The state Senate voted 18-2 to add a second verse to "Alaska's Flag," with supporters saying they did so because the state song, based on the words of flag designer Benny Benson, does not recognize Alaska Natives.

The three Fairbanks senators, Joe Thomas, Joe Paskvan and John Coghill, voted in favor of the measure. Unfortunately, they, along with most of the Senate, have opted to treat the state song as a political document, instead of a work of art.

The measure, which was opposed by Sens. Con Bunde and Charlie Huggins,  now goes to the House.

Coghill said he supported adding a second verse for reasons of "harmony."

"As an official song, the idea of having a little harmony in it is a good thing because when we do have to deal with some of these tougher legal issues that are settling Alaska, this may very well be one good step forward," he said.

Missing from the Senate debate was any acknowledgment by proponents  that the copyrighted text, written by Juneau poet Carol Beery Davis, who stayed up late one night at age 95 to compose her addition,  is not what is contained in the bill.

Friends and family of Davis have said that approval of this bill would be an overdue honor for Davis, who was poet laureate of Alaska from 1967-69.

It appears that her friends and family, as well as our legislators, are willing to overlook or refuse to allow that there are shortcomings in the text.  Former Rep. Fran Ulmer introduced the original bill to add the extra verbiage in 1987, at Davis' request.

The text approved by the Senate Wednesday is not identical to that Davis donated to the University of Alaska Foundation, which holds the copyright.

This could present a legal dilemma because the foundation controls the use of "Alaska's Flag" and the added words from Davis. I have asked Sen. Linda Menard, the sponsor of the bill, is she knows how or why the text was changed, but have not received a response.

The copyrighted version submitted by Davis in 1986, is as follows, according to the UA Foundation: 

"A native lad chose our Dipper's stars

for Alaska's flag that there be  no bars

among our cultures. Be it known

through years our natives' past has grown

to share our treasures, hand in hand,

to keep Alaska our Great Land.

We love the northern midnight sky,

our mountains, lakes and the streams nearby,

Our Great North Star with its steady light

will guide our cultures clear and bright

with Nature's flag to Alaskans dear —

The simple flag of a Last Frontier."

There are nine changes, not counting capitalization and punctuation, between the copyrighted text and the second verse approved Wednesday. It's my guess that this was an attempt to improve a poem that wasn't deemed to be acceptable. The copyrighted text also has the title wrong. It says the title is "The Alaska Flag," but it really is "Alaska's Flag."

The revised language approved by the Senate is as follows:

"A Native lad chose the Dipper's stars

For Alaska's flag that there be no bars

Among our cultures. Be it known

Through years the Natives' past has grown

To share life's treasures, hand in hand,

To keep Alaska our Great Land;

We love the northern, midnight sky,

The mountains, lakes and streams nearby.

The great North Star with its steady light

Will guide all cultures, clear and bright,

With nature's flag to Alaskans dear,

The simple flag of the last frontier."

The flag song is a simple poem that is based on a short account written by Benny Benson, the Alaska Native student who designed the flag. It is a tribute to Benson in a real sense. In that text Benson did not say that he chose the Big Dipper stars for his design so "that there be no bars among our cultures."

What he actually said was this: "The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly in the union. The Dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength."

The state song does not need a second verse, no matter how well-intentioned the effort.