Why the Pelican?

It is common knowledge that the pelican is the Louisiana state bird and that it is depicted on the official seal; but many people wonder why. Why would Louisiana choose such a symbol over more impressive animals such as eagles, panthers, or bears? The answer lies with one man.

After the United States bought Louisiana in 1803, the land that would comprise our state was named the Territory of Orleans. President Thomas Jefferson appointed 28-year-old William C. C. Claiborne governor, and the territory’s legislative council authorized him to design an official government seal. Claiborne adopted a seal depicting an eagle holding a laurel wreath in its beak with fifteen stars arranged at the bottom to represent the states of the Union. But after Louisiana became a state in 1812, the seal was changed to a pelican perched on its nest, plucking at its breast to draw blood to feed its ten chicks (oddly, the pelican’s head was originally shaped like an eagle, or a “condor” as one historian described it). This early seal also had the state’s motto “Justice, Union & Confidence” as well as  eighteen stars representing the states.

Why Claiborne changed the seal from an eagle to a pelican is not clear, but it might have been his way to honor the state’s Catholic heritage. In ancient times, people believed the pelican would tear the flesh from its own body to feed its young in times of famine. Early Christians tapped into this common belief and began using the pelican as a symbol for Christ’s sacrifice and blood atonement. As late as 1812, a Catholic prayer book used a pelican as a symbol of self-sacrifice, and it looked identical to the one on Louisiana’s 1813 seal.

Today, illustrations of pelicans can still be found in many churches. One is carved into the south porch of the cathedral in Cornwall, England; another is in a stained glass window of the cathedral in Bourges, France; and a pelican can be found in the Anglican Church pulpit at Aldington in Kent, England.

Since the pelican was a familiar symbol to Catholics in the early nineteenth century, its use on the state seal would have made political sense considering Louisiana was the only predominantly Catholic state at the time. Although Louisiana’s Catholic population was familiar with the pelican’s symbolism, its use on the seal was a source of bemusement to others. When word of the seal was brought to Tennessee, the Nashville Banner declared, “The people of the new state have strange ideas.”

The pelican has continued to be on Louisiana’s seal since 1813, although the seal’s design has changed (many individual state departments also designed their own unique pelican seal). For example, blood was sometimes shown spurting from the pelican’s breast and sometimes not, and the number of chicks in the nest has changed. Thanks to the research of Joseph Louviere, an eighth-grade Houma student, the state legislature passed a bill in 2006 to put the spurting blood back in the flag.

The state motto has also morphed from “Justice, Union & Confidence” to “Union, Justice & Confidence.”

Our current state seal was authorized in 1902 to bring uniformity to the various designs, and the pelican flag was officially adopted in 1912, even though it was in common use long before.

[Related reading: The Unsinkable Ursulines:It took twelve “good gray sisters” to tame the devil’s empire: colonial New Orleans]

Today, Louisiana’s pelicans can be seen in several prominent places. England’s famed Westminster Abbey has a stained glass window depicting the state and city of Monroe seals, both of which contain pelicans. This window was commissioned a number of years ago by former Gov. James A. Noe’s daughter Linda Noe Laine. Louisiana’s pelican seal is also depicted in marble mosaic at the west narthex of the Washington Cathedral Episcopal Church in Washington, D. C.

One question that continues to puzzle people is why the white pelican was used for the state seal and flag when the brown pelican is the official state bird. The answer is simple. The white pelican was incorporated into the seal and flag more than two hundred years ago, but it was not until 1966 that the legislature chose the brown pelican to be the state bird.

Dr. Terry L. Jones is a professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Monroe who has received numerous awards for his books and outdoor articles.