In Minnesota the matter is out of the hands of Public Safety Commissioner
Michael Jordan's hands. The appeal is to the State Court of Appeals. The
position of the Minneapolis CLU, however, may not be shared by the ACLU
chapters around the country. Maybe amicus briefs from other chapters or from
other organization or individuals with an interest in standing up for Native
rights might be of help, as well as an old fashion news paper letter writing
campaign to papers around the country to let the public know how local people
feel on this issue. Perhaps someone in the Twin Cities area on the net is
willing to help coordinate the local effort there with the Crazy Horse
Defense Project (715/425-0004).
It amazes me that even the usual respecters of "property rights,"
including those who traffic off of pornography, often defended in Minnesota
by the MCLU, believe in obtaining permissions and model releases of those who
appear in their "products." First Amendment protection of "Commercial free
speech" should be limited to the right to sell that which you own.
Misrepresentation is not a protected right.
Have a Very New Year, Kola.
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
Thanks to Robert Gough for this reminder that Jim Postema had begun a
protest earlier this year. I had sort of remembered that effort, but I
hadn't remembered the details. With this additional incentive, provided
by Robert, I submitted a database search to the LISTSERV software at
TAMVM1. It found the following two articles which I thought I'd pass on
as a reminder of what Jim is up to.
Assuming Jim is still carrying on this effort, therefore, I'd suggest that
he is the best person to get in touch with about protesting the current
situation.
Gary
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>>> Item number 10534, dated 95/04/08 12:22:49 -- ALL
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 12:22:49 CDT
Subject: Call for Signatures--Protest letter, "Crazy Horse" Malt Liquor
Original Sender: postema@cobber.cord.edu (Jim Postema)
Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us)
PROTEST LETTER against HORNELL BREWING Co. and "CRAZY HORSE" MALT LIQUOR
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
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>>> Item number 10536, dated 95/04/08 19:47:16 -- ALL
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 19:47:16 -0400
Subject: Crazy Horse liquor (Long) update
Original Sender: mordecaisp@aol.com
Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us)
Brewer will challenge state's Crazy Horse booze ban April 19
by Mordecai Specktor
Most liquor stores in south Minneapolis have responded positively to
complaints by outraged Native Americans and stopped selling the notorious
Crazy Horse malt liquor, but the product is still legally available at
retail outlets in Minnesota.
Although the 1994 Minnesota Legislature banned the product, the law is being
challenged by Hornell Brewing Co., the Brooklyn-based owner of the brand
name, and G. Heileman, the LaCrosse, Wisconsin brewer that actually produces
the booze under contract to Hornell.
Until a final determination is made on the Hornell/Heileman appeal, the big
40-ounce malt liquor bottles bearing the name of the famous Oglala Lakota
spiritual leader can still legally sit on store shelves.
The legal showdown comes April 19, when state administrative law judge Allen
E. Giles will hear arguments by Hornell challenging the order by the state
Department of Public Safety (DPS) liquor control division to stop selling
their malt liquor in Minnesota.
The state agency ordered Hornell/Heileman and Barton Beers, Ltd. of Chicago
-- brewer of Chief Oshkosh beer, which is named after the early 19th century
leader of the Menominee nation -- to stop selling their products as of
August 1, 1994.
The order from the state liquor control agency reflected the intent of the
1994 law revoking approval of "brand label registration" for any malt liquor
that "states or implies in a false or misleading manner a connection with an
actual living or dead American Indian leader."
The Minnesota Office of the Attorney General will defend the state liquor
control agency's order to ban Crazy Horse malt liquor. They will be joined
by attorneys representing the Crazy Horse estate, which the administrative
law judge has allowed to intervene in the case.
The petition to intervene in the case presented by the estate's attorney,
Bob Gough from Rosebud, So. Dakota, asserts that the "use of the name Crazy
Horse violates the memory of their ancestor . . . Crazy Horse was vehemently
opposed to the use of alcohol by his people." Putting the spiritual leader's
name on the malt liquor bottles is a "misrepresentation of
Crazy Horse and the principles for which he stood."
Lawrence Fox, an attorney with McDermott, Will & Emery in New York, will
represent Hornell and Heileman at the administrative hearing. He argues that
the state statute is an "effort to impair the 1st amendment rights" of his
clients.
(During a preliminary hearing in the Hornell appeal last October, Giles told
attorneys that he would not consider constitutional arguments. He said the
administrative hearing will concern only arguments about the facts of the
beer ban as they apply to state law.)
"The [Minnesota law banning Crazy Horse malt liquor] was designed for one
purpose and one purpose only, and that was to eliminate this one brand from
the market because its name was deemed to be offensive," Fox said. "That is
an unfortunate and improper use of government authority -- to regulate what
is or is not perceived to be politically correct or offensive speech."
Attorney Fox even argues that his clients' product doesn't actually refer to
the historical personage Tashunke Witko, a.k.a., Crazy Horse.
"We didn't allege that [Crazy Horse malt liquor] has been endorsed by Mr.
Crazy Horse's heirs, or that this, in fact, relates to Crazy Horse the
individual, who is the famous Oglala chieftain," Fox stated during a
telephone interview last fall.
But the text on the back label of the malt liquor bottle seems to refer to a
real life "Mr. Crazy Horse."
The bottle label tells of the "Black Hills of Dakota . . . home of Proud
Indian Nations. A land where imagination conjures up images of blue clad
Pony Soldiers and magnificent Native American Warriors . . . where wailful
winds whisper of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Custer."
Also, a Dec. 4, 1992 affidavit from one of the owners of Hornell Brewing Co.
indicates that the beer bottle refers to the revered Lakota leader.
In a sworn statement, Domenic (Don) Vultaggio, an owner of Ferolito,
Vultaggio & Sons, Inc. which owns Hornell, states that "in selecting the
name Crazy Horse, Hornell at no time intended to offend or insult Native
Americans. Rather . . . we selected the name to celebrate a great Native
American chieftain as part of our introduction of a line of beers that
commemorate the American West and its legends."
Vultaggio tried to back away from this statement during a March 14 interview
for a deposition in St. Paul.
Vultaggio said "he was from Brooklyn and the only thing he knew about
Indians was what he saw . . . out of the movies," recounted Bob Gough. He
specifically mentioned They Died With Their Boots On, one of the numerous
Hollywood accounts of the ill-fated attack in 1876 by Gen. George Armstrong
Custer (played by Erroll Flynn) on a large Indian encampment on the Little
Big Horn River.
Vultaggio said that the language in the affidavit about celebrating a great
Native American chieftain "was something put in there by lawyers," according
to Gough, who intends to use the 1992 affidavit in the upcoming administra-
tive law hearing.
The campaign against Crazy Horse malt liquor gained further publicity with a
prominent article in the Dec. 4, 1994 Boston Globe. The story featured Seth
Big Crow from Upper Cut Meat on the Rosebud reservation in So. Dakota. He is
a grandson of Crazy Horse -- in the Lakota way of kinship -- and the
court-appointed executor of the estate.
According to the article, descendants of the Oglala Lakota chief have abided
by a vow not to identify themselves as family members -- both to honor their
descendant and to protect themselves from his enemies. Big Crow said that
when he was 12 years old his grandfather told him about his famous ancestor
''But he told me never to speak of it to any outsiders. I never did," Big
Crow told the newspaper.
For most of his life Big Crow kept his vow -- not even telling his wife.
But when Crazy Horse malt liquor came on the market in 1992, Big Crow
resolved to reveal his relationship to Crazy Horse in order to fight the
brewers who had sullied his grandfather's name.
"I hope he would understand why I broke my silence,'' Big Crow stated. He
will testify on behalf of the heirs of Crazy Horse at the administrative law
hearing on April 19.
* * * * * *
The Boston Globe story also provides some interesting background on the
previous exploits of Hornell owners Don Vultaggio and John Ferolito:
The pair "first made national headlines with a beer they introduced in 1986
called Midnight Dragon. Posters distributed to Dragon wholesalers featured a
woman in a red dress, stockings and a garter sipping the product through a
straw with the caption: 'I could suck this all night.'
"Women's groups protested. Ferolito defended the poster by saying that
few women drink malt liquor. 'Real men like sex and sex sells beer,' he told
the Wall Street Journal at the time."
The Midnight Dragon controversy generated valuable media attention for a
small company trying to grab market share from the big boys of the brew
business. This pattern of using outrageously bad taste as a marketing gambit
to generate controversy and free plugs in the mass media seems to be playing
out again with Crazy Horse malt liquor.
''They had no money and were trying to stand out,'' said Mark Rodman, a
marketing consultant hired by Hornell to advise them about the Crazy Horse
controversy.
''Their history of exploitive marketing can't be ignored in this,'' he told
the Boston Globe. Rodman said that Vultaggio and Ferolito were inspired by
Kevin Costner's film Dances With Wolves, and came up with the Crazy Horse
brand name.
Crazy Horse malt liquor apparently scored a hit in the market comprised of
"young, urban, minority males who prized its high-octane kick and 40- ounce
size and the malt taste," according to the newspaper account. The company
later launched another malt liquor called Jim Bowie -- no word on how his
family is reacting.
There's no arguing with success, as they say in the U.S.A. Ferolito,
Vultaggio & Sons -- 4501 Glenwood Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11203; phone: (718)
284-1200; fax: (718) 284-0952 -- made the list of "emerging companies"
compiled by Hoover's Business Resources, a business reporting service.
Their 1993 sales of brewski and a line of beverages called AriZona Iced Tea
are listed at $100 million -- a 900 percent jump over 1992 sales.
Their company posted sales of about $300 million in 1994 and plans to double
that in 1995, according to a Nov. 30, 1994 copyright story in Business
Wire.
Ferolito and Vultaggio show no sign of slacking in their exploitation of
American Indian culture and religious symbolism.
The Jan. 9, 1995 Business Wire discusses a new AriZona Iced Tea with
ginseng. Packaging for the line of ice teas is "adorned with ancient
American Indian symbols and colors." The ginseng drink comes in a "striking
20-ounce cobalt blue bottle with expensive gold-highlighted neck and body
label. The label art depicts a Native American medicine man riding a
buffalo: a Native American symbol of divine power."
The beverage barons from Brooklyn have demonstrated their capacity to
trample on the sensibilities of Native Americans, but they apparently can't
take a taste of their own medicine.
During a lull in the March 14 questioning of Don Vultaggio in St. Paul,
attorney Bob Gough picked up an automatic camera and snapped a photograph of
Vultaggio and his attorney Lawrence Fox.
"Mr. Fox objected strenuously and vociferously that [taking a photograph]
could not be done without prior notice and permission," Gough recalled
during a recent telephone interview.
"He demanded that I expose the film, and I refused to do so," Gough said.
Fox then launched into a "very impassioned and heated discussion" about how
snapping the photo violated Vultaggio's privacy.
The act of capturing Vultaggio's image on film without his permission "seems
to me to be the heart of this case," said Gough. He had no intention of
exploiting or distributing the photo he took of Vultaggio. Or using it on a
beer bottle label. Gough took the snapshot because he intended "to bring it
back to the estate, to the family [of Crazy Horse], because people here --
they couldn't travel 500 miles to the deposition -- wanted to see what a
person looked like who would do such a thing as put the name of a spiritual
leader on a liquor bottle."
* * * * * *
The Minnesota initiative to ban Crazy Horse booze recently found an echo out
west.
On Feb. 24 a bill was introduced in the California Assembly to make it
"unlawful for any alcoholic beverage bottled, sold, or distributed in
California to carry a label bearing the name 'Crazy Horse.'"
The bill is prefaced by several legislative declarations. The authors say:
"Crazy Horse was outspoken in his opposition to the consumption of alcohol
by Native Americans, and would never have consented to the use of his name
to market an alcoholic beverage. The use of his name on a malt liquor is
both disrespectful of his memory and degrading to his descendants and all
Native American people."
They also note that the "Native American community has been devastated by
alcohol abuse. The use of the name 'Crazy Horse' in connection with an
alcoholic beverage contributes to a stereotypical association between Native
American people and alcohol."
The California lawmakers are especially concerned about the message being
sent to impressionable youth who could be attracted to the images conjured
up by marketing campaigns for products such as Hornell's malt liquor:
"There is a strong emphasis in our schools, especially in communities of
color, to educate and empower youth through cultural awareness. The use of
cultural themes and symbols, including the use of a name sacred to Native
American culture, to promote the consumption of alcohol is a disservice to
all young people, and to Native American young people in particular."
Seth Big Crow knows too well the ravages wrought by alcohol on Indian
communities. Now 56, he told the Boston Globe that he started drinking as a
teenager and quit ''on Nov. 26, 1979. . . . My life is very different now,
but many on the reservation, including my own family members, are still
struggling with alcohol. It has been very, very destructive to our
people.''
[The administrative law hearing on the Hornell challenge of the state ban on
Crazy Horse malt liquor will begin at 9:00 a.m. on April 19 at the Office of
Administrative Hearings, 100 Washington Ave. So., Minneapolis. The Crazy
Horse Defense Project will be holding 8:00 a.m. rallies on Wednesday, April
19 and Thursday, April 20. For further information call (612) 870-9006 in
the Twin Cities; (715) 425-0004 in River Falls, Wisconsin.]
- 30 -
Copyright Mordecai Specktor 1995
All rights reserved
mordecaisp@aol.com