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NILES — The City of Niles is being asked to part ways with its long-held nickname.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Indiana and Michigan asked the City of Niles during its City Council meeting Monday to retire the ‘City of Four Flags’ moniker and to work to correct the exclusion of the original people in local state historical markers. Monday was Indigenous Peoples Day.

Niles resident Anne Born and Pokagon Band Representation Outreach Board Vice Chair Julie Dye spoke during the citizens participation portion of the meeting expressing their desire to see the city make the change.

“I propose that it is time for Niles to let go of the ‘Four Flags’ because we are truly a city of many nations,” Born said. “Celebrate the unique historical significance of Niles and at least afford the Potawatomi equal standing with the four other nations who asserted sovereignty here, even if, like Spain, for just a few hours. Acknowledge the original inhabitants of Niles, including the Miami people, alongside the Americans who forced them to leave. 

“Niles certainly can still be known as the City of Just Four Flags, celebrating colonialism and aggression and never mention the people who gave the state of Michigan its name, or we can embrace the Potawatomi as one of the many nations who have lived here. Indigenous history isn’t incidental to Michigan history – it is Michigan, history. Niles is so much more than four flags; We are a history-rich city of many nations.”

Niles is known as “The City of Four Flags” because four nations – The United States, France, Spain and England – have controlled the area at different points since settlers arrived in 1691. Before that, the area was inhabited for hundreds of years by indigenous tribes, most famously the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi is a federally recognized tribe with more than 6,000 citizens as of September 2023. It is based in Southwest Michigan and Northern Indiana with its governmental operations located in Dowagiac.

Dye, a Dowagiac resident, presented the council with a letter from the Representation Outreach Board asking the city to make the change.

“The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Representation Outreach Board supports the recommendation to retire the ‘City of Four Flags’ moniker and to work to correct the exclusion of the original people in local state historical markers,” Dye said. “Our board works to correct instances where our people are misrepresented or our culture is misappropriated and in this case, we’re not represented at all. We have been taught a redacted American history and are historically excluded here on Turtle Island, that predates America and the U.S. government.

“Those who invaded and claimed this land for themselves effectively worked to erase the deep and rich cultures and contributions of indigenous people who cared for the land for thousands of years, pre-contact, and who remain and continue to enrich and contribute to this community in myriad of ways. In keeping with your mission statement, please address this issue. Our board is available and willing to cooperate and can be reached at the following email address. This is Bawating – The Place of the Rapids. We are here as we’ve always been.”

During the council’s reports portion of the meeting, councilmember John DiCostanzo said that he personally did not support changing the city’s logo, which he said would be a very large expense to the city:

“You know, pieces of land across the world change hands many, many times. So renaming the city based on who was here at that particular point in time is just a very arbitrary decision. Right now, the City of Niles I think has more to do with the Europeans who came here and settled and the culture that we have is more based on the European culture. 

“I wouldn’t support any change in our logo, especially because of the expense, but it’s very difficult to pick the right time in history. People across the world have conquered other areas, conquered other peoples constantly. Any decisions to say we’re going to go back 600 years and those are the people who rightfully own that piece of land is just as incorrect as who owns the land today. So I don’t I don’t support any of those decisions.”