Ben & Jerry’s came under fire for its “anti-American” Fourth of July post, which went into its comeback machine to accuse the United States on Independence Day of being founded on the genocide of Native Americans.
This July 4th, it’s time to recognize that the US exists on stolen indigenous lands and pledge to return them. Learn more and act now: https://t.co/45smaBmORH pic.twitter.com/a6qp7LXUAE
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) July 4, 2023
“This 4th of July, it’s time to recognize that the US exists on stolen indigenous lands and pledge to give them back. Learn more and act now,” the hippie-dippy ice cream company said while linking to a website full of of cherry-picked historical facts that sweetened how Native American tribes had their own war stories.
Ben & Jerry’s then enlisted the support of the Land Back movement, which is nothing less than an irredentalist movement designed to divide the United States into tribal territories based on centuries-old claims.
“Why are we talking about this? Because on the Fourth of July, many people in the US celebrate freedom and independence, both from our country and from our own,” they said.
“But what is the meaning of Independence Day to those whose land was stolen by this country, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were driven from their holy places and deny their freedom?” the company continued. “The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny indigenous people their basic rights.”
It should be noted that Ben & Jerry’s is disfiguring the historical memory of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
“The Land Back movement led by indigenous people(Opens in a new window) it’s about restoring Indigenous rights and freedoms,” they added. “It’s about dismantling white supremacy and systems of oppression and ensuring Indigenous people can once again rule the land their communities have called home for thousands of years”.
It’s unclear what Ben & Jerry’s means by “white supremacy,” given that the United States has a legacy of expanding freedom throughout its history, in the view of the founders, and has been the most welcoming nation for in search of freedom. immigrants over the centuries.
“The US exists on stolen land. We must recognize that, today and every day,” they added. “In the Mount Rushmore case, the Supreme Court already did! This Fourth of July, it’s time to return that sacred site to the Lakota(Opens in a new window). Let’s make it a day that embraces freedom and justice all.”
But there was a delicious irony for Ben & Jerry’s: its own corporate headquarters exists on land “stolen” from Native Americans.
A Native American tribe that originally controlled the land in Vermont where Ben & Jerry’s is headquartered wants the land back after the company publicly demanded that the “stolen” land be returned. https://t.co/QFwSXCivfO
— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) July 8, 2023
“A Native American tribe that originally controlled the land in Vermont where Ben & Jerry’s is headquartered wants the land back after the company publicly demanded that the ‘stolen’ land be returned,” noted Ari Ingel of Newsweek.
This led to a snowball effect of commenters hilariously calling for Ben & Jerry’s to return their “stolen” land to the Abenaki people,
Is this your announcement that you are returning your corporate office to the Abenaki people? https://t.co/UEqAPnXggN
— Show Me The Date (@txsalth2o) July 4, 2023
Political expert Ashley St. Clair could only laugh at the hypocrisy.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha pic.twitter.com/Bgvw264Nh8
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) July 8, 2023
“This is beautiful,” commented one user. “Shut up or shut up.”
Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever recently saw a significant decline in market capitalization, losing nearly $2 billion, following calls for a boycott of the Vermont ice cream maker. This backlash came after Ben & Jerry’s posted a tweet on July 4, criticizing the United States for existing on “stolen indigenous land.”
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