''Alis volat propriis'' is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase used as the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

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 sove ...

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. T ...

. The official English version of the motto is "She flies with her own wings" in keeping with the tradition of considering countries and territories to be feminine. However, because the feminine pronoun in the Latin sentences is often omitted and the verb form is not inflected for gender, the phrase could be translated with equal validity as " neflies with ne'sown wings", " eflies with isown wings", or " tflies with tsown wings". If macrons are used to indicate the long vowels (standard practice in Latin dictionaries and textbooks), then the phrase becomes ''Ālīs volat propriīs''. The motto was written in English by the judge Jesse Quinn Thornton, and its Latin translation was added to the Territorial Seal adopted by the

Oregon Territorial Legislature Oregon's Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory. The upper chamber Council and lower chamber House of Representati ...

in 1854. The motto referred to the May 2, 1843, vote by Oregon Country settlers at the third Champoeg Meeting to form a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

independent of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

of 1861 to 1865 the motto on the state seal was changed to " The Union."Lansing, Ronald B. 2005. ''Nimrod: Courts, Claims, and Killing on the Oregon Frontier''. Pullman:

Washington State University Press Washington State University Press (or WSU Press) is a List of university presses, university press that is part of Washington State University. External linksWashington State University Press
Washington State University, Washington State ...

. p. 90, 136-40, 262. In 1957, the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the ...

officially changed the motto to "The Union" reflecting conflicting views about slavery in Oregon's early days. In 1987, the legislature readopted the original motto, which it felt better reflected Oregon's independent spirit. The sponsors of the bill that changed the motto back to ''alis volat propriis'' included the Oregon Secretary of State and later

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Barbara Roberts Barbara Kay Roberts (née Hughey; born December 21, 1936) is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first woman to serve as Oregon governo ...

, President of the Oregon Senate Jason Boe, and Senate historian Cecil Edwards. In 1999, after a short debate in committee, the Oregon House of Representatives took a vote on HB 2269, which would revert the state motto to "The Union". The bill failed to pass on a 30-30 tie vote. The current

Oregon State Seal The Seal of the State of Oregon is the official seal of the U.S. state of Oregon. It was designed by Harvey Gordon in 1857, two years before Oregon was admitted to the Union. The seal was preceded by the Salmon Seal of the Provisional Government ...

, which appears on the obverse of the

state flag In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division). Government flag A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasi ...

, still features the motto "The Union."

In popular culture

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

, a member of the National Women's Soccer League, has adopted the motto and used it on their website and occasionally on merchandise. A trade paperback collection of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

's '' Captain Marvel'' published in 2015 is titled ''Alis Volat Propriis''. The book's author,

Kelly Sue DeConnick Kelly Sue DeConnick (born July 15, 1970) is an award-winning American comic book writer and editor and English–language adapter of manga. Career Kelly Sue DeConnick was first introduced to the comics industry by writing copy for photos in adu ...

, is a resident of Oregon. In the third installment of the BioShock video game series,

BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. The third installment in the BioShock (series), ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the Microsoft Window ...

, the phrase appears on a metal plate in the early 20th century-style dystopia, Columbia, set within the paving stones on the side of the main street.

References

{{Reflist Latin mottos State mottos of the United States Symbols of Oregon