Ben & Jerry’s got creamed for its ‘anti-American’ Fourth of July post, which went into its wayback machine to accuse America on Independence Day of being founded on the genocide of Native Americans.
“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,” the ice cream company said while linking to a website filled with cherry-picked historical facts that sugarcoat how Native American tribes had their own warlike histories.
Ben & Jerry’s then churned up support for the Land Back movement, which is no less than an irredentalist movement designed to break up the United States into tribal territories based on claims from centuries ago.
“Why are we talking about this? Because on the Fourth of July many people in the US celebrate liberty and independence—our country’s and our own,” they said.
“But what is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied 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 defacing the historical memory of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
“The Indigenous-led Land Back movement(Opens in new window) is all about restoring the rights and freedoms of Indigenous people,” they added. “It’s about dismantling white supremacy and systems of oppression and ensuring that Indigenous people can again govern the land their communities called home for thousands of years.”
It is unclear what Ben & Jerry’s means by “white supremacy,” given that the United States has a legacy of expanding freedom over the course of its history, according to the Founders’ vision, and has been the most welcoming nation for freedom-seeking immigrants throughout the centuries.
“The US exists on stolen land. We have to acknowledge that—today and every day,” they added. “In the case of Mount Rushmore, the Supreme Court already did! This Fourth of July, it’s time to return that sacred place to the Lakota(Opens in new window). Let’s make it a day that embraces freedom and justice for all.”
But there was a delicious bit of irony in store for Ben & Jerry’s: Their corporate headquarters itself exists on “stolen” Native American lands.
A Native American tribe that originally controlled the land in Vermont that Ben & Jerry's headquarters is located on wants land returned to them after the company publicly called for "stolen" lands to be returned. https://t.co/QFwSXCivfO
— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) July 8, 2023
“A Native American tribe that originally controlled the land in Vermont that Ben & Jerry’s headquarters is located on wants land returned to them after the company publicly called for “stolen” lands to be returned,” Ari Ingel of Newsweek noted.
This led to a snowballing effect of commentators hilariously calling for Ben & Jerry’s to return its “stolen” lands to the Abenaki people,
Is this your announcement that you’re returning your corporate office to the Abenaki people? https://t.co/UEqAPnXggN
— 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 (@txsalth2o) July 4, 2023
Political pundit Ashley St. Clair could only laugh at the hypocrisy.
hahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahaha pic.twitter.com/Bgvw264Nh8
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) July 8, 2023
“This is beautiful,” one user remarked. “Put up or shut up.”
Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, recently experienced a significant decrease in market capitalization, losing almost $2 billion, following calls for a boycott of the Vermont-based 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.”
