INDIANA
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Indiana
State is located in the midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region of
North America. Indiana's capital and largest city is Indianapolis. It is a
part of the former Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known
as the Northwest Territory, which was an organized incorporated territory of
the United States spanning most or large parts of six eventual U.S. States.
Northwest Territory existed legally from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803,
when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as
the state of Ohio, and the remainder was reorganized. One of the parts was
the Territory of Indiana that existed from 4 July 1800, until 11 December
1816, when the remaining southern portion of the territory was admitted as
the 19th state to the Union as Indiana State. Arms The coat
of arms of Indiana has a representation of a landscape with a running
american buffalo (Bison bison - Bovidæ) and a woodsman cutting trees
and a sun rising sun over the mountains in the distance. The picture is
identical to the picture on the seal adopted in 1816. Like many
other American coats of arms the arms of Indiana have become obsolete. Seal The
Territory of the United States Northwest of the River Ohio Ordinance of 1787
makes no mention of a seal. [1] The Laws of the Territory of the United
States Northwest of the River Ohio make no provision for a seal for the
territory either. According
to one letter from the Department of State, “‘The earliest mention of use of
the seal is in [Governor Arthur] St. Clair’s proclamation of July 26, 1788’”
It was: “A
landscape with a river and mountains in the distance, a sun in the sky, on
the river two boats and on the foreground a coiled snake, an apple tree and a
felled forest tree cut into logs. In base the motto ‘MELIOREM LAPSA LOCAVIT!’(He has planted a better than the
fallen). All within the legend THE SEAL OF THE TERRITORY OF THE U.S.N.W. OF THE
RIVER OHIO.” [2]
Seal of Northwest
Territory 1788 [3] The seal was
more or less legitimized by an Act of Congress, approved May 8, 1792,
directing the U.S. Secretary of State to “provide proper seals for the
several and respective public offices in the said Territories [northwest and
south of the river Ohio].” [4] When the
Indiana Territory was created by an act of Congress, no provision for an
official seal was included in the measure. The earliest recorded use of
Indiana Territory's seal was on court documents that were signed by Governor William Henry Harrison in January 1801. The seal he used was an adaptation of the original
seal created for the Northwest Territory. Although its origin is uncertain,
it is likely that it was Harrison who made the alterations.
From: Farmer, Silas: The
history of Detroit and Michigan or the metropolis illustrated; 1889. P. 139 |
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The
constitution of 1816 contained a clause that stated the governor should
maintain a state seal and use it in official communication. The design of the
seal was first proposed during the first session of the Indiana General
Assembly in 1816. On 22 November 1816,
representative Davis
Floyd of Harrison
County proposed the adoption of a seal with a design he referred to as “A forest
and a woodman felling a tree, a buffalo leaving the forest and fleeing
through the plain to a distant forest, and sun in the west with the word
Indiana at the bottom of the Seal.” The bill was put through a joint
conference of both houses of the General Assembly and funds where voted to
purchase a printer to create the seal.
Indiana
State Seal adopted 1816 |
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During
1895, Robert S. Hatcher, the reading clerk of the Indiana Senate, was directed
to ascertain the legal status of the design of the state seal. After a
thorough review, Hatcher found that the laws that authorized the seal did not
explicitly state what its design should be. He recommended that a bill be
passed to standardize the seal. Senator McCord submitted legislation for that
purpose, but no action was taken on it. On 28 January
1905, an article ran in the
Indianapolis News containing information on the origin of the seal, some of
it dubious. The article received much attention and started an informal
inquiry into the history of the seal, and namely to discover if the sun in
the seal was rising or setting. Jacob Piatt Dunn, the preeminent Indiana historian
of the time, consulted several history and arrived at the conclusion that the
sun was rising. Dunn cited the fact the state was young, and the mountains
were to the east of the state, not the west - clearly indicating the sun was
rising. The
current design of the seal was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly
in 1963. During the meeting of the General Assembly, Representative Taylor I.
Morris introduced legislation to standardize the design of the state seal.
His bill described a seal that depicts a woodsman chopping a sycamore tree (Platanus
occidentalis – Platanaceæ), while an American Bison (Bison bison –Bovidæ)
runs in the foreground and the sun rises in the background. The leaves of the
state tree, the tulip, were to be the border design. The bill passed the
assembly that session and became law. The law
created to standardize the state seal has been in effect since 1963. The
statute reads: Indiana
State Code: IC
1-2-4-1 The official seal for the
state of Indiana shall be described as follows: A perfect circle, two and
five eighths (2 5/8) inches in diameter, inclosed by a plain line. Another
circle within the first, two and three eighths (2 3/8) inches in diameter
inclosed by a beaded line, leaving a margin of one quarter (1/4) of an inch.
In the top half of this margin are the words "Seal of the State of
Indiana". At the bottom center,
1816, flanked on either side by a diamond, with two (2) dots and a leaf of
the tulip tree (liriodendron tulipifera), at both ends of the diamond. The
inner circle has two (2) trees in the left background, three (3) hills in the
center background with nearly a full sun setting behind and between the first
and second hill from the left. There are fourteen (14)
rays from the sun, starting with two (2) short ones on the left, the third
being longer and then alternating, short and long. There are two (2) sycamore
trees on the right, the larger one being nearer the center and having a notch
cut nearly half way through, from the left side, a short distance above the
ground. The woodsman is wearing a hat and holding his ax nearly perpendicular
on his right. The ax blade is turned away from him and is even with his hat. The buffalo is in the
foreground, facing to the left of front. His tail is up, front feet on the
ground with back feet in the air, as he jumps over a log. The ground has shoots of
blue grass, in the area of the buffalo and woodsman. In 2004,
the 1963 statute came under criticism because it states the sun in the state
seal is setting rather than rising. A thorough investigation by the Indiana
Historical Bureau into the history of the seal led to the discovery that the
original seal was created with the intention that the sun should, in fact, be
depicted as rising. In both 2004 and 2005 legislation was introduced to
change the wording of the statute, but as of 2008 no action had been taken to
correct the error. [5] |
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Indiana Seal 1900 ca |
Indiana Seal
after 1963 |
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Arms
Car painting
(right) |
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Crest |
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Description That for
regiments and separate battalions of the Indiana Army National Guard: From a
wreath of colors, a demi-lion rampant Argent, holding in dexter paw a laurel
branch Vert. Symbolism The crest
is the crest of the Harrison family whose history is most intimately
associated with that of Indiana. Background The crest
for color bearing organizations of the State of Indiana was approved on 16
May 1923. |
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Distinctive Unit Insignia |
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Description A Gold
color metal and enamel device 2.94 cm in height overall, consisting of a
shield and crest blazoned: Shield Azure,
within a circle of thirteen mullets a mullet and a torch in pale and to base
an inner half circle of five mullets, all Or. Crest From a
wreath Or and Azure, a demi-lion rampant Argent, holding in dexter paw a
laurel branch Vert. Background The
distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the State Staff and
State Detachment, Indiana National Guard on 24 April 1935. It was
redesignated for the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment and noncolor
bearing units of the Indiana Army National Guard on 13 January 1971. The
insignia was redesignated with blazon revised for Headquarters, State Area
Command, Indiana Army National Guard, effective 1 May 1984. |
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Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |
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Description On an ultramarine
blue shield 6.35 cm in width and 8.89 cm in height with a 0.32 cm golden
yellow border, a star above a flaming torch emitting seven rays, all golden
yellow. Background The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Indiana National Guard on 17 May 1949. It was redesignated effective 1 May 1984, with description revised, for Headquarters, State Area Command, Indiana Army National Guard. (TIOH Dwg. No. A-1-482) |
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Present Pokagon
Seal The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
of Michigan and Indiana was party to 11 treaties with the federal government, with the
major land cession being under the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. During the Indian
removals, many Potawatomi bands were moved west. But, Chief Leopold Pokagon negotiated to keep his Potawatomi
band of 280 people in southwestern Michigan. It was the only Potawatomi band
who did not go through removal west of the Mississippi River. Under the
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Pokagon Band wanted to restore its
self-government and requested recognition as a tribe by the Department of the
Interior, but were denied. After years of petitioning, the Pokagon Band
regained recognition in 1994. |
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Pokagon
Band of Potawatomi Indians Seal of the Nation The present
Pokagon Band seal has evolved over the last 30 years. The seal was first
developed in the 1970’s during the Band’s long struggle for federal
recognition. The seal represents the story of how fire was brought to the
Néshnabek. Fire is a gift to the people, brought by the hawk as a piece of
the sun. This is particularly important to the Potawatomi since our name
means “he builds a fire” and refers to the role the Potawatomi played as
keepers of the fire in the Three Fires Confederacy with the Odawa and Ojibwe.
The drawing is centered within a round border, symbolizing the centering of
all life within the fours directions of Mother Earth.
First Pokagon
Band Seal In the
years following the Band’s 1994 federal reaffirmation, the seal was
redesigned. The community felt that the seal still had relevance to the tribe
and its mission. The seal was updated to include the vibrant colors of
traditional woodlands design, and was also incorporated into a flag on a
yellow background. [6] Æ See illustration in the head of
this section |
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©
Hubert de Vries 2015-11-16
Heraldry of the World