South Dakota Flag Sticker

More than 100 years ago South Dakota had a real flag. A sunburst on a bright sky blue background was created in 1909. But somewhere along the line, an efficient bureaucrat decided to fill the backside of the flag with the seal. Then another bureaucrat decided it was too cumbersome to print the seal on one side and the flag on the other, so he dropped the flag symbol.

When South Dakota celebrated the state centennial in 1989, artist Dick Termes began to contemplate the need for a new flag design for South Dakota.

His proposed flag gives a nod to the 1909 flag, featuring an abstract sunburst on the same sky blue background. It also features a medicine wheel, a cultural symbol of our oldest residents. The medicine wheel represents the four directions of the Earth and the great outdoors that we all love.

In 2012 Senator Bernie Hunhoff introduced a bill to have Termes’ design become the state’s official flag. Amid great debate, the bill was defeated.

We still think it is a great design and we wear it proudly on our shirts, hoping that someday, this design will flap freely atop flagpoles statewide.