On Thursday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, hit back at Ben & Jerry’s over the company’s Fourth of July message calling for Mount Rushmore to be returned to Indigenous populations.
On July 4, the company published a statement claiming that parades, barbecue, and fireworks commemorating the holiday “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,” it continued. “Here’s why we need to start with Mount Rushmore.”
“The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights,” the company claimed, urging that the landmark be returned to the Lakota tribe.
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
In an interview with Fox News, Noem slammed Ben & Jerry’s statement.
“I’m not going to listen to a bunch of liberal Vermont businessmen who think they know everything about this country and haven’t studied our history,” Noem said. “Right now, Mount Rushmore is the greatest symbol of our freedom and history of the United States of America.
“Right now, we can learn from the men on that mountain, we can do better, but boy, they led us through some challenging times. And, I think Americans in this country need some inspiration and we can gain it from a monument like that,” she added. “We should be proud of America and knock off what Ben & Jerry’s is doing. They don’t have any idea what they’re doing.”
Kristi Noem trashes Vermont ice cream makers Ben and Jerry's after they called for the return of Mt. Rushmore to the American Indians.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 6, 2023
"We should be proud of America and knock off what Ben & Jerry's is doing. They don't have any idea what they're doing.” pic.twitter.com/gBr5ME3IuX
“There is truly no better place to celebrate America’s Birthday than Mount Rushmore. The Biden Administration has consistently denied us the ability to celebrate our nation’s Freedom with fireworks,” Noem said in a statement. “We will keep fighting to host fireworks at Mount Rushmore and celebrate our Freedoms.”
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