This Fourth of July, Ben and Jerry’s decided to make a bold statement about the land America was built on. People were divided in their opinion of their campaign for this independence day.
Keep reading to find out more.
On Independence Day, a lot of businesses take to celebrating the country. But Ben and Jerry’s, the renowned ice cream brand wanted to send out a different message. The company sent out a graphic which said, “The United States was Founded on Stolen Indigenous Land. This Fourth of July, Let’s Commit to Returning It.”
The brand also encouraged people to “learn more and take action now.” However, they did not specify how the brand itself was going to put this ideology into action. People chimed in and told the company to return the land their factories and offices were based on back to Native American tribes that originally inhabited the land. Country musician John Rich echoed these sentiments as well.
People even researched to see which tribes originally lived in these areas and said, they hoped the company returned the land to the “Abenaki and Mohican Native Americans that have lived in Vermont for 10,000 years.”
Users even called to boycott the icecream brand. According to estimates, Ben and Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, has reportedly “suffered a substantial loss of approximately $2.5 billion in market capitalization.”
Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation Chief Don Stevens has said to the media that he is very interested in getting the land back from the icecream company which is based majorly in Vermont. He told Newsweek that the tribe is “always interested in reclaiming the stewardship of our lands.”
But while he has made his intentions of wanting to accept the land public, it seems the company is not responding to the requests.
“sits on a vast swathe of U.S. territory that was under the auspices of the Abenaki people before colonization,” according to reports.
Steven says, “If and when we are approached, many conversations and discussions will need to take place to determine the best path forward for all involved.”
On their social media posts, people are commenting constantly for the comapny to address this and give back the ‘stolen land’ their operations are based on.
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