Flag of Nebraska

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State of Nebraska
Flag of Nebraska.svg
Use Civil and state flag FIAV 110000.svg FIAV normal.svg IFIS Mirror.svg
Proportion3:5
AdoptedApril 2, 1925 (banner design standardization)
July 16, 1963 (as official state flag)
DesignA state seal in gold on an azure field.
Designed byFlorence Hazen Miller [1] [2]

The flag of the U.S. state of Nebraska, was adopted in 1925. It features a blue field with the Nebraskan state seal at its center, rendered in gold and silver colors. The flag was adopted following the introduction of a bill by Representative J. Lloyd McMaster in the Nebraska House of Representatives. [3]

Contents

In 1925, the legislature ratified the design as a state banner. It was officially designated as the state flag in 1963, making Nebraska one of the last states to adopt an official flag. [4]

Official description

State law regulates the design of the Nebraska state flag, specifying its official form as follows:

A reproduction of the great seal of the state, charged on the center in gold and silver on a field of national blue. [3]

Design of the seal

The Nebraska state seal was formally adopted in 1867. It features several symbols: a steamboat ascending the Missouri River; the mechanical arts, represented by a blacksmith with hammer and anvil; agriculture, represented by a settler’s cabin, sheaves of wheat, and stalks of growing corn; and a train of railroad cars heading toward the Rocky Mountains. At the top of the seal is Nebraska’s state motto: 'Equality Before the Law'.

History

An example of an unofficial state banner on a field of yellow; this design was sometimes used from 1917 until the blue background became official in 1925. NebraskaFlag(1917-April 2,1925,unofficial).png
An example of an unofficial state banner on a field of yellow; this design was sometimes used from 1917 until the blue background became official in 1925.
Digital reconstruction of the 4th Nebraska Infantry Regimental flag, 1916. 4th Nebraska Infantry Regimental Flag (1916).png
Digital reconstruction of the 4th Nebraska Infantry Regimental flag, 1916.

The Nebraska state flag was officially adopted in 1925. However, the state seal, which appears on the flag, was designed in 1867 and had already appeared on unofficial state banners prior to 1925, sometimes on a yellow field. [3] For instance, in 1916, the people of Lincoln presented the 4th Nebraska Infantry with a new regimental flag to replace their old one. This flag featured a blue field with the state seal in the center and the inscription “4th Nebraska Infantry” beneath it. [5] [6]

The first known references to a state flag appeared in 1896, with another mention occurring in 1906. [7] [8] Both designs are unknown.

Attempts to change the flag

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) surveyed its members on the designs of 72 flags from U.S. states, U.S. territories, and Canadian provinces. Nebraska's flag was rated 71st, or as the second worst. [9] [10]

Following the publication of the survey results, in 2002 the Nebraska Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee considered a bill to create a commission to propose new flag designs to the Legislature. [11] However, the flag was not changed.

In 2017, State Senator Burke Harr proposed a task force charged with redesigning the flag, citing an incident in which the flag had flown upside down at the state capitol for ten days without anyone noticing. Harr hoped for a redesign in time for the State's 150th anniversary. [12] The State Senate committee ultimately declined to take action. [13] [14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Florence Hazen Miller, 1879-1964". Archived from the original on June 21, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Flashback Friday: The Fight over Nebraska's State Seal and Flag". 29 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "State Flag". History Nebraska. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, Flag Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 Omaha daily bee, June 30, 1916, p.1
  6. 1 2 The North Platte semi-weekly tribune, November 10, 1916, p.2
  7. ↑ "The Rocky Mountain News (Daily) July 18, 1896 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection". www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  8. ↑ Columbus Gazette, September 6th, 1906
  9. ↑ Edward B. Kaye (10 June 2001). "2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey" (PDF). nava.org. North American Vexillological Association.
  10. ↑ Edward B. Kaye (2001). ""Good Flag, Bad Flag, and the Great NAVA Flag Survey of 2001". Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 8: 11–38. doi:10.5840/raven200182.
  11. ↑ Sarah Fox (31 January 2002). "Senators debate designing a new Nebraska flag". Daily Nebraskan.
  12. ↑ Nohr, Emily (31 January 2017). "Nebraska flag flew upside down at Capitol for 10 days and 'nobody noticed,' says senator who wants design change"". Omaha World-Herald.
  13. ↑ Reid Wilson (1 February 2017). "Flag hangs upside down at Nebraska Capitol for 10 days". The Hill.
  14. ↑ "Nebraska needs new flag after flying it upside down for 10 days, politician says". The Guardian. 1 February 2017.
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