The Choctaw Nation Flag

The Native Spirit Center is pleased to display the Choctaw Nation Flag and tell its story.

The Choctaw of Oklahoma were the first of the five "Civilized Tribes" to reluctantly accept expulsion from their native lands in what is now the southern halves of the states of Mississippi and Alabama and move to Oklahoma (ENAT, 61-63). Although their history included a long alliance with the government of the United States and they even served under then Gen. Andrew Jackson, when time came to move the Choctaw westward, they received no consideration from the government.

As part of the "Trail of Tears" the Choctaw lost almost twenty five percent of their people to disease, starvation and predatory whites during the long march from the southeast to Oklahoma. Once there, they quickly reorganized their tribal government even though more died after arrival. The ravages of disease and starvation continued but were now compounded by attacks from hostile western Indians.

When the United States Civil War broke out in 1860 the Choctaw, as well as most of the Indians forced into the Indian Territory, sided with the Confederacy. It is during this alliance that the Choctaw became the first United States tribe to adopt a flag. That flag is documented in Dr. Whitney Smith's "Flag Book of the United States" (FBUS, 256-258) as a light blue flag bearing a red circle in the center that is edged in white. Within the red circle are a calumet, or peace pipe, a bow and three arrows representing the three subdivisions of the Choctaw Nation. These subdivisions are named for three chiefs of the Choctaw, They were Apuckshenubbee, Pushamataha and Mosholatubbee ("The Great Seal of the Choctaw Nation", The Oklahoma Chronicles, XXXIII:4, Winter 1955- 56, 357-358). That design is the basis of the national seal of the Choctaw to this very day.

A variation of the flag depicted in Dr. Smith's book appeared in"Emblem's of Southern Valor" (Joseph H. Crute, "Emblems of Southern Valor, [Louisville, KY: Harmony House, 1990], 108-109), a book by Joseph Crute published in 1990. The variation shown in that book is currently unattributed to any specific unit of the Choctaw forces in the Confederacy. It does exist in the Oklahoma Historical Society and is not the one reproduced in Dr. Smith's book. That the flag drawn in Mr. Chute's book contains two arrows, not one would lead one to suspect that it might be associated within the 2nd regiment of the Choctaw Cavalry, but Mr. Chute reports that the Choctaw's 2,000 volunteers formed the 1st and 3rd regiments. No mention is given to a 2nd regiment.

The first flag, mentioned by Dr. Smith now exists solely as a replica in the Oklahoma Historical Museum in Oklahoma City. Its use was only during the period1861- 1864, but it has continued to inspire flags for the Choctaw in Oklahoma. In the 1970s, Paramount Flag Co. of San Francisco, according to its files, filled an order for the Choctaw Nation for new flags.

This 1970s reincarnation of the Choctaw flag followed exactly the pattern shown in Dr. Smith's book, but drastically altered the colors. The field of the flag became dark red, similar to that seen in Latvian and Georgian flags. The ring around the central disc became light blue while the central disc changed to a deep yellow. The bow, arrows and peace pipe appeared in natural colors. It is not known when this flag came into use, nor when it was replaced.

It is known, however, that the Choctaw flag of the 1970s was replaced. The current flag (Sample flag provided by the Choctaw Nation, Durant, OK) follows the basic design of the preceding two, but adds more detail. The inner circle remains deep yellow, but the calumet and bow and arrows are now white edged in black. For the first time, the peace pipe shows black smoke coming from it. The light blue ring now is edged by two cords, a very narrow inner one and a wider outer one. Both cords appear in light green. The blue ring now bears a legend in black "The Great Seal of the Choctaw Nation". Finally, the deep red field has been changed into a purple color.

This flag seems to have been inspired by the drawing of the Choctaw flag "carried by the Choctaw Confederate Troops" as depicted in the 1958 sheet from the Oklahoma Historical Society entitled "Fourteen Flags Over Oklahoma" ("Official Seals of the Five Civilized Tribes", The Oklahoma Chronicles, XVIII:4, Dec., 1940, 430-431). It is also similar to one shown in old postcards depicting the "Flags of the Five Civilized Tribes" based upon gift flags form the state of Alabama. This set of flags was created in 1940 to honor the tribes that once lived in Alabama. After being displayed at the statehouse in Montgomery, they were given as gifts to the five nations. All five flags were white with full color reproductions of the pertinent seal. The postcard, however shows the flag as a bluish-purple, possibly from aging ("Fourteen Flags Plaza", Oklahoma Today, Summer 1968, 14-16). This flag, it should be noted, is the only other one that includes the writing around the seal.

One theory for the evolution of the Choctaw flag is a reverence for or dependence upon the original Choctaw flag for the design of current flags. What most people outside of the flag manufacturing business and vexillological circles never realize is the impact of light and time upon fabric. Blue dyes tend to age and in the process the color fastness of the dye is lost. A blue will slowly transform into a maroon and then into a purple. White will yellow with age and red will fade to a purple and eventually a pale blue. It is possible that the variations seen in the flag of the Choctaw people has been a recognition of the vagaries of time upon fabric and an intent by the Choctaw to continue with the exact design left to them by their ancestors. If so, it is a great example of the sanctity of the past in the culture of the modern Native American.

Special thanks to Dr. Whitney Smith of the Flag Research Center, Winchester, MA for providing much of the historical documentation on the Choctaw flag.

With the appearance of this new flag, the Choctaw Nation is one of the very few Native American peoples to have a traceable vexillological history. It is one that maintains a basic design for almost 150 years, but shows evolution and adaptation much like the Choctaw people themselves.

The Choctaw Nation sells copies of its flag. You may contact them at Choctaw Tribal Council, P.O. Drawer 1210, Durant, OK 74701 or (580) 924-8280
Source: Don Healy

The Cherokee Nation Flag

The Native Spirit Center is pleased to display the Cherokee Nation Flag and tell its story.

The Cherokee people are located in two distinct regions representing their history under the United States. The Eastern Band of Cherokee are located in North Carolina and Tennessee, the traditional homeland of the people who call themselves "Ani Yun Wiya" or "Real People"(ENAT, 43-48). The term Cherokee was probably given to them by their neighbors in the southeast, the Creeks. The Creeks called them "Tciloki", meaning "people of a different speech".

The modern Cherokee nation has more enrolled members than any other in the United States. The 1990 census showed around 400,000 Cherokees living in the country. The Navajo, however are considered the largest tribe by many since the Western Cherokee recognize any one who has even the smallest part Cherokee in their heritage to be a Western Cherokee. The Western Cherokee philosophy is that even the smallest drop of Cherokee blood makes one a Cherokee. Most other tribes, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee, require an individual to prove to be at least one quarter or one sixteenth descended from an individual member of a particular tribe to be eligible for membership.

The major component of the Cherokee nation is found in Oklahoma. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which evicted all Indians in the southeastern United States to what is now Oklahoma. At the time of this act, the Cherokee were an advanced nation having built towns and cities, having a written constitution and even printing their own newspapers in the Cherokee language. The Cherokee had been interacting with the United States government for quite some time on a true government to government relationship. Part of the fear that caused the move was that the Cherokee would actually take steps to become a truly independent nation on the western boundaries of the United States. The primary motivation, however, was greed. The whites in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama desired the lands of the Cherokee. The United States military had the might to grant the whites their wish.

The eviction of the Cherokee people and their relocation to Oklahoma has become known as the "Trail of Tears". The military did not care for the Cherokees in any way during the migration. The forced move was accompanied by disease, harsh weather, starvation and attacks by marauding whites. Over 4,000 Cherokee died on the road to Oklahoma. Every year, the "Trail of Tears'" is recalled in a pageant and remembrance ceremony in the Cherokee capital of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The government's treatment of the Cherokee and other tribes in the 1830s bore bitter fruit thirty years later when all five of the "Civilized Tribes", that is the Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Muskogee or Creek, and the Seminole signed treaties with the Confederate States of America and fought in the war against the Union. The earliest fully documented Cherokee flag is that of the Cherokee Braves. This flag was presented to principal chief John Ross on October 7, 1861 by the Confederate Indian Commissioner, Albert Pike. A similar flag has been attributed to the First Cherokee Mounted Rifles, possibly pointing to the base design as a de facto national flag for the Cherokee Nation (Devereaux D. Cannon Jr., The Flags of the Confederacy, An Illustrated History, [Memphis, TN : St. Luke's Press & Broadfoot Publishing, 1988], 64). This flag was the standard design of the first Confederate national flag, three horizontal stripes of red over white over red bearing a blue canton upon which a ring of eleven white stars appeared. The standard flag was modified for use by the Cherokees by the addition of a large red star in the center of the ring and that was surrounded by four smaller red stars. The five additional stars stood for the five "Civilized Tribes", while the large one specifically referred to the Cherokees. In red letters on the white stripe appeard the words "Cherokee Braves". This flag, employing black lettering is used today by the unrecognized "Southern Cherokee Nation" based in Georgia (note: this is not the same as the state recognized Chrokee of Georgia which employ a distinctive flag of their own).

 

In Dr. Whitney Smith's "The Flag Book of the United States"(FBUS, 254-255), the Cherokee are reported to have a white flag bearing seven red seven pointed stars. This flag, which has been called a "peace flag" was known to have been used in the ceremonies of the Cherokee to celebrate their national holiday on Sept. 7, 1968. The Cherokee Peace Flag is symbolic in both color and design. The red stars stand for victory and success, while the white background represents peace and happiness. The seven points of each star recall the seven clans of the Cherokee people. The stars are arranged in the pattern of the constellation "Yonegwa", known to the white man as the Great Bear or Big Dipper. According to Cherokee history, the peace flag was carried by the Cherokee from their traditional home to the Indian Territory along the "Trail of Tears". Before that journey began, the Cherokee War Flag, was buried with a hatchet. The "War Flag" was red and bore the Big Dipper in white according to tribal sources. This counter changing of red and white for war and peace is a common design element in many eastewrn tribes.

As of March 1998, the government of the Cherokee of Oklahoma is considering bringing back the "Peace flag" with some design modifications. Added to the fly would be a black star for those having died on the "Trail of Tears" while a blue star may be added for the bright future.

The western Cherokee based in Oklahoma have an orange flag. This flag bears their tribal seal (ANNIN) in the center. A single seven pointed star, each point divided in half, one side yellow, the other orange.

This star recalls the seven original clans of the Cherokee people. This is surrounded by a oak wreath depicted in orange and green. The oak symbolizes the sacred eternal fire which was kindled from oak wood. All this lies on a grey circle. Ringing this central circle is an orange band bearing the phrase "Seal of the Cherokee Nation" in both English and Cherokee script. In the Cherokee language, it is pronounced "Tsa la gi yi A ye hli", meaning "The Cherokee Nation"(postcard, "Seal of the Cherokee Nation"). That script, it should be noted, was the invention of the great Cherokee chief, Sequoyah. It was the first Indian language to be put in written form. At the base of the orange ring is the date Sept. 6, 1839, the date of the constitution of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

Beyond the seal is a ring of seven yellow seven pointed stars, again recalling the seven original clans. These stars also recall the seven holidays in the Cherokee Life cycle and the seven sacred rites in the Cherokee's native religion. The stars are arranged so that each has one point aiming toward the central seal.

Edging the entire flag is a border of green and black diagonal stripes similar to the rope-like border frequently found around a seal .

The flag was designed by Mr. Stanley John(Cherokee Advocate, 8/78), a full blooded Navajo and husband to a member of the Cherokee nation. It was approved by the Tribal Council on October 9, 1978 and officially raised over the Tribal headquarters on September 30, 1979(Cherokee Advocate 9/79).

As the result of a resolution passed by the Cherokee Council on September 9, 1989, the flag of the Cherokee Nation was altered(Cherokee Council Resolution #73-89, Sept. 9, 1989). To the upper fly corner was added a single black seven pointed star(Sample flag provided by the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK). This star is a constant reminder of those Cherokee who lost their lives during the terrible ordeal recalled each year in Tahlequah, the "Trail of Tears".

Special thanks to Devereaux Cannon for supplying detailed information concerning the Cherokee flag changes.

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma sells copies of its flag. The Gift Shop sells both small and large versions. A large one is $69.98 while a small one is $7.98. You can call the gift shop at (918) 456-2793 or 1-800-256-2123.

You may write the Cherokee Nation at: Cherokee Tribal Council, P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465 or phone (918) 456-0671.

Source: Don Healy 

Tribal flags

The Native Spirit Center proudly displays the flags of the Native Tribes.  Out intention is to represent  many tribes and tell a story related to each flag.  A highly recommended source for Native American flags can be found within a the book Native American Flags - a compendium of over 190 tribal flags and flags of tribal associations. The culmination of two decades of research into the flags of America's first peoples! Over 190 color images on sixteen color plates and two hundred more in black-and-white! The book is now available from either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.

 

 

  

 

Native Counsel Discussion Circle

The Native Spirit Center is pleased to introduce our new Native Counsel discussion circle.

A council circle is a distinctive feature at the center of some tribal communities in North America. The historical function of the council circles is debated. Some suggest that the talking circles are ceremonial, and others support a hypothesis that they were places for political discussion that suggest aboriginal democracy.

In current use, the council circle is often synonymous with the talking circle, and is a means of group communication that promotes input from all the members. A talking stick, or other significant or impromptu object, is passed around the circle, and only the circle member holding the stick is allowed to speak, though he or she may allow others to interject.

Talking sticks in the context of the council circle may have been used pre-historically by indigenous peoples to create egalitarian forums. From photographs, we know that some talking sticks were very tall, suggesting that circle participants would have stood when speaking.

Library

The Native Spirit Center is pleased to introduce our new library. A source for study and reflection of Native Spirit.