HADLEY — Voters at Town Meeting this spring could join four other communities in the Pioneer Valley that have recommended Massachusetts change its state seal and motto.
With the seal depicting an American Indian with a sword hovering over his head, and the motto referencing the use of the sword to achieve peace, residents Michele and Andy Morris-Friedman want Town Meeting to show support for legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, and co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.
The petition reads, in part, “Native Nations in Massachusetts have long voiced concerns that the current motto and seal image are historically inaccurate, perpetuate harmful stereotypes and disregard the perspective of Native communities.”
Michele Morris-Friedman said Hadley will be one of several communities that will act on the topic through petitions to town meetings or city councils. There is also an active letter-writing campaign to state legislators, she said.
Andy Morris-Friedman said part of his reasoning for supporting the petition is that people who live outside of the South need to reflect on symbols and icons that do not match democratic ideals, in a similar way to the push to remove Civil War monuments that reflect on the history of slavery.
“The seal should represent our modern values of inclusion and equality and not be a relic of a history that we no longer believe in,” Morris-Friedman said. “The current seal and motto celebrate the subjection of native peoples and the triumph of Anglo colonialism.”
The full motto, which surrounds the seal, reads in Latin, “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”
If legislation is approved, the Legislature would set up a committee to study the issue with representatives from at least five tribal nations living in Massachusetts. Any proposed changes from the committee would have to be approved by the Legislature. The seal and motto were first adopted in 1898.
Last spring, voters in Gill, New Salem, Orange and Wendell supported a resolution calling for similar legislation to create a special commission to recommend changes to the seal. The legislation never advanced to a vote.
The timing of the latest effort comes in advance of the November 2020 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
