As McMaster prepares to honour two month-long events in June, their representative flags are set to take turns flying over University Hall.
June is both National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month, and campus groups representing the diverse Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities have come together to make a plan that ensures both are appropriately represented on the flagpole where the university flag typically flies.
A Pride flag is set to fly June 1 and 2 as Pride Month begins.
The Haudenosaunee flag is to fly June 3 to 8, to commemorate National Indigenous History Month and align with the June 3 Indigenous Graduate Celebration.
The Pride flag will return for the weeks of June 8 and June 22, and the Haudenosaunee flag will fly June 15 to 21 to align with National Indigenous People’s Day on June 21, and return for the week of June 29, including Canada Day.
The plan was developed in the spirit of Indigenous sovereignty, mutual respect, allyship, and collaboration between the Indigenous Education Council, the Pride at Mac Employee Resource Group, and the offices of the President, Vice-Provost Indigenous, and Vice-Provost Equity and Inclusion, and recognizes the intersectional identities of members of Indigenous communities and the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
The timing of the flag changes is subject to safe weather conditions for accessing the rooftop flagpole.