Flag of Alaska

The flag of Alaska consists of eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a dark blue field.

It was designed in 1927 by Benny Benson, a 13-year-old Alaska Native residing in Seward, for a contest to create a flag for the then-Alaska Territory. Up to that time, Alaskans had flown only the U.S. flag since the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867. Benson's design was chosen over roughly 700 other submissions from schoolchildren territory-wide in grades 7–12. Most other entries featured variations on the territorial seal, the midnight sun, the northern lights, polar bears, and/or gold pans. To celebrate his achievement, Benson was awarded $1,000 and an engraved watch. Benny looked to the sky for the symbols he included in his design, and he submitted this description with it:

“ The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly in the union. The Dipper is for the Great Bear—symbolizing strength. ”

The Big Dipper is an asterism in the constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska.

The Alaska Legislature adopted Benson's design as the official flag for the Territory of Alaska on May 2, 1927. The first flag made based on Benny's design was made of blue silk and appliquéd gold stars, and was inaugurally flown July 9, 1927. It was retained as the state flag upon statehood in 1959.

The flag's symbolism is described in the state song, "Alaska's Flag".

Alaska Flag Song Lyrics
Written by Marie Drake
Composed by Elinor Dusenbury

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue -
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.

Sterling Silver Charm of Alaska

State symbols

State Motto North to the Future
Nicknames "The Last Frontier" or "Land of the Midnight Sun"
State bird: Willow Ptarmigan, adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1955. It is a small (15-17 inches) Arctic grouse that lives among willows and on open tundra and muskeg. Plumage is brown in summer, changing to white in winter. The Willow Ptarmigan is common in much of Alaska.
State fish: King Salmon, adopted 1962.
State flower: wild/native Forget-Me-Not, adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1917. It is a perennial that is found throughout Alaska, from Hyder to the Arctic Coast, and west to the Aleutians.
State fossil: Woolly Mammoth, adopted 1986.
State gem: Jade, adopted 1968.
State insect: Four-spot skimmer dragonfly, adopted 1995.

State land mammal: Moose, adopted 1998.
State marine mammal: Bowhead Whale, adopted 1983.
State mineral: Gold, adopted 1968.
State song: "Alaska's Flag"
State sport: Dog Mushing, adopted 1972.
State tree: Sitka Spruce, adopted 1962.
State soil: Estelle, adopted unknown.

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