Ben and Jerry's
by Sharelle Burt

July 5, 2023

Ben & Jerry’s Wants America To Pay What It Owes By Returning ‘Stolen Indigenous Land’

Ben & Jerry’s used the Fourth of July holiday to send a message to America—return “stolen indigenous land.”

The ice cream giant posted a message on its website calling for the United States to commit to returning what doesn’t belong to them. “Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn’t love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display?” the post read. “The only problem with all that, though, is that it can distract from an essential truth about this nation’s birth: The US was founded on stolen Indigenous land. This year, let’s commit to returning it.”

The post breaks down which land should be returned, starting with Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Ben & Jerry’s claim the landscape with the likenesses of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln used to be the Tunkasila Sakpe for the Lakota Sioux tribe. According to The Hill, the Supreme Court ruled that the land was stolen and awarded the Sioux more than $100 million in 1980. However, the tribes have refused to accept the payment, just wanting their land back.

A petition was also posted on the website that allows customers and those passionate about the subject to sign in hopes the land is one day returned.

The post was met with some pushback and generated calls for a potential boycott of the company as the brand’s fans called for them to start and “relinquish their headquarters,” Newsweek reports. “Shut down and donate all of your land, facilities, and assets to indigenous people,” one Twitter user wrote with an American flag in the background.

Another user referenced the recent boycott of Bud Light. “Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again,” John Rich of the country music duo Big & Rich wrote. Fans boycotted the beer brand recently after it worked out a sponsorship deal with trans influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney.


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