You know the old saying: “Great talkers are little doers.”
On Independence Day, the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s tweeted, “This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it.”
The tweet included a link to the Ben & Jerry’s website, which added that we should start with Mount Rushmore. “The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life,” the company wrote.
This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it. Learn more and take action now: https://t.co/45smaBmORH pic.twitter.com/a6qp7LXUAE
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) July 4, 2023
The webpage urged readers to sign a petition to “return” Mount Rushmore to the Lakota people.
The campaign, probably thought up by a bunch of 25-year-olds in the marketing department, was most likely aimed at generating some summer publicity and causing a few more guilt-ridden snowflakes to drown their privilege in a pint of Chunky Monkey.
But the ice cream maker’s scheme, like one of its best-selling flavors, was half-baked.
Is Ben & Jerry’s call to “return” land hypocritical?
Yes: 99% (764 Votes)
No: 1% (10 Votes)
It turns out that Ben & Jerry’s corporate headquarters in South Burlington, Vermont, are located in the historic territory of the Abenaki tribe.
Now, the chief of the Abenaki in the area wants to find out just how committed the company is to the cause.
According to the New York Post, Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, said he “looks forward to any kind of correspondence with the brand to see how they can better benefit Indigenous people.”
Stevens stated that if Ben & Jerry’s is “sincere,” it should reach out to him.
Twitter users also blasted the company for the shameless hypocrisy of demanding that Lakota land be “returned” while profiting off overpriced pints of diabetes on “stolen Indigenous land” in Vermont.
So hand over your company and all your assets to indigenous people. Put your money where your mouth is. Happy 4th! 🇺🇸
— Matt Antar (@mantarnyc) July 5, 2023
Give ALL of your property and land back to the Native Americans right now then… or shut up.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) July 4, 2023
Ok this should be easy then. Shut down and donate all of your land, facilities, and assets to indigenous people.
— Nathan Carlson 🌱 (@mrnathancarlson) July 4, 2023
Following the Fourth of July post, Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever might have begun to experience the “go woke, go broke” effect previously felt by Bud Light and Target, to name a couple.
Unilever’s market cap decreased by almost $2 billion in the days following the controversy and hasn’t recovered yet.
It remains to be seen if Ben & Jerry’s will reach out and discuss the handover of its land back to its “rightful owners.”
That would be a petition worth signing.
