The head of the Cherokee Nation wants Jeep to stop using the tribe’s name on its vehicles.
“I am sure it comes from a well-intentioned place, but it does not honor us to have our name glued to the side of a car,” said Chuck Hoskin Jr., chief Cherokee nation chief, in a demonstration.
A Cherokee Nation spokesman confirmed the statement, which was provided to Car and Driver and published on Monday. He was sent to the automotive magazine after an investigation in January.
“The names of our vehicles have been carefully chosen and cultivated over the years to honor and celebrate the Native American people for their nobility, courage and pride,” said Stellantis, the company that owns Jeep, in a statement.
Two Jeep vehicles use the name, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, both sport utility vehicles. The original Cherokee was launched in 1974.
The Jeep Cherokee remained in production until 2001 and was replaced by Liberty. In 2013, Jeep announced a return to the name to replace the Liberty. The Grand Cherokee was introduced with the 1993 model year.
“We are, more than ever, committed to a respectful and open dialogue with the chief head of the Cherokee nation, Chuck Hoskin, Jr,” said the company.
Stellantis and Hoskin received a call from Zoom at the end of last month after the company got in touch, said a Cherokee Nation spokesman.
Hoskin told Stellantis that he does not tolerate the use of the word “Cherokee” by the company, the spokesman said.
Hoskin told CNBC that the discussions were “good” and “genuine”, but he did not change his position.
“I think we are in a day and time in this country when it is time for corporations and team sports to withdraw the use of Native American names, images and mascots from their products, team T-shirts and sports in general,” said Hoskin in your statement.
Some did so recently – the Washington, DC, NFL team announced in July that it would withdraw its name and logo, which had long been seen as slander. It is now called Washington Football Team until a new name is defined.
And in December, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team announced that it would change its name after the 2021 season. The team did not say what the new name will be, unless it will be a “new name not based on Native Americans”.
Cleveland announced in 2018 that it would remove the Chief Wahoo logo, a racist caricature, from its caps and T-shirts.
More than 141,000 citizens of the Cherokee nation live within the tribe’s reserve boundaries in northeastern Oklahoma.
