Recently the State of Minnesota passed legislation making it illegal
to sell products that state or imply a connection to American Indian
leaders; the law was aimed in particular at eliminating the sale of Crazy
Horse Malt Liquor in Minnesota. Hornell Brewing Company, owners of the
label, is challenging the law, and the hearing for their challenge is
scheduled for April 19 in St. Paul.
It would be helpful if we could get together a letter of protest to
coincide with that hearing. With help from people involved in the
Stereotype Awareness Project, I've written a letter that would be aimed at
the owners of Hornell Brewing, John Ferolito and Dominic Vultaggio, which
I've included in this post. Because the general principles that we've used
in getting together the stereotype project operate on the assumption that we
will first do private letters expressing concern to companies that use
offensive stereotypes, this letter takes an open, positive approach.
Everything I've heard about Vultaggio and Ferolito would suggest they'll
dismiss such a plea, but we should be careful not to deny them a chance to
do the right thing--and maybe we'll be surprised! Further, it's important
to keep our own actions completely conscientious, we means approaching them
directly first.
However, if we get no reply, I'd like to try to publish this letter as
an open letter, sending copies of it to various newspapers and/or periodicals.
In an open letter we might let people know that this same company also
makes AriZona Iced Tea, which uses Native spiritual symbols as designs on
their labels, and also pictures a medicine man on their new ginseng tea.
So we would first make a human appeal, seeing to work with Vultaggio and
Ferolito, followed by a more aggressive publicity approach if nothing
happens.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN THIS PROTEST? If so, please send a message
to Jim Postema at <postema@cobber.cord.edu>, saying you want to sign the
letter and including a little bit of information about yourself. Part of
the strength of this appeal is that it will show that we are human beings
concerned with this issue, and two or three lines about yourself will help
show us as real, live human beings. So include things like:
-tribal background, if any
-your "niche" in society: family, work, place
-any other *brief* pieces of information you'd like to include
about yourself
To time this with the hearing date, I'll need to mail this out about
April 14, so we can get a copy to the Attorney General's Office in
Minnesota, as well as reaching Ferolito and Vultaggio around April 19. So
I'll have to have your signatures before **April 13** to include it in the
copy we actually send out.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know--and please do
join us. Thanks in advance for all your support.
***************************************************************************
April 14, 1995
Domenic Vultaggio, etc.
Dear Mr. Vultaggio,
We are writing to you, one of the owners of Hornell Brewing
Co., to appeal to your sense of justice and rightness as a fellow
human being. As you can see from the names and information about
people who have signed this letter, we come from all walks of life,
from a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds. But despite
our many differences, we share a common belief: that all of us,
including you, are part of the vast interconnected web of life on
this earth. With our actions we can, as can you, influence the
lives and happiness of other human beings. On this basis, then, we
ask you to change the name of your company's product, "Crazy Horse
Malt Liquor," to a name that does not use Native American images or
persons to sell the product.
We believe that by using Crazy Horse's name to sell alcohol
your company is perpetuating the widespread ignorance about Crazy
Horse and all Native Americans in two ways. First, in attempting to
create a romantic image for your brand of alcohol, you have used
stereotypes about "savage" Indian fighters, demonstrating and
spreading a lack of understanding of who Crazy Horse was and what
he was fighting for. Secondly, by using his name to sell alcohol
you are further contributing to one of the worst stereotypes of
Native Americans, that of the "drunk Indian."
You may be unaware of the sad history of the use of alcohol by
Europeans as a tool to exploit Natives. Throughout the last four
centuries, whites have distributed alcohol as a way of getting
better terms from Indians in land deals, to lower prices in the old
fur trade, and still today, to reap huge profits from liquor sales
near reservations while contributing nothing to the Indian
community. Not surprisingly, whites have twisted the history of
this exploitation, by creating and perpetuating the stereotype that
Indians are somehow natural alcoholics--when in fact there is abuse
of alcohol in both white and Native communities. Naming an
alcoholic product after an Indian only adds to this already
widespread stereotype.
We also believe that your choice of brand name, even if
inadvertantly, degrades the man whose name you have used, Tashunke
Witko. The man whose name is translated into English as "Crazy
Horse" was renowned for his bravery and for his refusal to submit
to white oppression. He was a visionary man, a spiritual leader
for his people and, above all, a reverential man, with a profound
awareness of the spiritual world. But because he has been both
romanticized and vilified by an ignorant white world, most
Americans do not know of these aspects of his nature.
Furthermore, Crazy Horse himself outspokenly denounced the use
of alcohol by his people. So by putting his name on an alcoholic
product, your company not only adds to the stereotype of the "drunk
Indian," it also degrades the memory of a man who fought exactly
the kind of exploitation that alcohol represents. We are confident
that--of all people--Crazy Horse himself would *never* have allowed
his name to be associated with your product, because it is
something that has been used at times to subdue his people and to
contribute to their occasional turning away from spiritual
wellbeing. Your use of his name to sell alcohol goes against
everything that he himself stood for, and everything for which he
is remembered and honored.
Can you understand, Mr. Vultaggio, how a devout Catholic might
feel if someone were to open up an abortion clinic and name it the
"Pope John Paul Abortion Center"? No matter what one feels
personally about the issue of abortion, it would be clear that
such a name for a clinic would be not only inappropriate but
offensive. This example may help explain how Native people react
to "Crazy Horse Malt Liquor," and may help you understand just how
deeply offensive that product name is to Native Americans and
others concerned with justice.
We want to offer a clear image of Crazy Horse to society and we
would like to work with you to correct misconceptions. We ask you,
then, Mr. Vultaggio, to reconsider your use of Crazy Horse's name.
If our concerns are not clear to you, or if you would like to
discuss this issue further, there are members of our group would be
very happy to do so. We would be available to help you educate
your employees or stockholders, too, if you felt this to be
necessary, and we can suggest resources or contact people in your
area who could help you work towards positive change.
Mr. Vultaggio, you have an opportunity here to become a true
leader in your industry: by moving beyond sales which benefit only
your stockholder's pocketbooks, you could help create a spirit of
cooperation and awareness that has yet to be seen in the history of
the alcohol trade. We ask you, then, to have the courage to
benefit others in non-material ways. Please take this opportunity
to help educate the American people. Please stop manufacturing and
selling malt liquor in the name of an esteemed spiritual leader of
this continent.
Sincerely,
** [Your name here?] **
CC: Minnesota State Attorney General's Office
Robert Gough, Attorney for Seth Big Crow, grandson of Crazy
Horse
****************************************************************************
Again, if you would like to join in this protest, please send your name
and a little bit of information about yourself to:
Jim Postema
postema@cobber.cord.edu