennial postage stamp series

}}

The official design of the flag of Oklahoma has remained the same since 1941, however, unauthorized 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 pipe, 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,Jim Lewis, Cherokee Area Council and was the impetus to standardize the colors and shapes by Oklahoma Senate Bill 1359{{cite web | url=http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=446099 |date=May 23, 2006| title=Enrolled Senate Bill No. 1359 | publisher=Oklahoma State Courts Network | access-date=January 26, 2015|quote=This act shall become effective November 1, 2006.}} and signed into law by Governor Brad Henry on May 23, 2006, taking effect on November 1, 2006.

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Oklahoma flag 39th.{{cite newsletter |author-first=Ted |author-last=Kaye |title=NEW MEXICO TOPS STATE/PROVINCIAL FLAGS SURVEY, GEORGIA LOSES BY WIDE MARGIN |magazine=NAVA News |publisher=North American Vexillological Association |volume=34 |number=2 Issue #170 |df=mdy-all |date=2001-06-10 |pages=4-5 |url=https://www.nava.org/docs.ashx?id=806240 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606033347/http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Design/State%26Provincial%20Survey%202001/surveyresults.htm |archive-date=2011-06-06 |access-date=2021-11-10}}

==Symbolism==

File:Flag of the Choctaw Brigade.svg flag (1860) {{FIAV|historical}}]]

The flag of Oklahoma is one of two U.S. state flags (along with New Mexico) to depict distinct Native American iconography.The Florida and Massachusetts flags contain state seals depicting Native people. The blue field represents devotion and loyalty. The shield surmounted by the pipe and olive branch represents defensive or protective warfare, showing a love of peace by a united people.[http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Oklahoma/stateFLAG.html State Symbols USA:Oklahoma State Flag.] Retrieved August 5, 2013. The flag of Oklahoma closely resembles the flag of the Choctaw Nation carried into battle by men of the Second Indian Brigade or "Choctaw Brigade" during the American Civil War.[http://www.tmealf.com/DH/choctaw.html "Don Healy's Native American Flags: Choctaw Nation."] Retrieved January 15, 2014. The Choctaw flag, a replica of which hung in the Oklahoma Historical Museum, having been described as a rectangular field of blue, on which was placed a large red circular war shield bordered by a band of white; superimposed upon the face of the shield was a white bow, two arrows, and tomahawk crossed at right angles.{{cite book | last=Cannon | first=Devereaux D. Jr. |year=2005 |title=The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History |location=Gretna |publisher=Pelican Publishing Company |orig-year=1st pub. St. Luke's Press:1988 |page=65 |isbn=978-1-565-54109-2 |oclc=1330349084}}

Display and use

In 2015, a new specialty license plate honoring the first flag was authorized by the legislature and signed into law. A minimum of 100 pre-orders were required and fulfilled.{{Cite web|url=http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-news/red-flag-new-specialty-plate-celebrates-oklahomas-first-flag-and-official-motto|title=RED FLAG: New specialty plate celebrates Oklahoma's first flag and official motto|date=2015-11-01|access-date=2016-09-06}} Later in 2024 the first flag license plate with the addition of Route 66 landmarks became the new standard Oklahoma license plate.