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Commemorating 100 Years of the Oklahoma State Flag
April 2, 3 p.m.
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Join the Oklahoma Historical Society on Wednesday, April 2, at 3 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center to commemorate 100 years of the Oklahoma state flag, which was first adopted on April 2, 1925. The current flag was designed by artist Louise Fluke, who won a statewide contest hosted by the Oklahoma Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The flag features an Osage war shield on a blue background. An olive branch and calumet lay across the shield, with seven eagle feathers adorning the bottom edge.
The event will include speeches or presentations by Geoffrey Standing Bear, principal chief of the Osage Nation; Matt Pinnell, lieutenant governor of Oklahoma; Trait Thompson, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, Sue Allen, honorary state regent of the Oklahoma Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; and Nancy Williams, volunteer at Centenarians of Oklahoma.
The 145th Army Band will be performing patriotic music as guests arrive and students from Oklahoma City University will be performing the “Oklahoma!,” the state song, at the event. A small exhibit will showcase some items in the OHS collections related to the flag. Cake and refreshments will be provided. Admission to the Oklahoma History Center Museum will be free from 2:30-5 p.m. on the day of the event.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is needed. The Oklahoma History Center is located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City.
This event is sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Society Daughters of the American Revolution Oklahoma City Chapter in honor of the late Josephine Sperry Hickam. Hickam was an Oklahoma State Regent from 1925 to 1929 and an Oklahoma City Chapter Regent from 1919 to 1924.
Did you know?
One hundred years ago, on April 2, 1925, the state adopted a new flag design featuring an Osage shield on a blue background. An 1890s bison hide war shield belonging to Chief Black Dog II in the Oklahoma Historical Society’s collections was the inspiration for our current flag. The artifact has six crosses representing stars painted on one side of the shield, depicting the night sky. The other side of the shield represents the sun. Hanging eagle feathers are attached to its outer rim. The artifact inspired artist Louise Funk Fluke when she was creating her entry for a statewide contest held by the Oklahoma Daughters of the American Revolution for a new design of Oklahoma’s state flag. She studied Oklahoma history, examined various artifacts, and consulted with Dr. Joseph B. Thoburn of the OHS. She ultimately decided to make the Osage shield central to her design. Fluke won the contest, and the state officially adopted the design in 1925. In 1941, the word “Oklahoma” was added beneath the shield, and a 1988 resolution defined the colors for the background, shield, feathers, crosses, and calumet.
No state flag was designed when Oklahoma was admitted to the Union on November 16, 1907. The first flag of Oklahoma was adopted in 1911. Its design had a red field and the number “46” set in the center of the design within a white star insignia.
