The seal and motto of Massachusetts must change.
That’s the recommendation of the commission charged with reviewing the content of its current iteration.
“It’s a reflection of centuries of intentional exclusion on the part of the commonwealth from the land, laws and historical records of indigenous residents,” committee co-chair Brian Boyles said when explaining where the seal came from.
Members of the state’s Special Commission Relative to the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth voted unanimously to recommend revising the seal and motto.
The seal, officially adopted in 1898, features a Native American stylized character in a blue coat of arms bearing a bow and arrow. A disembodied arm and sword appear some distance above his head.
The position of the sword could be perceived as threatening the Native American, a fact the new seal supporters say is reinforced by the state’s official motto that surrounds that native figure on the flag, “ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem.”
Which translates from Latin to loosely mean, “by the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”
The man pictured, Boyle told the commission, wasn’t even a native of the commonwealth, and no native communities were consulted during this selection, Boyle said.
The decision on how to proceed hasn’t been made, though commission members did seem to consider the idea of allowing public input into the selection of a new seal and motto.
That decision will ultimately be made by the Legislature, based on the committee’s endorsement.
“You have to find something that more or less represents the entirety of what we’re tasked with and not individual pieces,” said Jim Wallace, a board member appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker. “We have to do something that is all inclusive.”
We’re not sure how deeply the commission delved into the genesis of the state seal and motto, but it predates its official acceptance by more than a century, which we believe explains what these depictions on the state seal represent, and their relationship to the unique time in which they were adopted.
Given the supporters’ zeal to change the seal, we doubt that examination would have changed any minds, but it should have been part of the conversation.
It was John Hancock — a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — who adopted this version of the state seal, created by Paul Revere, in 1780, while the Revolutionary War with England still raged.
The image of an Algonquin Native American holding a bow and arrow pointed downward is meant to show the Native American’s peaceful nature.
Those pressing for a new state seal insist the current version’s most controversial depiction — of an arm wielding a sword above that Native American — represents the European subjugation of Native Americans.
However, it’s far more likely meaning, given the context of the times, depicts a not-so-subtle message to the English Redcoats of King George III.
That accompanying Latin phrase, “by the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty,” was exactly what the Continental Army under George Washington was fighting for – those 13 colonies’ freedom from the yoke of the British Empire.
The Massachusetts General Court — or Legislature — actually adopted that motto in 1775, as that war for independence loomed on the horizon. Inclusion on the flag’s seal eventually followed.
That would put that arm and menacing sword in the proper perspective.
We do agree with those offended by the seal’s Native American symbol. It should depict an indigenous tribe, not an Algonquin. A Nipmuc, Wampanoag, Pennacook, or Massachusett would be more appropriate.
Let’s at least understand what we’re changing before we undertake the process of changing it.
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May 29, 2022 at 04:00PM
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Editorial: Learn state flag’s history before sealing its fate - Lowell Sun
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