By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Boston, MA) A march at the state capital will take place this Thursday, July 16 to protest the state flag and seal and to ask legislatures to ban the use of Native American mascots. Sponsored by the Indian Center of Boston United American Indians of New England, ChangetheMassFlag.com, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, New England Peace Pagoda, Manos Unidas Multicultural Education Cooperative, and the Wendell State Forest Alliance, the event will start at 10:30am and protesters will be located on the State House Steps in Boston.
According to the organization MA Indigenous Agenda, the State Flag and Seal are a symbol of white supremacy.
“The time has come to change the white supremacist state flag and seal of Massachusetts, which features a white hand holding a Colonial broadsword over the head of a Native American,” the website reads.
The Mascots Bill, voted into the Senate Ways and Means Committee in 2019, attempts to limit or ban the use of Native American mascots in the State of Massachusetts. However, according to MA Indigenous Agenda, the amended version of the bill weakens the intent behind the bill by eliminating the language specifying Native Americans and creating overly broad language. To visit the MA Indigenous Agenda website, click here.