Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Flag Change topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maynard presenters urge support for changing Massachusetts flag and seal
Summary
At its April meeting, the Maynard Finance Committee heard from Heather O’Brien, a member of the Maynard Historical Commission, who urged the town to back a petition asking the state to replace its flag and seal, saying current imagery harms Indigenous residents and that municipal votes are helping push stalled state action.
Heather O’Brien, a member of the Maynard Historical Commission, told the Maynard Finance Committee that the current Massachusetts state flag and seal cause ongoing harm and asked the town to support a citizens petition urging a change.
“...the sword above the Indigenous person is modeled on Miles Standish’s broadsword,” O’Brien said, adding that Standish “was the military commander for the Plymouth colony known for ambushing and killing native people.” She said the seal’s Latin motto — commonly paraphrased as “peace under the sword” — and the flag’s imagery are experienced today as a celebration of settler violence by Indigenous Massachusetts residents.
O’Brien summarized the petition’s practical aims and legislative history: bills to change the flag have repeatedly stalled in the state legislature since an effort was first filed in 1985, she said, and town-level votes have helped create momentum. She noted a bipartisan state commission convened in recent years concluded that the seal and motto “inflict harm” and that the state has solicited over 1,000 public submissions for replacement designs.
Committee members pressed O’Brien on what a municipal endorsement would accomplish, given the flag’s status as a state symbol. O’Brien replied that municipal votes convey constituent views to state legislators and help keep the issue in public view; she also cited neighboring towns that have approved similar petitions and urged Maynard to add its voice. Several committee members said they were sympathetic to the petition’s goals but wary of using limited town-meeting time for matters that require state action.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the petition during the session. The presentation closed with O’Brien offering to provide examples of language and to brief town meeting attendees about the local rationale and the state process.
Looking ahead: O’Brien said she would be available to answer questions at town meeting and that supporters from other towns have recently succeeded in passing similar articles on their warrants.
