Indiana was commissioned in 2002 to create a work for the new Maine State House in Augusta, as part of the state's percent-for-art program. Indiana submitted three works, The First State to Hail the Rising Sun, which celebrates Maine being the the easternmost state in the United States; The Islands, which catalogs the eight major islands along Maine's coast from north (Mount Desert) to south (Vinalhaven); and Dirigo, named after the State Motto of Maine, which means "I direct" or "I guide" in Latin. The First State to Hail the Rising Sun was the work chosen by the Maine Arts Commission, and it hangs in the Maine State House to this day.
