The flag of South Dakota represents 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 sover ...
of
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
. It consists of a field of sky blue charged with a version (in navy blue on white) of the
state seal in the center, surrounded by gold triangles representing the sun's rays, surrounded in turn by inscriptions in gold sans-serif capitals of "" on top and "" (the state nickname) on the bottom. The sun represents the common weather in South Dakota. The inscription on the bottom was "" before it was changed in 1992.
Flag pledge
The official pledge of the South Dakota flag is "I pledge loyalty and support to the flag and state of South Dakota, land of sunshine, land of infinite variety." The only protocol to the state flag pledge is that it does not either replace or preempt the
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...
to the
flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...
.
Original flag
The original flag of South Dakota consisted of a dominant sun encircled by the text "South Dakota" and "The Sunshine State". The 1909 statute stated:
Unsuccessful 2012 flag proposal
In January 2012, Representative
Bernie Hunhoff
Bernie P. Hunhoff (born September 5, 1951 in South Dakota) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the South Dakota Senate representing District 18 from 1993 to 1999 and 2015 to 2017. Hunhoff was also a member of the South Da ...
sponsored a bill to adopt a new design for the state flag based on artwork by
Dick Termes
Dick Termes is an American artist who uses a six-point perspective system that he devised to create unique paintings on large spheres called Termespheres. He is the world's leading spherical artist. In 2014, Dick was inducted into the South D ...
of
Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish (Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...
. Hunhoff introduced the bill on January 25, 2012; it was referred to the State Affairs committee.
On February 6,
the bill was amended to create the South Dakota State Flag Commission, which would have solicited submissions from the public for new flag designs and selected one to be considered by the 2013 legislature as the new state flag. Immediately after being amended, the bill was "deferred to the 41st legislative day".
Since the South Dakota legislative session is only 40 days long, this type of deferral effectively kills legislation.
See also
*
State of South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large portio ...
*
Symbols of the State of South Dakota
*
Great Seal of the State of South Dakota
The Great Seal of the State of South Dakota was designed while the area was a territory, in 1885. The outer ring of the seal contains the text "State of South Dakota" on the top and "Great Seal" on the bottom. Also, the year of statehood was 1889 ...
References
External links
Signs and Symbols of South Dakota*
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Dakota, Flag of
Flags of South Dakota
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
Flags displaying animals