Ben & Jerry’s triggers boycott calls over July 4 message

Ben & Jerry‘s is facing calls for a boycott after the ice cream giant called on July 4 for the U.S. to return land to Native Americans.

The company said the U.S. should start by returning Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills to the Lakota Sioux tribe. 

In its Independence Day message, the company said the federal holiday ignores some hard realities.

“Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn’t love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display? The only problem with all that, though, is that it can distract from an essential truth about this nation’s birth: The US was founded on stolen Indigenous land,” the company said. “This year, let’s commit to returning it.”

The message triggered an uproar, and the hashtags #boycottbenandjerrys and #GoWokeGoBroke circulated across social media, where users accused the company of running their business on “stolen” indigenous land.