Kathleen, Queen of the Desert

Originally published in The Nome Nugget, Summer 1995

I was amazed when I first saw Hawai’i’s flag. Many of you may assume like I did that it was cut from bold-colored fabric with jungle hues of blue and green or volcanic oranges and reds. It’s not. Hawaii’s colors are red, white, and blue, and their flag looks British. The design is indeed modeled after the flag of the United Kingdom. Three crosses are overlaid representing Northern Ireland (the cross of St. Patrick), Scotland (the cross of St. Andrew), and Britain (the cross of St. George). The eight red, white, and blue stripes represent Hawai’i’s eight major islands.

George Vancouver presented Hawaii with a British flag in 1794 when Kamehameha I placed the islands under the protection of Great Britain. (This cession was never ratified or accepted by Britain.) The flag design was later put together using the British flag in the upper left corner. It was flown starting sometime around 1816 because Otto von Kotzebue saw it flying when he visited the islands in his ship the Rurick in 1816.

Where was Benny Benson when Hawai’i needed him? A secessionist movement in Hawaii is led by native Hawaiians who protect the way armed American business took over the terrioty from Queen Liliuokalani in 1893. The Hawaiian secessionists propose a new flag of broad purple, yellow, and white stripes with a large proteus flower in the center.

Governor Egan had the right idea when he had a contest among Alaskan school children for a design for Alaska’s flag. An old Russian design? The American flag in the corner? No way! Benny Benson, a 13-year-old Native Aleut, took a simple idea, drew it up, and submitted it. It’s a real piece of artwork. I have an Alaskan flag in my living room. It’s art. It’s right. And Hawaii should have one.

You can move the capitol, you can change the salmon catch limits, and you can talk about secession. But don’t mess with that flag!

The stars guided the Polynesians as they discovered Hawai’i and traded back and forth in their beautiful canoes, crossing a watery “bridge” of ocean from their home islands in the South Pacific to the volcanic islands they call home today. Hawaii should adopt a flag more representative of its heritage or sponsor a flag design contest to come up with a new banner. Let the creative spirit of Native people in the 50th state wave.

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