Meaning of the Symbols on the Utah State Flag

Many state flags display a state seal or emblem centered on a blue field which may be difficult to distinguish at a distance.  The central design of the Utah State Flag is based on the State Seal with some minor differences; nevertheless, the flag’s pattern and colors create a bold, recognizable design unlike any other state flag.  Some have suggested that Utah might adopt a new flag depicting a design other that the Great Seal of Utah.   Nevertheless, The Great Seal of Utah adopted in 1896 is a product of the times and tells us how Utahns saw themselves, and perhaps more importantly, how they wanted the rest of the nation and the world to view them.  Examination of the flag's design can give us insight about Utah, its history and its peoples.

When creating a device for the Great Seal of Utah in 1896 designers took the seal of the Utah Territory, and placed the device on a shield.  The beehive is a symbol evoking the Provisional State of Deseret, which Congress rejected repeatedly.  The beehive is a meaningful symbol of the pioneers’ early existence in the Great Basin.  These settlers were a self-sufficient community filling all their needs from the local sources as does a bee colony in a hive. As if they were placing new hives, settlements were founded and placed up and down the corridor from Salt Lake north to Canada and south to Las Vegas.  The histories of the pioneer settlements, of the provisional State of Deseret and of Utah’s days as a U.S. territory are all reflected in the symbol of the Beehive. This is—appropriately—at the center of the shield. Mark Twain, who visited in Salt Lake City on his way to California, especially liked Utah Territory’s Seal,  “And it was simple, unostentatious, and fitted like a glove. It was a representation of a GOLDEN BEEHIVE, with the bees all at work!” 

Sego lilies are native flowers from which the bees gathered pollen to provide for their sustenance.  Similarly, early  pioneers had to produce their crops and make everything needed locally, as they had settled in an area remote from markets in the East. 

The Ute Indians who lived in the area taught early pioneer settlers how to eat sego lily bulbs at times when food was scarce.  Moreover, the local native tribes used the flower’s petals, stamen and seeds to flavor their foods.

The sego lily grew in the desolate area before the arrival of native tribes or pioneers and created beauty in a challenging environment, and is a symbol of native tribes as well as early settlers.

The motto industry, together with the beehive, represented the hard work required to survive in what was then a harsh and unfriendly environment.  Not just to survive, but to make the desert “blossom as a rose” (Isaiah 35:1)  .  

The name Utah is a Ute Indian word roughly meaning "people who live higher up in the mountains."  The name honors members of the Ute Tribe.

The six arrows piercing the shield remembers the six tribes that inhabited the area before the coming of pioneer settlers.  Unlike the boundaries of the State of Utah, the lands of these peoples was not cut out by the cookie cutter shape when Congress cut off portions on all sides of Utah Territory to create other states while ignoring petitions from the would be citizens.  

While there were several reasons for Congress' repeated refusals of petitions for statehood, the fact was also that these settlers were an unpopular minority that Congress did not want to admit on equal ground with other states. 

The years 1847 and 1896 define a period in Utah history known locally as the struggle for statehood.  So, in 1896 when Utah finally achieved statehood--the placement of the American Eagle and the crossed flags behind the shield announced to the nation and the world: "Despite all opposition, we made it, Utah is finally a state." 

Today a full color design adopted more than a century ago presents a bold recognizable Utah State Flag.  The symbols on the flag recount Utah’s history for those who will take time to examine it.  It is a fitting emblem as Utahns celebrate the 175^th anniversary of the arrival of Utah’s Pioneers.