Oct 20: The History and Future of the Massachusetts State Flag

Discover the historical context and contemporary debates surrounding the Massachusetts state flag, seal, and motto. This presentation, led by Sage Carbone and Dr. David Shane Lowry, examines the complex history of these symbols and their impact on the community. In light of the Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission’s open call for public input, this discussion will foster a deeper understanding of civic symbolism and encourage participation in this process.

Learn more about the Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission’s open call to artists.

About the Presenters

Sage Carbone is a member of the Northern Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island. She moved to Boston in 2007 and attended Wheelock College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a focus in History and minors in Visual Arts, Sociology, and Human Rights. In 2015 she graduated with a dual Masters in Business Administration and Communications Management from Simmons University. She is a co-founder of Cambridge City Growers, a neighborhood organization that rematriates underutilized spaces to grow food and also manages the Coast Community Fridge at the Cambridge Community Center.

Dr. David Shane Lowry is an anthropologist and an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He is a graduate of MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill, where his graduate work was funded by the National Science Foundation. His first book, Lumbee Pipelines, explores how American Indian communities navigate colonial conditions to create opportunities. He is also beginning a second book with MIT Press, titled Indigenous MIT. As a Visiting Senior Fellow at Brandeis University and a Distinguished Fellow in Native American Studies at MIT, Lowry has led conversations about the responsibilities of institutions in relation to the theft of Native American land and the impact on Indigenous health and communities. Currently, he directs the Indigenous Relationships Lab (IRL) at the University of Southern Maine and hosts the “Returning the Land” podcast on WMPG.