"The Great Seal of the State of Hawaii is loaded with symbolism. Use it and the links provided to start a great report on the Aloha State! 1959 was the year Hawaii became a U.S. state. The Hawaiian motto at the base of the seal, ""Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono,"" is commonly translated as ""The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."" The man on the left side of the seal is Kamehameha I, the monarch who unified the Hawaiian Islands. On the right is the Western personification of Liberty. The red, white, and blue stripes represent the flag of Hawaii, and the eight stripes represent the eight major islands. The designs on the yellow background are puloʻuloʻu, or kapu sticks. (Kapu sticks were symbols of authority in pre-contact Hawaiian culture.) The star in the middle of the seal represents Hawaii's place as the 50th state in the U.S., and the 50th star in the U.S. flag. The eight taro leaves at the bottom of the design represent Hawaii's eight major islands. Next to the taro leaves are banana leaves—Hawaii is the only major exporter of bananas in the U.S., and banana foliage is a common plant. Finally, maidenhair ferns, rising from the banana leaves, are common and popular plants throughout Hawaii. Illustration courtesy State of Hawaii"
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