in 2007. The 2024 Oklahoma Statutes, Title 25, §25-91, defines that the state flag shall be: It is further specified that:
Colors The law defining the flag's design (25 OK Stat § 91) also defines its colors as: ==History==
Territorial flag (late-1800s) Accounting to the
The Guthrie daily leader in 1899, during Governor's C. M. Barnes speech to territorial legislature he mention that the National Guard carried with them a territorial banner bearing the territory's seal on it.
First flag (1911–1925) 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. It was designed by
Ruth Dickinson Clement, a founder of the state branch of the Daughters of the Confederacy.
Current flag (1925–present) A contest, sponsored by the
Daughters of the American Revolution, was held in 1924 to replace the state flag, as
red flags were closely associated with the
red flag of
communism. The winning entry by DAR member
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 as part of an effort to combat widespread illiteracy, although there is no evidence the change to the flag played any significant role in such. 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, and was the impetus to standardize the colors and shapes by Oklahoma Senate Bill 1359 and signed into law by Governor
Brad Henry on May 23, 2006, taking effect on November 1, 2006. 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. 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. 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. 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. ==Display and use==