The Doug flag, also referred to as the Cascadian flag or the Cascadia Doug flag and nicknamed "Old Doug" Note: Reprinted by the

Discovery Institute The Discovery Institute (DI) is a politically conservative non-profit think tank based in Seattle, Washington, that advocates the pseudoscientific concept Article available froUniversiteit Gent/ref> of intelligent design (ID). It was found ...

. or simply "the Doug", is one of the primary symbols and an unofficial flag of the Cascadia bioregion, which roughly encompasses the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

s of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...

and Washington, the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three pr ...

of British Columbia, and other parts of North America's

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. It was designed by

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

native Alexander Baretich in the academic year of 1994–1995. It is named after the

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three ...

, featured on the flag.

Conception and description

The Doug flag was designed by

native Alexander Baretich in the academic year of 1994–1995. He recalled: According to the Cascadia Department of Bioregion, the flag symbolizes "the natural beauty and inspiration that the Pacific Northwest provides, and is a direct representation of the bioregion". The flag is a tricolor consisting of three horizontal stripes of blue, white, and green, charged with a single

tree in the center. The blue stripe represents the sky,

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

and

Salish Sea , image = PNW-straits.jpg , alt = , caption = The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower ri ...

, as well as the myriad of rivers in the bioregion including the Columbia, the Snake, and Fraser Rivers. The white represents clouds and snow and the green represents the region's countless fields and evergreen forests. The tree symbolizes "endurance, defiance and resilience against fire, flood, catastrophic change, and ever increasingly against the anthropocentric man". According to Baretich and CascadiaNow!, "all these symbols of color and images come together to symbolize what being Cascadian is all about."

Usage

The Cascadian Flag is copyrighted by Alexander Baretich and his company the Cascadian Flag Cooperative, Inc. Their permission should be obtained before any use. Since its inception, Baretich's design has gained popularity and earned status as the unofficial flag of Cascadia. In 2014, Kelton Sears of

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...

said the flag "has quickly become the dominant symbol of the nascent Cascadian identity", appearing on microbreweries' beer labels and at local events, including

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

games,

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sh ...

parades,

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

protests, and activities affiliated with the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed prim ...

. The flag appears on boxes of beer from Phillips Brewing in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

. The

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

-based folk band

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), C ...

included the flag on the back of their 2011 studio album ''

Helplessness Blues ''Helplessness Blues'' is the second studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on May 3, 2011, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. The album received universal acclaim from critics, going on to be nominated for Best Folk Album for the 54th Gram ...

''. In 2015, Baretich expressed his hope that his designs "would not be used for hate, exploitation, and anything that goes against the values or principles of bioregionalism". Furthermore, he said, "In seeking out a bioregional flag, I believe that it's the bioregion that captures the artist—not the artist capturing the bioregion." The flag featured as part of

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

's 2021–2022 home jersey, being displayed on the back near the neckline.

References

External links

Oh, Cascadia!… What Are You, Exactly?
by Sally McCoy (September 26, 2013), ''The Corvallis Advocate''
The Cascadian Flag: A Transformative Icon
by Alexander Baretich (November 10, 2014), Free Cascadia
Bioregion of Cascadia
Oregon Flag Registry
CascadiaNow! advocates shift in culture, not secession
by Alicia Halberg (May 24, 2012), ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington s ...

''
The Washington State Flag Sucks
by Kelton Sears (August 26, 2014), ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

''
Solidarity! Cascadia Around Town
by Brianna Brey (January 24, 2013), ''The Source Weekly'' {{Portal bar, Canada, Heraldry, Oregon, United States, Visual arts 1994 establishments in the United States Activism flags Canada–United States relations Culture of British Columbia Culture of the Pacific Northwest Flags introduced in 1994 Separatism in Canada Separatism in the United States Unofficial flags

Conception and description

Usage

See also

References

External links