Seal of Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Louisiana State Seal was adopted as the official state seal of Louisiana in 1902. The seal consists of a heraldic charge called a "pelican in her piety," representing a Brown Pelican (the Official State Bird) representing a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from her own blood. This symbol, emblematic of Christian charity, is also found on the Louisiana state flag. The Louisiana state motto of "Union, justice, confidence" surrounds the birds on the state seal. An outer ring further identifies it with the words "State of Louisiana".

During the 19th century it was traditional in Louisiana flags for the "pelican in her piety" to have three drops of blood on her chest.[1] An eighth-grader at Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma realized that the tradition had been haphazardly followed in more recent years, and brought this to the attention of his state legislator.[1] Similar to the flag, many depictions of the seal have not shown the drops of blood.

In April 2006, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a bill (House Bill 833/Act 92[2]) which requires three drops of blood to be depicted on the pelican used in both the state's flag and seal.


  1. ^ a b Eagle-eyed eighth-grader prompts La. flag legislation, an April 2006 article from The Times-Picayune
  2. ^ HB833 - 2006 Regular Session, from the website of the Louisiana State Legislature
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