Symbolic Erasure

I am very cautiously approaching a subject that is not easily discussed. Ordinarily, I would avoid commentary on the subject but with calls to change the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it involves history directly related to my heritage. In removing or reimagining historical symbols, there are implications beyond correcting perceived racist elements. Particularly when the symbolically subjugated group or race is removed entirely and not represented in any form in the same context.

I acknowledge that statues and symbols can convey terrible ideas that could be reinterpreted from a contemporary perspective and with more available historical context. But in the removal, there is often no correction or adaptation, just the deletion of the subject. And the result is not a reminder of evils that should not be repeated. The darkness is often shrouded, confined to the interior of some museum that is not as widely seen and only by those seeking history. Evil does not rest at 5 pm on weekdays.

The Washington Redskins were the local football team for me growing up. As a kid, I was unaware of how offensive the name could be. It was everywhere as well as the profile of a Native American as the team symbol that was widely sold on merchandise despite the performance of the team. Given more thought to the ubiquitous name, it sounds like a racial slur and should have been changed. No argument there. But rather than honor the group that was being subjugated by the name in a process of rebranding, we now have a more tyrannical title and awful sports team name: "The Commanders." There was a transitional period where the team went by "The Washington Football Team." While more generic, it conveyed prestige and sounded a lot better than "The Commanders." But maybe it is more historically fitting in a twisted way to celebrate the military-industrial complex rather than the local native population that was systematically wiped out.

The Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Virginia both reference the fight against tyranny in their seals. Virginia's is quite literal and features a female figure standing over a fallen king who is still holding onto a chain. It's the only seal of state with a woman's bare breast and a dead person. The text translated from Latin reads “Thus always to tyrants” (“Sic semper tyrannis”). Before the revolution, the seal was very different and obviously submissive to the crown.

The Massachusetts seal has gone through some transitions with historical events. Similar to the Virginia seal, a sword was added to convey resistance to British tyranny around the revolution. The sword has moved around a bit. Today, the sword rests above a stoic Native American figure. Symbolically this is troubling to some that see the sword as oppression or some form of white supremacy. It's a bit myopic but without referencing any history of the seal and just the elements, that argument is being made. Jonathan Turley discusses this in a piece that alerted me to this initiative to change the seal.

What is personal about the Native American on the Massachusetts seal and the former Washington Redskins logo is that I am a descendant of tribes from both regions. I do not claim this on any sort of job or college application as it goes back further than 5 generations. Famously, the Senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren did claim her own Cherokee heritage in such a way and "Harvard listed Warren as Native American in its federal affirmative action forms from 1995 to 2004..." In response to the initiative to change the Massachusetts seal, Warren responded saying "I support those efforts."

This is tangential but Warren's response is not surprising. Her insincerity is perfectly portrayed in a social video with her reluctant husband when she sipped a beer campaigning for the office of president during the 2020 election. The beer drinking was not offensive. Her choice of beer was. Michelob Ultra. If she was representing Missouri where Michelob is made, that would make more sense. Sam Adams seems like a popular and obvious choice being local to Massachusetts. Elizabeth Warren is a watered-down, average, light beer of politicians.

If the seal must change, I hope the Native American presence is not scrubbed completely. To me, the removal would be more representative of "white supremacy" and the fate of the Native Americans. It has happened to butter and it can happen to a State seal.

I don't expect Elizabeth Warren to save the Native American on the Massachusetts seal or offer any replacement suggestions. So I will offer one here. It's my Dad's. While writing this I brought up the topic of the seal with my Dad since he instilled in me our Native American heritage from a very young age. He suggested an image of Native Americans and the Pilgrims together in a peaceful manner. There was a time when both coexisted and benefited from a mutual relationship. The Pilgrims likely would have perished prematurely without the help of locals of the time. We even have a national holiday that loosely celebrates this coexistence. It sounds like a perfect formative occasion for a seal without a sword.