Flag of New Mexico
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox flag The flag of the U.S. state of New Mexico, also referred to as the New Mexican flag and Zia Banner, is a state flag, consisting of a sacred red sun symbol of the Zia tribe on a field of gold (yellow). It was officially adopted on March 19, 1925 to highlight the state's Indigenous and Hispanic heritage: it combines a symbol of the Puebloan people, who have ancient roots in the state, with the colors of the flag of Spain, whose empire had established and ruled over “{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}” for over two and a half centuries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The New Mexico flag is among the more distinctive and iconic in the U.S.,<ref name="NAVA-2001-06-10" /> and has been noted for its simple and aesthetically pleasing design.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is one of four U.S. state flags without the color blue (along with Alabama, California, and Maryland) and the only one among the four without the color white.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref group="note">The flag of the District of Columbia also has no blue, although it is partially white, making the New Mexico flag the only U.S. flag without blue or white.</ref> New Mexico is one of only two U.S states (along with Oklahoma) that depicts indigenous iconography in its flag.<ref group="note">The Massachusetts and Florida flags contain state seals depicting Native people.</ref>
The proportions of the symbol are fixed by New Mexico law: the four groups of rays are set at right angles, with the two inner rays one-fifth longer than the outer rays, and the diameter of the circle in the center is one-third the width of the symbol.<ref name="sos.state.nm.us">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History
First flag
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During its first thirteen years as a state, New Mexico did not have an official flag. The San Diego World's Fair of 1915, which occurred three years after New Mexico's admission to the union, featured an exhibit hall where all U.S. state flags were displayed. Lacking an official flag, Ralph Emerson Twitchell, the mayor of Santa Fe, was authorized to design the first state flag of New Mexico to be displayed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nathanson">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ABQJ">Template:Cite news</ref> Known as the "Twitchell flag", it consisted of a blue field with the U.S. flag in the upper left corner, the words "New Mexico" in silver lettering in the center of the flag, the number "47" in the upper right corner, in reference to New Mexico being the 47th state, and the state seal in the bottom right corner, which in some historical references is wrapped with the words "The Sunshine State".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2005, the only known Twitchell flag in existence was displayed at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe.
Second flag (1925–present)
1920 redesign
In 1920, the New Mexico chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) called for the creation of an official flag that would reflect the state's unique heritage and culture.<ref name="sos.state.nm.us"/> A statewide contest was held in 1923 to solicit new designs.<ref name="ABQJ" /> Eventually, a design made by Harry Mera of Santa Fe and sewn by his wife Reba Mera was selected. In 1925, Governor Arthur T. Hannett signed legislation proclaiming the Mera design the official state flag, which remains in use and unchanged to this day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NMSS" />
Mera was a physician and archaeologist who became familiar with the Zia sun symbol, which he encountered on a piece of pottery originating from Zia Pueblo. This pottery, believed to date from before 1890 and associated with the Zia Fire Society, had made its way into private collections during a period when early ethnographers were conducting intensive fieldwork in the region. The symbol was used without consulting the Zia people,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and they have fought to prevent it from being used without their permission, including via attempting to copyright it, during and after its adoption as a symbol of the state, and due to concerns over desecration of the symbol.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A 2012 joint memorial by the state and the Zia people later acknowledged the state had appropriated the image without permission.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The symbol has sacred meaning to the indigenous Zia people. Four is a sacred number symbolizing the Circle of Life: the four directions, the four times of day, the four stages of life, and the four seasons; the circle binds these four elements of four together. It has since become representative of the broader Puebloan, Hispano, and Native-led New Mexican culture.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the Zia Pueblo does not hold a trademark on the symbol, the state of New Mexico supports respectful use by guiding individuals and organizations to Zia Pueblo and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, offering information encouraging honoring the symbol's origins and meaning.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The New Mexico flag was rated first in a 2001 survey of 72 U.S. and Canadian flags by the North American Vexillological Association.<ref name="NAVA-2001-06-10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Raven-v8-2001-11p38">Template:Cite journal</ref> The flag has always been free for civil and state use, and it is completely in the public domain as of January 1, 2021.
AdoptionTemplate:Anchor
The flag is officially defined in law as:
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That a flag be and the same is hereby adopted to be used on all occasions when the state is officially and publicly represented, with the privilege of use by all citizens upon such occasions as they may deem fitting and appropriate. Said flag shall be the ancient Zia sun symbol of red in the center of a field of yellow. The colors shall be the red and yellow of old Spain. The proportion of the flag shall be a width of two-thirds its length. The sun symbol shall be one-third of the length of the flag. Said symbol shall have four groups of rays set at right angles; each group shall consist of four rays, the two inner rays of the group shall be one-fifth longer than the outer rays of the group. The diameter of the circle in the center of the symbol shall be one-third of the width of the symbol. Said flag shall conform in color and design described herein.{{#if:|
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Pledge Template:Anchor
The pledge to the state flag is available in English and Spanish:
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I salute the flag of the state of New Mexico, the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures.{{#if:|
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The salutation, "I salute the flag of the State of New Mexico and the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures",<ref name="United States' 1970 p. 174"/> is commonly recited in New Mexico public schools after the United States pledge of allegiance.Template:Citation needed
See also
Notes
References
External links
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