Flag of Hawaii

2025-10-05T19:46:48Z

2A0D:E487:141E:E0B9:0:0:1843:79FE:

{{Short description|U.S. state flag}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = Hawaii
| Article =
| Image = Flag of Hawaii.svg
| Alt = Flag of Hawaii
| Nickname = {{lang|haw|Ka Hae Hawai{{okina}}i}}
| Use = 110000
| Symbol = {{FIAV|110000}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Proportion = 1:2
| Adoption = {{Start date and age|1845|5|25}}
| Design = Eight alternating horizontal stripes of white, red, and blue, with the United Kingdom's Union Jack (ratio 4:7) in the canton.<ref name="Hawaii State Legislature">{{cite web |title=[§5–19] Description of the Hawaiian flag |url=https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol01_ch0001-0042f/hrs0005/hrs_0005-0019.htm |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=Hawaii State Legislature}}</ref>
}}

The '''Flag of Hawaii''' ({{langx|haw|Ka Hae Hawaiʻi}}), also known as the '''Hawaiian flag'''{{efn|Both the Hawaii State Constitution (article XV section 3)<ref>{{cite web |title=Article XV Section 3 State Flag |url=https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01_Ch0001-0042F/05-Const/CONST_0015-0003.htm |access-date=January 12, 2025 |website=Hawaii State Legislature}}</ref> and Hawaii state law<ref name="Hawaii State Legislature"/> refer to the flag as the 'Hawaiian flag'.}}, is the [[State flag|official flag]] of the U.S. state of [[Hawaii]]. It consists of a field of eight horizontal stripes, in the sequence of white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red, with a British [[Union Jack]] depicted as a [[Canton (flag)|canton]] in the upper-left corner. The flag has been in use since 1845.

==History==
===Before 1816===
Captain [[George Vancouver]] of the [[History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)|British Royal Navy]] visited the [[Hawaiian Islands]] on three occasions during his [[Vancouver Expedition|1791 to 1795 expedition]]. At this time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided among [[Ancient Hawaii|several warring chiefdoms]]. In February 1794, while at anchorage in [[Kealakekua Bay]] off the [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaiʻi island]], Vancouver reached a diplomatic agreement with the king (or ''[[aliʻi]])'' of that island, [[Kamehameha I|Kamehameha]], who would later unite all the Hawaiian islands and become the first ruler of the [[Hawaiian Kingdom|Kingdom of Hawaiʻi]]. Vancouver believed that the agreement reached meant Hawaiʻi island was being ceded to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], but historians have argued that the [[Native Hawaiians|Hawaiians]] saw the agreement as establishing a [[protectorate]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bown |first=Stephen R. |title=Madness, betrayal and the lash: the epic voyage of Captain George Vancouver |date=2008 |publisher=Douglas and McIntyre |isbn=978-1-55365-339-4 |location=Vancouver |pages=190–191}}</ref> After the proceedings on Vancouver's vessel, a British flag was presented, taken ashore and raised. The flag was either a [[Flag of Great Britain|British Union Jack]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=Flag of Hawaii {{!}} Meaning, History & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Hawaii |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="HealyOrenski2016">{{cite book| first1= Donald T. |last1= Healy| first2= Peter J.| last2= Orenski|title=Native American Flags|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzReCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA279|date=January 12, 2016|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-5575-3|page=279| via= Google Books}}</ref> or a [[Red Ensign]] as used by the Royal Navy, which features a Union Jack in the canton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Lynn |title=Hawaii |url=https://usflags.design/hawaii/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=US Flags [dot] Design |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2018-08-09 |title=The Story Of Hawaii - Story Of Hawaii Museum: 'THE HAWAIIAN FLAG' |url=https://storyofhawaiimuseum.com/the-story-of-hawaii/ |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=storyofhawaiimuseum.com |language=en-US}}</ref>{{efn|Vancouver's journal ambiguously describes the presented flag as "the British colours".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vancouver |first=George |title=A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World, Volume 3 |date=1798 |location=London |pages=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-hKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA56}}</ref> }} In 1801, the British Union Jack added a [[Saint Patrick's Cross]] when [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] joined with Great Britain in a political union. Both pre- and post-1801 versions of the Red Ensign served as the unofficial flag of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until 1816.<ref name="HealyOrenski2016" />

There is an unverified anecdote that, during the [[War of 1812]] (fought between the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] from 1812 to 1815), Kamehameha became aware of the nationalist meaning of flags. To avoid offending either side, he designed a new flag for his kingdom which combined elements of both the British Union Jack and [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|the flag of the United States]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Golovnin">{{Cite book |last=Golovnin |first=Vasily |url=https://archive.org/details/aroundworldonkam0000golo |title=Around the world on the Kamchatka, 1817–1819 |publisher=Hawaiian Historical Society |year=1979 |isbn=0824806409 |location=Honolulu}}</ref>{{rp|p=197}}

<gallery class="left" widths="180" heights="120">
File:Red Ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg|Red Ensign of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] (1707–1800)
File:Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg|[[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|Flag of the United States in 1815]] with 15 stars and stripes
</gallery>

===1816–1845===
[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg|thumb|200px|[[Flag of the East India Company]]]]
[[File:Flag of Hawaii (1816).svg|thumb|One version of the flag with a 1:2 canton and 9 stripes]]
In April 1816, Kamehameha purchased a [[brig]] from Scottish Captain [[Alexander Adams (sailor)|Alexander Adams]], and arranged for Adams to take command of the ship, which was renamed {{lang|haw|Kaʻahumanu}} after [[Kaʻahumanu|the wife of Kamehameha]]. As part of the transfer ceremony, Adams wrote that he was "honored to take command under the Flag of His Majesty"<ref name="The Friend"/> though he does not describe the flag. The next year, in March 1817, the {{lang|haw|Kaʻahumanu}} became the first Hawaiian vessel to sail to a foreign port ([[Guangzhou|Canton]], China) under a "distinct" Hawaiian flag.<ref name="Resources1985">{{cite book |author= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHM0AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA427 |title=Native Hawaiians Study Commission: Hearings Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session, on the Report of the Native Hawaiians Study Commission |publisher=Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, US Senate; US Government Printing Office |year=1985 |page=427}}</ref> In one source, this is described as: "A St. George and St. Andrews Cross in the corner filled in with blue, with field consisting of red and white stripes" which virtually matches the [[Flag of the East India Company|ensign of the East India Company]]<ref name="The Friend" /> though another source describes "red, white and blue stripes added to a Union Jack".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Whitney |title=The flag book of the United States |publisher=William Morrow |year=1975 |isbn=0688029779 |location=New York |pages=130–131 |url=https://archive.org/details/flagbookofunited0000smit/page/130/mode/2up}}</ref>

The Russian navigator [[Vasily Golovnin]], based on a visit to [[Oʻahu]] in 1818, describes seeing a "national flag" which "consists of seven stripes: red, white, blue, red, white, blue and red, with the English Union Jack in the corner".<ref name="Golovnin" />{{rp|p=185}}

Until 1845, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands reported various versions of the flag with different numbers of stripes and colors.<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last=Ballou |first=Howard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ol7GL0CNCH4C |title=Papers of the Hawaiian Historical Society: The Reversal of the Hawaiian Flag |publisher=Hawaiian Gazette Co Ltd |year=1906 |isbn=0-8028-5088-X |location=Honolulu |pages=5–11}}</ref><ref name="The Friend">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwU-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA36 |title=The Friend |date=February 1921 |pages=36, 43 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

===1845–Present===
[[File:Flag of Hawaii.svg|thumb|State flag (1845–present)]]

In 1843, either as an inadvertent mistake, or as a symbolic "reversal" gesture in the wake of the [[Paulet affair]] - a five-month-long, unofficial occupation of Hawaii by [[Lord George Paulet|a British naval officer]] - the flag design was specified to have eight stripes: a white stripe on top followed by the sequence red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. This new flag was officially unfurled on May 25, 1845, at the opening of the legislative council and remains the same design as used today.<ref name="quaife">
{{cite book |last1=Quaife |first1=Milo |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofunited00quai |title=The History of the United States Flag |last2=Weig |first2=M. J. |last3=Appleman |first3=R. E. |publisher=Harper |year=1961 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofunited00quai/page/154 154] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
{{clr}}

==Design==
[[File:Hawaiian Islands. Johnson's new chart of national emblems, 1868.jpg|thumb|200px|An 1868 flag chart. Note the lack of blue stripes.]]
The [[canton (flag)|canton]] of the flag of Hawaii contains the [[Union Jack|Union Flag]] of the [[United Kingdom]], prominent over the top quarter closest to the flag mast. The field of the flag is composed of eight horizontal stripes, symbolizing the eight major islands ([[Hawaii (island)|Hawaiʻi]], [[Maui]], [[Kahoʻolawe]], [[Lānaʻi]], [[Molokaʻi]], [[Oʻahu]], [[Kauaʻi]], and [[Niʻihau]]). The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. The colors "red", "blue", and "white" are not explicitly defined.<ref name="Hawaii State Legislature" />

Despite resembling the [[gallery of flags of dependent territories#British Overseas Territories|flags of British Overseas Territories]], where the canton uses the full upper-left quadrant, the canton of the Hawaiian flag is proportioned in the ratio 4:7. This is a consequence of the flag having a 1:2 overall proportion while the description of the canton in Hawaiian law is given as: "[[Glossary_of_vexillology|half the hoist (width) in breadth and 7-16 the fly in length]]".<ref name="Hawaii State Legislature" />

The use of the Union Jack is a legacy of the British [[Royal Navy]]'s historical relations with the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and, in particular, the pro-British sentiment of its first ruler, [[King Kamehameha I]]. Despite the design including the British Union Jack, the Hawaiian Kingdom was never a colony of the British Empire. The flag was retained after the [[Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom|overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy]] in 1893, after [[Newlands Resolution|U.S. annexation]] in 1898, and after statehood in 1959.

The flag's eight stripes are inspired by the [[flag of the United States]]. The stripes represent the main islands of the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian archipelago]].<ref name=":3" />

<gallery class="center" widths="220" heights="150">
File:Flag-of-hawaii-flying.jpg|The flag of Hawaii flying in [[Haleakalā National Park]].
File:Ku'u Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag), Hawaiian cotton quilt from Waimea, before 1918, Honolulu Academy of Arts.jpg|[[Hawaiian quilt]] from Waimea, created before 1918.
File:Hawaii Bicentennial 13c 1976 issue.jpg|The Hawaii state flag as depicted in a 1976 [[Bicentennial Series|postage stamp series]].
</gallery>

In 2001, a survey conducted by the [[North American Vexillological Association]] (NAVA) placed Hawaii's flag 11th in design quality, out of the 72 U.S. and Canadian provincial, state, and territorial flags ranked.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nava.org/digital-library/design/surveys/2001-State-Provincial-Flag-Survey.pdf|title=2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey|work=nava.org}}</ref>

=={{lang|haw|Lā Hae Hawaiʻi}}==
In 1990, Governor of Hawaii [[John D. Waihee III|John Waiheʻe]] proclaimed July 31 to be {{lang|haw|Lā Hae Hawaiʻi}}, the Hawaiian [[Flag Day]]. It has been celebrated each year since then.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ka Hae Hawai'i – The Hawaiian Flag|url=https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/community-calendar/event/515390|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=Hawaii Public Radio}}</ref> It is the same date as {{lang|haw|Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea}}, [[Sovereignty Restoration Day]], a holiday of the [[Hawaiian Kingdom|Kingdom of Hawaiʻi]] that is celebrated by proponents of the [[Hawaiian sovereignty movement]].

==Chronology==
:{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Flag
! Image
|-
|1793–1800
|British [[Red Ensign]]<ref>{{cite book|title=All about Hawaii: The Recognized Book of Authentic Information on Hawaii, Combined with Thrum's Hawaiian Annual and Standard Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0oxAQAAIAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Honolulu Star-Bulletin}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Red Ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg|border|150px]]
|-
|1801–1816
|British Red Ensign following the [[Acts of Union 1800|Acts of Union]] with [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|border|150px]]
|-
|1816–1845
|Early version of the present flag (1:2 canton)
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Flag of Hawaii (1816).svg|border|150px]]
|-
|February 1843 – July 1843
|Union Flag (during the [[Paulet Affair (1843)|Paulet Affair]])
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|border|150px]]
|-
|1845–present
|The current Hawaiian flag was introduced in 1845 (4:7 canton, white stripe at the top). This design was retained through the [[overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii|overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom]], the [[Republic of Hawaii]], the [[Territory of Hawaii|annexation of Hawaii]] by the United States, and finally the [[Hawaii Admission Act|admission of Hawaii]] as a US state
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Flag of Hawaii (1896).svg|border|150px]]
|-
|}

==Other flags==
===Flag of the Governor===
{{See also|Flags of governors of the U.S. states}}
The flag used by the [[governor of Hawaii]] is a red and blue bicolor. In the middle of the eight white stars appears the name of the state in all capital letters. During the time Hawaii was a United States territory, the letters in the middle of the flag were "TH", which stood for "Territory of Hawaii".<ref name="gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.gov/hidocs/hawaiinames.html#governor |title=Name and Insignia of Hawaii – Governor's Flag |access-date=October 25, 2007 |date=March 1, 2006 |publisher=Hawaii State Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070511012617/http://www.hawaii.gov/hidocs/hawaiinames.html#governor |archive-date=May 11, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{gallery|mode=nolines|align=center|whitebg=y|height=100
|Flag of the Governor of Hawaii pre-1959.svg|Standard of the governor before statehood in 1959
|Flag of the Governor of Hawaii.svg|Standard of the governor of Hawaii
}}

=== {{Lang|haw|Kānaka Maoli}} flag ===
[[File:Kanaka Maoli flag.svg|thumb|right|Gene Simeona's {{Lang|haw|Kānaka Maoli}} flag, introduced in 2001]]The {{Lang|haw|[[Native Hawaiians|Kānaka Maoli]]}} ('true people' in the [[Hawaiian language]]) design is purported by some to be the original flag of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, though this claim is unverified and widely disputed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2008-10-21 |title=What's the Story Behind Hawaii's Flag? |url=https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/whats-the-story-behind-hawaiis-flag/ |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Hawaii Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pulse |first=Big Island |date=2019-08-20 |title=Kanaka Maoli Flag – Hawaii's Original Flag or Clever Marketing? |url=https://bigislandpulse.com/community/kanaka-maoli-flag-hawaiis-original-flag-or-clever-marketing/ |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Big Island Pulse |language=en-US}}</ref> It was introduced to the public by Gene Simeona in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-21 |title=What's the Story Behind Hawaii's Flag? |url=https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/whats-the-story-behind-hawaiis-flag/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Hawaii Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> It has nine alternating stripes of green, red, and yellow defaced with a green shield with a {{Lang|haw|puela}} (strip of [[kapa]] bark cloth insignia flown atop the double-hulled canoe of the chief) crossed by two paddles.

Gene Simeona claims to have unearthed the ''Kānaka Maoli'' flag in 1999. Simeona said he encountered a descendant of [[Lord George Paulet]] who told him about an earlier flag. Simeona claims to have found evidence of the {{Lang|haw|Kānaka Maoli}} flag in the state archives, though any sources he may have used have not been identified.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Anwar |first=Yasmin |date=2001-02-12 |title='Original' flag raises debate |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2001/Feb/12/212localnews29.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604121426/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2001/Feb/12/212localnews29.html |archive-date=2007-06-04 |access-date=2022-09-22 |website=Honolulu Advertiser}}</ref> Subsequent efforts to verify Simeona's claim have been unsuccessful.<ref name=":1" /> Critics of the claim have pointed to evidence of the widely accepted Hawaiian flag being in existence before the ''Kānaka Maoli'' flag.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Loui Agard Hawaiian Flag.svg|alt=A flag with nine stripes alternating black, yellow, and red, with a yellow field in the canton defaced with a kahili crossed by two paddles.|thumb|Flag designed by Louis Agard in 1993, eight years before the ''Kānaka Maoli'' flag appeared on public record.]]Louis "Buzzy" Agard had proposed a Hawaiian flag design in 1993 which featured nine alternating stripes and the same [[Charge (heraldry)|charge]] as on the {{Lang|haw|Kānaka Maoli}} flag,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Agard |first=Louis "Buzz" |title=He Alo a He Alo – Hawaiian Voices on Sovereignty |publisher=American Friends Service Committee |year=1993 |isbn=9780910082259 |location=Honolulu |pages=108–110}}</ref> leading many to believe it is where Simeona drew his inspiration.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

Despite the lack of verification about its historic use, the design is popular among those who prefer its lack of apparent colonial imagery.<ref name=":0" />
{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" heights="120">
File:Standard of the King Kalakaua.svg|Personal Standard of [[Kalākaua|King Kalākaua]]
File:Flag of Princess Kaiulani (1875–1899).svg|Personal Standard of [[Kaʻiulani|Princess Kaʻiulani]]
File:Naval ensign of the Kingdom of Hawaii.svg|Naval Ensign of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, with the only known use of this flag being on the ''[[Kaimiloa]]''
File:Naval Jack of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1887.jpg|Naval Jack of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, flown on the [[bowsprit]] of the ''Kaimiloa''
File:Kuhina Nui flag.svg|Flag of the [[Kuhina Nui]] in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
File:49 star American flag.jpg|Proposed 49 star American flag from 1941<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imperial Valley Press 16 June 1941 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=IVP19410616.2.2&srpos=15&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-State+flag+banner+------- |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}</ref>
File:Flag of Hawaii Hawaiian sovereignty.svg|The inverted Hawaiian flag represents the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in distress and has served as the main symbol of the [[Hawaiian sovereignty movement]]
File:Ka Lahui Hawai Flag.svg|Flag of the Hawaiian people used in [[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]
File:Nation of Hawaii-Hawaii Independence Movement Flag v2.svg|Flag of the [[Nation of Hawaiʻi (organization)|Nation of Hawaiʻi]] movement
File:Hawaii 3rd Regiment of Infantry flag (1916).png|Digital reconstruction of the flag carried by [[Hawaii National Guard|Hawaii's National Guard]], 1916<ref>{{Cite news |last=Humanities |first=National Endowment for the |date=1916-07-14 |title=The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, July 14, 1916, Image 1 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014689/1916-07-14/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1756&sort=date&rows=50&words=arms+banner+coat+flag&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=35&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=Coat+of+arms+flag+banner&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |access-date=2025-05-07 |issn=8750-457X}}</ref>
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Hawaii|Heraldry}}
* [[Coat of arms of the Hawaiian Kingdom|Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi]]
* [[Seal of Hawaii]]
* [[List of flags by design]]
* [[List of Hawaii state symbols]]
* [[List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insignia]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Flags of Hawaii}}
* [http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol01_ch0001-0042f/hrs0005/hrs_0005-0019.htm Constitutional Provisions for the Display of Ka Hae Hawaii]
* {{FOTW|id=us-hi|title=Hawaii}}

{{Hawaii}}
{{US state flags}}
{{Union Flag}}
{{Oceania topic|Flags of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawaii, flag of}}
[[Category:Symbols of Hawaii|Flag]]
[[Category:1845 establishments in Hawaii|Flag]]
[[Category:1898 establishments in Hawaii|Flag]]
[[Category:United States state flags]]
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1898]]
[[Category:Flags with crosses]]
[[Category:Flags of indigenous peoples]]
[[Category:Flags that incorporate the Union Jack]]
[[Category:Flags with blue, red and white]]
[[Category:Flags with cantons]]

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Flag of Hawaii