By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 1, 2026 – The push to redesign Alaska’s symbols has moved from the Anchorage municipal level to the state Capitol in Juneau.
On Friday, Senate President Gary Stevens of Kodiak, a marginal Republican, introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 11, a measure that would create a legislative commission tasked with reviewing the official state seal and recommending possible changes. The stated goal is to “reimagine” the seal so it reflects Alaska Native cultures and “contemporary themes,” moving away from what the resolution describes as an emphasis on western exploration, resource extraction, and agriculture.
The proposal feels familiar.
Just weeks ago, the Anchorage Assembly pushed through a redesign of the municipal seal, stripping out long-standing imagery tied to western exploration of Capt. James Cook and an aircraft as a nod to aviation’s role in Anchorage. What remained — an anchor and the sun — was wrapped in what the Assembly leadership called a Native stitch design, but what is actually a stitch designed used in nearly all cultures around the world. It was a solution in search of a problem.
Now, the same debate appears headed statewide. The governor cannot veto this resolution because it is a legislative commission.
Alaska’s current seal, adopted in 1910 during the territorial era and retained at statehood, depicts industries and activities that helped build the modern state: mining, fishing, agriculture, transportation, and the northern environment. The resolution argues that these elements represent Alaska “at one point in time” and fail to reflect values held by many residents today.
To address that made-up problem, SCR 11 proposes a 14-member “Legislative Commission to Review the State Seal of Alaska.” The commission would include six legislators, the lieutenant governor or designee, and representatives from the Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum, Alaska Historical Society, the University of Alaska, the Rasmuson Foundation, the First Alaskans Institute, and a public high school senior. Members would serve without pay but receive per diem and travel expenses, and the commission would be authorized to seek grants, gifts, and legislative appropriations to fund its work. Administrative costs from state agencies are not noted.
The group would have until May 2027 to produce a report evaluating whether elements of the seal are “harmful or misunderstood,” recommend changes, draft legislation to implement those changes, and suggest an educational program about the seal’s meaning.
That scope, and the makeup of the commission, is already raising eyebrows.
The state is facing persistent budget deficits, unresolved infrastructure needs, public safety concerns, and education funding pressures should be devoting time, staff resources, and potential grant money to a symbolic exercise. And the commission’s roster leans heavily toward arts, humanities, and advocacy organizations. It excludes voices from industries and communities actually depicted on the existing seal.
As with Anchorage’s controversial seal change, the deeper question may not be about imagery at all, but priorities.
At a time when many Alaskans are concerned about affordability, energy development, public safety, and the long-term fiscal health of the state, the Senate president’s decision to launch a multi-year commission to rethink a century-old seal is likely to strike some as, at best, a distraction, and at worst, another example of government energy spent on symbolism instead of substance.
The resolution has been referred to Senate Education Committee, chaired by radical leftist Sen. Loki Tobin, and then to the State Affairs Committee, chaired by Democrat Sen. Scott Kawasaki.
Just recently, the state of Minnesota under Gov. Tim Walz purged a seal with western images of farming from its flag and replaced them with images that are deeply similar to the flag of Somalia.
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3 thoughts on “Anchorage city seal destruction not enough? Now state lawmakers want the state seal changed”
How about they actually pass a budget first? Oh that’s right we have no money, except to do ridiculous time wasting things like this… SMH!
On the list of things the constituent should expect their government to be focused on, this shouldn’t make the top 100 priorities.
We can spend money on this but not on moving from a Division of Ag to a Department of Ag without changing staffing? The simple desire for Alaska to have a better chance at reliably feeding itself with a Commissioner of Ag having a greater voice in influencing statewide Ag policy is really a lower priority than trying to re-write history on the state seal?
They know they will get a Democrat Governor because of the current weak state of the AKGOP. 13 R Gubernatorial candidates like Alaska is a Red state and they can’t lose by using a RCV. You can do that in a Red state like Florida. You can’t play that tactic on Alaska.
They can’t wait!!? Election is ONLY 10 months away. They don’t need to hurry but here they are trying to rewrite the identity of Alaska to reflect a Democrat Platform.