Oregon State Motto: Alis Volat Propriis

Oregon's state motto is Alis Volat Propriis, a Latin phrase meaning She Flies With Her Own Wings. It is the official motto under Oregon Revised Statutes 186.040, adopted by the 1987 Legislature.

Oregon's motto is one of the few in the United States written in English first and then translated into Latin — the reverse of how most Latin state mottos began. Judge Jesse Quinn Thornton composed the English phrase in 1854, and a Latin rendering was placed on the Oregon Territorial Seal that year.

The three Latin words each carry a specific meaning. Alis is the ablative plural of ala, meaning wings. Volat means she flies — the subject is implied in the verb ending. Propriis comes from proprius, meaning one's own. Together: She flies with her own wings.

The "she" refers to Oregon itself. Countries, states, and territories were traditionally treated as feminine in Latin and in English writing of the era, so the motto speaks of Oregon as an entity flying on its own power.

Jesse Quinn Thornton (1810–1888) was a judge who arrived in Oregon in 1846 after traveling the Oregon Trail. He served as a Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon and worked to establish the territory through Congress. In 1854, he wrote the English phrase She Flies With Her Own Wings for Oregon Territory.

On January 18, 1854, the Oregon Territorial Legislature adopted the Latin translation, Alis Volat Propriis, as the motto of Oregon Territory and placed it on the territorial seal.

When Oregon became a state in 1859, the new state seal carried the words The Union — not the territorial motto. In 1957, the Oregon Legislative Assembly formally codified The Union as the official state motto in ORS 186.040.

In 1987, the legislature reversed that decision. Chapter 848, enacted July 20, 1987, amended ORS 186.040 and restored Alis Volat Propriis as the official motto. One unusual result: the Great Seal of Oregon still displays The Union and has not been updated to match the statutory motto.