| Flag |  |
| Proportions | 3:5 |
| Adopted | August 2003 |
| Design | The flag depicts three tribal members in a traditional Clatsop canoe, harpoon at the ready, all in black, on a background of red over blue. They approach a yellow half-disk at the flag’s hoist. |
| Symbolism | According to the designer: “The circular design of the yellow touches all of the other colors because it represents the Creator whose presence relates to all of life. The red represents blood which is life-sustaining, the blue represents food resources, and the black represents cooperative relationships. The Clatsop-Nehalem flag is a symbol of the four things that our Tribe believes in: first, we believe in community…we all need to work together to be a strong group and to survive; second, we believe in the power of the sun and that it is held in the sky by God to give us life; third, we believe in Blood that flows through us giving us life; fourth, we believe in the Sea as it is a provider of food and other things to help us survive.” |
| How Selected | Unknown. |
| Designer | Mark Scovell, son of tribal chief Joe Scovell. |
| Notes | Dick Basch, formerly on the Chinook Tribal Council, now active in the leadership of the Clatsop-Nehalem, and since 2003 the American Indian Liaison to the National Lewis & Clark Historic Trail, played a role in encouraging both tribes to adopt their flags. He is descended from Coboway, chief of the Clatsops, to whom Meriwether Lewis gave Fort Clatsop in March 1806.
Source: “Local Encounter Tribes Adopt Flags”, Ted Kaye, Newsletter, Oregon Chapter—Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Nov. 2003. |
| Links |
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The OFR is a project of the Portland Flag Association.
Oregon Flag Registry 