Every day in elementary school, we had to say the United States pledge with our hands over our hearts, staring at an American flag on one side of the chalkboard. Afterwards, we would, silently and in unison, turn to the New Mexico flag and recite the following pledge:

"I salute the flag of the state of New Mexico, the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among the united cultures."

I never really thought about what the words meant when I was a kid. It was just another phrase teachers wanted us to memorize and recite upon request. It didn't really bother me either. We didn't have to put our hands over our hearts like with the U.S pledge, and it was fairly quick and painless.

For those who don't know what the New Mexico state flag looks like, it is simply a yellow flag with the red Zia sun symbol in the middle. The Zia symbol is a circle with four lines shooting out as rays in each of the four main directions. Basically, it's a picture of the sun, but it is a subtle yet impressive representation at the same time.

Not surprisingly, the symbol comes from the Zia Pueblo tribe. Also not surprisingly, the state used the symbol for their flag without permission upon becoming a state in 1906. The tribe has been upset about it to this day.

Strangely enough, I'm not on the Indians' side on this one. The government may have come to use it improperly, but I like the symbol. I like what it represents. I like that it characterizes New Mexico.

The Indians complain that the symbol is not taken seriously, referring to the thousands of New Mexico businesses that put the symbol on their logos. If you come to New Mexico, you can't help but see the specific style of sun posted everywhere. To the government's and most business' credit, they don't use the symbol in a degrading way. It doesn't look like a Cleveland Indians baseball hat.

Does the tribe want businesses to be banned from using the symbol? Do they want the government stop using the sun symbol on the state flag? Do they want to restore the sacred status? The answer is no. They want royalties.

Like the majority of Americans, they prefer to cash in rather than restore dignity. They want a cut from every business that uses the Zia symbol, including the government.

But if the government hadn't used their special sun on the flag, I never would have known what the Zia symbol meant. The name of the school I recited the pledge at probably wouldn't have been called Zia Elementary School. Zia is not even a word in the dictionary I own. It wouldn't have meant anything to hardly anyone. Instead, I will know about the Zia symbol until the day I die.

While the pledge defines the symbol as "perfect friendship among the united cultures," maybe they should add "as long as you pay for it." I have sympathy for many of the plights that have befallen Native Americans throughout the years, including a number of crimes perpetrated by and on behalf of the U.S. goverment, but the stealing of the Zia symbol is way down on the list. We have rivers, lakes, cities and states with Indian names, and those don't seem to have had an adverse effect.

Inadvertently, the Zia symbol has become the most powerful and recognizable representation of New Mexico. With such a distinguished position, it is only natural for businesses to use their own versions of the symbol. Regardless, my opinion of the Zia symbol is still as positive and respectful as the tribe wants me to have.

I thought so much about the symbol and New Mexico flag that I went out and bought one. I purchased it at a place called Zia Graphics Embroidery and Screen Printing, and they had a big blue Zia symbol on their sign. The Zia tribe didn't receive a dime from me or the business or the government for the picture of the sun that their great great grandfathers drew so long ago, and I'm okay with that.

Chris Jungle will always exhibit state pride when something dumber presents itself.