The Massachusetts flag redesign is on hold. A state advisory commission narrowed more than 1,100 public submissions to three flag finalists in August 2025, but all four Native American members of the commission objected to the choices, the planned public hearings were canceled, and the commission has not met since mid-December 2025. It is now seeking another legislative extension to continue its work. Even once a design is chosen, the legislature still has to pass a bill before the flag officially changes.
Why Massachusetts Is Replacing the Flag
The current state seal, which appears on the flag, was codified in 1885 and adopted in its present form in 1898. It depicts a Native American figure beneath a disembodied arm holding a broadsword modeled after the weapon of Myles Standish, the military leader of Plymouth Colony. The Latin motto translates to “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”1The Conversation. The Massachusetts Flag Glorifies the Violence Committed by Colonizers
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has called the imagery “insulting, demoralizing and of the utmost disrespect to Indigenous people.”2Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. State Flag Is Insulting3Change the Mass Flag. History1The Conversation. The Massachusetts Flag Glorifies the Violence Committed by Colonizers
The flag itself was adopted in 1908 and has been changed only once, in 1971, when the reverse side was removed.4Westford CAT. Westford Museum Director Discusses New Proposal to Change Massachusetts State Flag
The Three Flag Finalists
In July 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed a budget amendment creating the Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission with a $100,000 budget and a mandate to recommend new designs.5Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission The 10-member panel opened a public submission period that closed in June 2025 and received 1,165 entries, roughly 997 of them flag designs.6WBUR. Here Are Some of the Silliest Submissions for a New Massachusetts Flag, Seal and Motto
In August 2025, the commission narrowed the flag field to three finalists, all of which incorporate the number six to represent Massachusetts as the sixth state to ratify the Constitution:7WBUR. Massachusetts State Flag, Seal Top Picks
- The Blue Hill Banner shows a blue hill on the hoist side with six blue and white waves extending across the flag and a golden eight-pointed star centered above the hill. The hill references the Massachusett tribe’s name, which translates to “at the great hill”; the waves represent the coastline; the star echoes a compass rose honoring the state’s maritime history.8Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Seal, Flag, and Motto Round Three Selections
- The Mayflower Flag places a white mayflower with a six-pointed gold star at its center against a dark blue background. The petals mirror the shield on the current flag, and the gold star represents both the sixth-state distinction and the golden dome of the State House.8Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Seal, Flag, and Motto Round Three Selections
- The Six Feathers Flag arranges six turkey feathers in a clockwise circle on a crimson background. The turkey feathers are associated with Indigenous ceremonies and symbolize health and well-being; the crimson references Massachusetts educational institutions.8Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Seal, Flag, and Motto Round Three Selections
The commission also unveiled three finalists for the seal and three for the motto at the same meeting.9State House News Service. Finalists Finally Unveiled for New State Seal, Flag and Motto
Why the Process Stalled
The finalists were supposed to go out for public hearings in September and October 2025. That did not happen. At an August 28, 2025, meeting, all four Native American members of the commission raised formal objections to the nine finalists.10Provincetown Independent. An Effort to Change 3 State Symbols Takes a Pause
Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusett tribe called the designs “visually attractive but symbolically flawed,” noting that the commission’s scoring rubric included four categories for design principles but only one for content and representation. She said the mayflower and the “shining city on a hill” allusion in the Blue Hill Banner both reference the colonization that devastated Native communities. “To go from something the Indigenous community found offensive to something that completely ignores the Indigenous community is incredibly problematic,” Solomon stated.10Provincetown Independent. An Effort to Change 3 State Symbols Takes a Pause Commissioner Rhonda Anderson, who is Iñupiaq and Athabascan, suggested replacing the mayflower with a strawberry or heartberry flower to better acknowledge Indigenous communities.7WBUR. Massachusetts State Flag, Seal Top Picks
The scheduled hearings were canceled. The commission instead formed an education subcommittee that met four times in September and October 2025 to discuss the state’s history of misrepresenting Native people and the challenges of updating official emblems without erasing Indigenous history. No public feedback was gathered through the planned hearing process.10Provincetown Independent. An Effort to Change 3 State Symbols Takes a Pause
In early 2026, the commission adopted a recalibrated scoring rubric giving equal weight to representation and design features, and moved to rescore the earlier pool of second-round submissions under the new criteria. That brought previously eliminated designs featuring lighthouses, whales, and turkeys back into contention.11MassLive. These Scrapped Mass. Flag Designs Are Back in the Running In other words, the three finalists announced in August 2025 are no longer necessarily the finalists.
Where the Commission Stands Now
The commission has already missed its original July 2025 deadline and a revised December 2025 deadline. Members have cited a “fundamental public misunderstanding” about why the flag’s imagery needs to be replaced.12Boston Globe. Massachusetts State Flag Seal Commission Extension As of June 2026, the commission has not met since mid-December 2025, and no date for its next meeting has been announced. More than 85 municipalities have passed resolutions calling on the legislature to prioritize the change, and the grassroots Change the Mass Flag campaign is directing supporters to call the governor’s office.13Mass Peace Action. Let’s Get This Done
Governor Healey has signaled general support for the commission but said in September 2025 that her priorities were public health, housing costs, and energy policy, adding: “Until, you know, further discussions and recommendations… I’ll continue to be here and that flag will continue to be here.”14NBC Boston. Maura Healey on Mass. State Flag
What Still Has to Happen Before the Flag Changes
The commission’s role is advisory. Under the law that created it, the commission selects final options for the seal, flag, and motto and submits its recommendations to the governor.5Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission The governor is then required to submit legislation to the General Court to amend the sections of state law codifying the official symbols.14NBC Boston. Maura Healey on Mass. State Flag That bill then goes through the standard process: committee review, three readings in each chamber, passage by both the House and Senate, and the governor’s signature.15General Court of Massachusetts. How an Idea Becomes a Law
So the sequence is: the commission has to resume meeting, pick a design under its new rubric, forward a recommendation to the governor, and then the legislature has to pass a bill adopting it. None of those steps has a current date attached. The flag flying over the State House today is the same one that has flown since 1971, and it will keep flying until each of those steps is complete.