it was verna keays who designed the flag, and she thought it was a great symbol of branding, which cattle ranchers all used to keep track of their animals, but, also, the bison was known as the monarch of the plains, and she thought that was a great symbol for her state. >> name "wyoming" comes from a native american word for "great plain." today it would be considered politically incorrect, but the flag's designer paid tribute to those once called "red men" with the red border. she said the red also signifies the blood of the pioneers who fought to claim the land. we can easily understand why a cowboy and a miner are pictured in the center. but what are those tiny words in the banner? >> the phrase on the wyoming state flag is "equal rights," and this speaks to wyoming's history as a place that was very friendly to women. it was the first territory to give women the right to hold public office and the right to vote way back in 1869. in order to attain statehood, it's necessary to have 60,000 citizens, so the leaders of the territory knew this would help to get people to come live there.