Ben & Jerry’s ice cream received criticism after the company said “stolen Indigenous land” in the United States should be returned to Native Americans.
Instead of trying to unite everyone with a patriotic message on the Fourth of July, the Vermont-based company composed a tweet arguing the U.S. should “commit to returning” the land it sits on.
“This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it,” Ben & Jerry’s tweeted.
A message on the company’s website provided a little more context to the tweet.
“Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn’t love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display?” the company’s message said, arguing the problem was these things were a distraction from knowing the truth about the “nation’s birth.”
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 US was founded on stolen Indigenous land,” the message said, continuing to tell the story of how the land that South Dakota and Mount Rushmore sit on was taken from the Great Sioux Nation.
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled the land had indeed been stolen from the Great Sioux Nation and awarded the nation $105 million, which was never taken. Today, it is worth around $2 billion, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
The tweet from Ben & Jerry’s received backlash from several users on Twitter, many pointing out the company sits on stolen land.
“Ben and Jerry’s corporate office is in South Burlington, VT. Home of the Abenaki people,” one user wrote on Twitter. The user pointed out 3,200 members of the Abenaki Nation still live in the area and encouraged Ben & Jerry’s to give them their land back.
https://twitter.com/txsalth2o/status/1676345678589566977
Another Twitter user pointed out the ice cream company had donated “zero dollars” in reparations to Native Americans.
Amount Ben & Jerry's has donated to "Native American Reparations":
— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) July 5, 2023
Zero dollars. Zero acres. Zero services. https://t.co/79ro0mGS4n
Joel M. Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District in New York, tweeted a photo of an article from The Jerusalem Post, in which Jewish students called for Ben & Jerry’s to leave the land they occupied in Vermont.
“Speaking of stolen land, the Abenaki Nation would like to have a word,” Petlin wrote. “They really should commit to returning this stolen land, and naming their next flavor *Shameful Hypocrisy Crunch*.”
Speaking of stolen land, the Abenaki Nation would like to have a word with @benandjerrys about the land under their headquarters that they are occupying in Vermont.
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) July 5, 2023
They really should commit to returning this stolen land, and naming their next flavor *Shameful Hypocrisy Crunch* https://t.co/3OddasrfEt pic.twitter.com/xk7oKmPOoy
More than 1,000 Israeli students signed a petition in August 2022, accusing Ben & Jerry’s of “illegally” occupying land from the Abenaki Nation and calling for them to evacuate it immediately, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“We have concluded that your company’s occupation of the Abenaki lands is illegal and we believe it is wholly inconsistent with the stated values that Ben & Jerry’s purports to maintain,” a letter from the students to the ice cream company read.