Navajo Nation
Flag of the Navajo Nation
UseNational flag and ensign
Proportion3:5
Adopted1968 (1968)
DesignLarge Rainbow compassing the Flag, four Mountains one White, Blue, Yellow and Black; Navajo Reservation outline in Copper Orange.

The flag of the Navajo Nation is the official flag of the Navajo Nation, a Native American governed nation in the Four Corners states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.[1]

History

The first Navajo tribal flag as adopted by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1968

On 21 May 1968, the flag was adopted for the Navajo Nation, a reservation in the Southwestern United States. This flag was designed by Jay R. Degroat, a student from Mariano Lake, New Mexico and was initially selected from 140 entries for the Navajo Flag Competition. It incorporates elements of the tribal seal designed by Amos Frank Singer and John Claw, Jr. adopted earlier, on 18 January 1952.

The North American Vexillological Association listed the Navajo flag in its book Good Flag, Bad Flag under the description: "Over 20 graphic elements overwhelm the viewer and none are large enough to be seen easily."[2]

Description

The Navajo flag flying
A map of the Navajo Nation, with territories in three states, is featured prominently on the nation's flag. The Hopi Reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo Nation.
A variant flag of Navajo Nation

On a field of Navajo white (pale buff, tan, or copper field, sources differ), four sacred mountains of four different colors (black, white, turquoise, and yellow from the Navajo creation story) surround the center element of the flag, a map of the Navajo Nation with a white disk in the center that features elements from the Navajo tribal seal.[1] The overall flag recalls sand painting, an art form used by the Navajos.

A rainbow symbolizing Navajo sovereignty appears over the main design.[3]

In 1995, the Navajo flag became the first Native American tribal flag in space when Bernard Harris carried it aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Navajo Nation Government | Seal & Flag". dine.sanjuan.k12.ut.us. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ "GOOD FLAG, BAD FLAG: How to Design a Great Flag" (PDF). North American Vexillological Association. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Navajo Nation - History". Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
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