After gaining national attention, the Village of Whitesboro has replaced its controversial seal. Officials say the original depicted a historic friendly wrestling match between the village's founder and a Native American. However, others didn't see it that way. A village official spoke with our Melissa Krull exclusively to explain the new design.
WHITESBORO, N.Y. -- Last year Whitesboro's seal made headlines throughout the country, thanks in part to a segment that aired on Comedy Central.
Despite pressure to change the seal, the majority of residents said they either wanted to keep the image or at least keep the historic event it depicted.
"It was a friendly wrestling match that helped Hugh White and his family and [those] who came with him to win the respect of the Native Americans," said Village Clerk Dana Nimey-Olney.
However, that was what many took issue with.
"It was always people from outside the area that seemed to have this huge issue with our seal, not understanding, not wanting to understand, what it was supposed to represent and what it meant to us here," said Nimey-Olney.
So staying true to their history, keeping the critics in mind, and respecting the community's wishes, an artist worked with the Village to come up with a new seal. It was designed by a student at Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica.
"One of the problems with the seal, with the design, was that the clothing they were wearing wasn't really period-correct," Nimey-Olney said. "The Native American headdress wasn't correct for the Oneidas, so we worked together to make sure all of that was actually correct for this."
Several Whitesboro residents said they didn't have an issue with the old seal, but they hope there's less controversy surrounding this one.
"There's always going to be somebody that wants to pick on something, but I mean, the wrestling match is the wrestling match," said Nimey-Olney. "This is how they started the wrestling match. It's just part of who we are."
The seal was officially changed this summer.