A Chance To Correct History - Editorial
Recently, the Enterprise received a note from a resident with concerns about the Bourne town seal. In the note, Jack MacDonald, a local historian and former president of the Bourne Historical Society, expressed his qualms about the image depicted on the seal, calling it “cartoonish” and an “outdated, stereotypical (á la Bugs Bunny) inaccurate depiction of a local native dwelling.”
The seal depicts two Indigenous people sitting in front of a typical native dwelling known as a tipi (teepee). To their left is a deer, and to the right are two ships.
In his note, which was addressed to a Cape Cod Times reporter and then forwarded by him to the Enterprise, Mr. MacDonald wrote, “The FIRST thing anyone learns here, either at Plymouth/Patuxet Museum or any other northeast native event, is that the local natives lived in wetus. Elementary school children are taught about wetus.”
One of our editors, not being familiar with the traditions and customs of the local Native American tribes, decided to research traditional Wampanoag homes. Even with just their basic knowledge and quick research, that editor was able to recognize quickly that while the tipi depicted on the Bourne town seal is typical of some Indigenous groups, the local Wampanoag tribe is not one of them. As Mr. MacDonald wrote, Wampanoag people traditionally lived in what is called a wetu, or a domed structure with a frame made of cedar that is then covered with bark.
“The Bourne town seal is a gross misinterpretation of the local Native American culture,” Mr. MacDonald wrote, “and needs to be updated, in my opinion.”
We agree with Mr. MacDonald. After researching the differences between the two structures—tipi homes were meant to be moved, traditionally used by Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains, whereas the Wampanoag wetu was a sturdy and more permanent home—we believe the town seal is worth reconsidering ahead of the imminent physical restoration of the Bourne flag, which bears the seal.
Previous reporting suggests that Charles Sidney Raleigh, an Englishman, created the official seal of the Town of Bourne in 1895, 127 years ago. While it’s common for non-native people to conflate stereotypes with reality—something plainly stated on the website for Historic Patuxet—that doesn’t mean it should carry on uncorrected. The Patuxet website even directly addressed the question of tipi homes in Wampagnoag culture.
“No, the Wampanoag have never lived in that type of housing,” the website states. “A tepee (or tipi) is a style of house constructed in the Great Plains region. They have been depicted in film, art and in books for over a hundred years, so it’s no surprise that most people are very familiar with tepees, and not so familiar with wetus—the type of houses Native People in the Northeast built.”
Stereotypes don’t have to be ill-intentioned to have an ill effect on the way history is told and retold. It’s doubtful that the tipi on the seal was put there as a sign of disrespect. But we think this could be a chance for the Town of Bourne to go above and beyond in showing proper respect to the Native American people to whom this land once belonged in changing the seal to provide an accurate—and less stereotypical—depiction of Wampanoag culture on its town seal.
Mr. MacDonald’s letter has been shared with Town Administrator Marlene McCollem, Select Board chairman Peter Meier and Select Board member Melissa Ferretti, who is chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Bournedale and Plymouth. We hope that a public discussion will be had on this topic, and we’re confident that Ms. Ferretti—who not too long ago hosted a talk at the Aptucxet Museum about the history of her tribe—will have valuable contributions to that conversation.
We think Bourne should take this opportunity to correct the seal’s inaccuracies before moving forward with the restoration of the flag that bears it. To us, it would be a shame to let the chance to create a more accurate depiction of local Indigenous culture to pass by without taking action.