In 1912，the United States Congress passed a second Organic Act authorizing Alaska to form a territorial government with limited powers.The Legislature of the Alaska Territory met for the first time in 1913.
Four years later the bill proposing that the forgetmenot be declared the official floral emblem of the Territory was introduced supported by the following poem written by Esther Birdsall Darling.
So in thinking for an emblem
For this Empire of the North
We will choose this azure（蔚蓝的）flower
That the golden days bring forth，
For we want men to remember
That Alaska came to stay
Though she slept unknown for ages
And awakened in a day.
So although they say we are living
In the land that God forgot，
We will recall Alaska to them
With our blue Forgetmenot.
The Territorial Legislature approved the forgetmenot as the official floral emblem of the Alaska Territory and the Governor signed the legislation into law on April 28，1917.The following was found written in the margin（页边的空白）of the bill.
A little flower blossoms forth
On every hill and dale（宽谷，溪谷），
The emblem of the Pioneers
Upon the rugged trail；
The Pioneers have asked it
And we could deny them not；
So the emblem of Alaska
Is the blue Forgetmenot.
Ten years later，in 1927，Benny Benson paid tribute to the forgetme not with his winning flag design.The blue field of Benny Bensons flag，adopted by the Alaska Legislature，represented the sky and the blue forgetmenot flower.He is quoted（引用），
“The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forgetmenot，an Alaskan flower.The North Star is for the future state of Alaska，the most northerly in the union.The Dipper（北斗七星）is for the Great Bear—symbolizing strength.”
In 1959，when Alaska was granted entry to the Union，the forgetmenot was adopted as the official State flower and floral emblem of the 49th state.
State Flag州旗
阿拉斯加州旗是由13岁的约翰·贝尔·本森设计的。本森是阿留申人和瑞士人的混血儿。他死于1972年7月2日。阿拉斯加州旗蓝色地域代表天空、海洋、山湖还有野花。在旗帜上的八颗黄色星，则其中七颗是来自大熊座或叫北斗七星，其中两颗指极星指向第八颗星。第八颗是北极星，它代表的就是位于北部的这个州。
Alaska adopted the flag for official state use in 1959.The blue field represents the sky，the sea，and mountain lakes，as well as Alaskas wildflowers.Emblazoned（用纹章装饰，盛饰）on the flag are eight gold stars：seven from the constellation （［天］星群，星座）Ursa Major
（大熊（星）座），or the Big Dipper（北斗七星）.The eighth being the North Star，representing the northern most state.
Alaskas flag was designed by 13year old John Bell （Benny）Benson.Benson was part RussianAleut and part Swedish.He was born at Chignik，grew up at the Jesse Lee Home in Unalaska and later in Seward，and spent most of his adult life in Kodiak［科迪亚克岛（在阿拉斯加南部）］，where he worked for Kodiak Airways.He had two daughters and several stepchildren and grandchildren.He died on July 2，1972.Visitors to Seward can find the Benny Benson Memorial at Mile 1.4of the Seward Highway.
When he was a seventh grader living at an orphanage（孤儿院，孤儿身份）in Seward，Alaska，he responded to a contest sponsored by the Alaska Department of the American Legion.Bennys eight stars of gold on a field of blue won him a gold watch engraved with the flag he designed.He also won a 1，000for school and a trip to Washington D.C.to present the flag to President Coolidge.Benny was never able to collect the trip to Washington but his flag was adopted by the Territorial Legislature as Alaskas official flag in May 1927.The original flag，made of blue silk and appliqued（嵌花的，贴花的）gold stars，was first flown July 9，1927.In 1959when Alaska became the 49th state，Bennys flag，which features the Big Dipper and the North Star，became our official state flag.
The design of the official flag is eight gold stars in a field of blue，so selected for its simplicity，its originality（创意，新奇）and its symbolism.The blue，one of the national colors，typifies the evening sky，the blue of the sea and of mountain lakes，and of wild flowers that grow in Alaskan soil，the gold being significant of the wealth that lies hidden in Alaskas hills and streams.The stars，seven of which form the constellation（星座）Ursa Major（大熊（星）座），the Great Bear，the most conspicuous（显著的）constellation in the northern sky，contains the stars which form the “Dipper，”including the “Pointers”which point toward the eighth star in the flag，Polaris，the North Star，the ever constant star for the mariner（水手），the explorer，hunter，trapper，prospector（探勘者，采矿者），woodsman（林中居民），and the surveyor.For Alaska the northernmost star in the galaxy（星系）of stars and which at some future time will take its place as the fortyninth star in the national emblem.The flag of the Territory of Alaska is the official flag of the state.The standard proportions and size graphically delineated（描绘）herein shall be used in the manufacture of the official flag of Alaska.The stars shall be the color of natural yellow gold and the field of blue shall be of the same shade of blue used in the official manufacture of the national emblem of the United States.
State Song州歌
Alaskas Flag
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue—
Alaskas flag.May it mean to you
The blue of the sea，the evening sky，
The mountain lakes，and the flowrs nearby；
The gold of the early sourdough（拓荒者）sdreams，
The precious gold of the hills and streams；
The brilliant stars in the northern sky，
The “Bear”—the “Dipper”—and，shining high，
The great North Star with its steady light，
Over land and sea a beacon（烟火，灯塔）bright.
Alaskas flag—to Alaskans dear，
The simple flag of a last frontier.
Facts and Trivia相关资料
1.Outsiders first discovered Alaska in 1741when Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia［西伯利亚（苏联一地区）］.
2.Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak［科迪亚克岛（在阿拉斯加南部）］Island established the first settlement in Alaska in 1784.
3.In 1867United States Secretary of State William H.Seward offered Russia 7，200，000，or two cents per acre，for Alaska.
4.On October 18，1867Alaska officially became the property of the United States.Many Americans called the purchase “Sewards Folly.”
5.Joe Juneaus 1880discovery of gold ushered in the gold rush era.
6.In 1943Japan invaded invade（侵略，侵袭）the Aleutian Islands，which started the One Thousand Mile War，the first battle fought on American soil since the Civil War.
