Catalog

Year Adopted: 1925.

Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907.

Most of the land that is now Oklahoma was acquired by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In the 1830s, the U.S. used the land to relocate Indian tribes, and the Indian Territory was formed from the land set aside by the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. The Indian Territory originally extended beyond present-day Oklahoma, but the size was gradually reduced over the course of the 19th century. In 1889 Congress authorized the opening land seized from the Indian Territory for homestead settlement, and a year later Congress passed an act that officially created the Oklahoma Territory (1890). (ref: National Archives, archives.gov)

The present Oklahoma State Flag, adopted by the State Legislature in 1925, is Oklahoma's 14th flag. The flag shows a sky blue field with a central device: an Indian war shield of tan buckskin showing small crosses on the face -- the Indian design for stars -- and seven eagle feathers pendent for the edge of the shield. An Indian peace pipe (calumet) with a pipestone bowl and a tassel at the end of the pipestem lies on the shield; above the Indian peace pipe is an olive branch, the white man's emblem of peace. Underneath the shield or design in white letters is the word "OKLAHOMA" (ref: state.ok.us, Oklahoma State Icons)