Indiana State Seal

Great Seal of the State of Indiana

Indiana Seal

Adopted in 1963.

The Seal of the State of Indiana is used by the Governor of Indiana to certify official documents. Versions of this pioneer scene are found on official Indiana papers as early as 1801, since the region was a part of the Northwest Territory. A state seal was provided for in the 1816 and 1851 Indiana constitutions, but it was not until 1963 that the Indiana General Assembly provided an official description for the state seal. It is likely the original seal, which is similar to the current one, was created by William Henry Harrison during his administration of the Indiana Territory.

Indiana Great Seal

The United States Congress passed legislation on May 8, 1792, that directed the U.S. Secretary of State to "provide proper seals for the several and respective public offices in the said Territories". Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory at that time and a seal was created by the United States Department of State to be used on official papers of the territory. The original seal was maintained by Governor Arthur St. Clair and the first recorded use was in a proclamation made on July 26, 1788.

On May 10, 1800, the Indiana Territory was created by an act of Congress, but 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.

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 November 22, 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." 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.

In 1819, the state seal was part of a state crisis. Lieutenant Governor Christopher Harrison became acting-governor when Governor Jonathan Jennings was away conducting negotiations with northern Indiana's native tribes. When Jennings returned, Harrison refused to step down as governor, claiming that Jennings' actions had invalidated his governorship. Harrison seized the state seal and set up his own governor's office. After several weeks of debate in the state legislature, Harrison was forced to return the seal to Jennings and vacate the office of the governor.

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 January 28, 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, while an American Bison 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.

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 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 changed the wording of the statute, but as of 2008 no action had been taken to correct the error.

Iconography

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.

The words "Seal of the state of Indiana" appear at the top of the outer circle and the date Indiana entered the union (1816) appears below. The sun rising in the picture represents that Indiana has a bright future ahead and is just beginning. The mountains it rises over are a representation of the Allegheny Mountains showing that Indiana is in the west. The woodman represents civilization subduing the wilderness that was Indiana. The buffalo represents the wilderness fleeing westward away from the advancing civilization

Indiana Historical Bureau

Emblems and special days are established by law and made a part of the Indiana Code (IC).

Versions of this pioneer scene have been used on Indiana seals since territorial days. They are found on official papers as early as 1801. A seal was provided for in both the 1816 and 1851 state constitutions. The 1963 General Assembly gave legal sanction to this design and provided an official description (IC 1-2-4). The elements are a woodsman, buffalo, sycamore trees, hills and a setting sun; leaves of the state tree are in the border design.

Indiana Seal Law

TITLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
ARTICLE 2. STATE EMBLEMS.
Chapter 4. State Seal 

IC 1-2-4     
Description
Sec. 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, enclosed by a plain line. Another circle within the first, two and three eighths (2 3/8) inches in diameter enclosed 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.
(Formerly: Acts 1963, c.207, s.1.)


State Seals
State Seals