Native Origins: The Massachusett

 

Massachusetts State Flag.

The Massachusetts state flag was adopted by the legislature June of 1898, after revisions made by well-known 19th-century illustrator Edmund H. Garret. Garret’s redesign of the flag’s central seal did not alter much of the shield’s form or general composition; his approach prioritized the reflection of an “ideal Native American”. This attempt to put together a design that “accurately” portrays a Native American actually parallels the reality of colonialism and the racialized social hierarchy system that it enforced. Multiple segments of the flag’s design were inspired by events where the colonial British dominated local tribesmen— the sword that is held by a clothed arm above the shield, for instance, was modeled after the sword of Myles Standish, a military commander whose violence against Native Americans was publicly known. The seal of the Massachusett themselves differs from the flag’s design in an attempt to minimize references to or the glamorization of the tribe’s history with colonialism. The broadsword of Myles Standish is absent in the tribe’s seal, as is the Latin motto that surrounds the edges of the design; both of these intentional design alterations reflect the tribe’s attempt to honor the history and lives of its ancestors, without having to consistently depict the violence, pain, and suffering they endured. 

Massachusett Tribe Seal. 

Personally, if I were to help create a memorial for the first occupants of Cambridge, I think an emphasis on their connection to the land and its resources would be the most effective way of capturing their spirit and relationship with the region. I would propose a series of bronze or copper life-size statues along the bank of the Charles River; the patina and visible color change that these metals can collect and experience are intentionally considered, as this would reflect how long the area had been inhabited before it became “Cambridge” as we know it today. The statues would be made to reflect regional natives of different ages, both men and women—in motion— interacting with the river and other nearby resources. From a distance, the silhouettes of these statues would give the appearance of real, living people.