Tribal chief demands Ben & Jerry’s move HQ from tribal land.
The Coosuck Abenaki Tribal Chief Calls Out Ben & Jerry’s
The Coosuck Abenaki Tribal chief has taken a stand against Ben & Jerry’s decision to keep its headquarters on his tribe’s land in Vermont. Chief Don Stevens recently appeared on Fox & Friends to voice his concerns, following an interview with Newsweek where he expressed his desire to “reclaim the stewardship of our lands.”
Ben & Jerry’s sparked controversy with a social media campaign on July 4, urging the return of all native lands to their respective tribes. This prompted Chief Stevens to speak out against the ice cream company’s actions.
A Home for All Nations
“It is the home of all four of our nations,” Chief Stevens emphasized, referring to Ben & Jerry’s headquarters. The Abenaki tribe is part of a confederacy consisting of several tribes.
Despite the tribe’s connection to the land, Chief Stevens revealed that Ben & Jerry’s has not reached out to him or offered to return the land.
The Impact of a Boycott
Following the ice cream company’s claim on Twitter that “the U.S. was founded on stolen Indigenous land,” approximately 30 million users read the tweet and decided to boycott the brand. As a result, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, experienced a significant drop in share price, falling to $51.31, nearly a dollar less than before the tweet. This boycott could potentially cost Unilever around $2 billion in market capitalization.
Ben & Jerry’s also called for the return of Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills to the Lakota tribe, sharing a petition for others to sign. The number of signatures on the petition remains unclear.
Despite the controversy, Ben & Jerry’s headquarters continue to remain in South Burlington, Vermont.
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