City of Broken Arrow 'Tartan' accepted by Scottish Register of Tartans

Scotfest organizers announced that the Scottish Register of Tartans has officially recognized and accepted onto the registry the tartan proposed on behalf of the City of Broken Arrow.

The black, yellows and greys of the tartan borrow heavily from the Broken Arrow Public Schools mascot and colors and were sanctioned by the city before it was proposed to the register, which is kept as part of the National Records of Scotland.

The tartan was designed by Cody Wagnon and Steve Campbell on behalf of the city, and proposed through Scotfest, held annually in Broken Arrow.

Scotfest is one of the largest Scottish culture festivals in North America, and will be marking its 42nd year in 2022 when it returns to the Broken Arrow festival grounds near the Northeastern State University campus in September.

Campbell is the executive director and Weaver is the piping and drumming director for the festival team and both wanted to see the host city for the festival have an official tartan.

“It just makes sense for the community because their officers, their city crews, their city leadership, and of course residents, are all such a huge part of the festival,” Campbell said.

“We always have many local athletes who compete in the Highland Games, and we wanted them, and anyone else who wanted to wear the tartan of the City they were competing in, to have that choice,” he continued.

City leadership was supportive of the idea when it was proposed, and was involved in the design decisions for the tartan. Plans are in development for an official presentation of the tartan in kilt and sash form in early August, marking the 276th anniversary of the Dress Act of 1746, which prohibited the wearing of traditional Highland dress, including tartans and kilts.

“Scotfest is always a showcase for a wide variety of tartans, each with meaning and history. Now, the City of Broken Arrow will be an official part of that history,” Weaver said.

The city of Broken Arrow tartan is only the sixth tartan of Oklahoma origin to be registered in Scotland.

The others include two Native American tribes, the City of Tulsa, the State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University. No tartan has been registered out of Oklahoma since the late ‘90s, making Broken Arrow’s tartan the first in more than 20 years.