The Whitesboro NY village seal depicts a White man strangling an Indian.  Seriously… I’m not making this up.

When I first saw this, I didn’t believe it.  Sure enough, even the WhitesBoro village website recounts the history of their seal and it’s just as outlandish as I originally thought.

The following is an excerpt from the History of the Village of Whitsboro

In an article of the Observer Dispatch, written by Joe Kelly in 1977, a notice of claim was filed with the Village Board saying the (village) seal depicts a “white man choking an Indian” and said the seal demeans, disgraces and creates prejudice and distrust of Indian people. He asked the Village to stop displaying the seal. As a result of this, the seal was re-designed with Hugh White’s hands being placed on the Indian’s shoulders and not so close to his neck. The wrestling match was an important event in the history of the settling of the Village of Whitesboro and helped foster good relations between White and the Indians.

All well and good right?  Think again.  Take a look at the newly revised seal yourself:

This same seal is what is still displayed today on all village vehicles, letterhead and official documents.  This just seems wrong to me.  I’m not sure how this is still around.