The head of the Cherokee Nation wants Jeep to stop using the name of the tribe on its vehicles.
“I’m sure it comes from a place that is well-intentioned, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car,” said Chuck Hoskin Jr., chief executive of the Cherokee Nation. a statement.
A Cherokee Nation spokesman confirmed the statement provided to Car and Driver and published Monday. It was sent to the auto magazine after an investigation in January.
“Our vehicle names have been carefully selected and cherished over the years to honor and celebrate Native American people for their nobility, ability and pride,” Stellantis, the company that owns Jeep, said in a statement.
Two Jeep vehicles use the name, the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee, which are both SUVs. The original Cherokee was introduced in 1974.
The Jeep Cherokee remained in production until 2001 and was replaced by the Liberty. In 2013, Jeep announced that the Liberty’s replacement had returned. The Grand Cherokee was introduced with the 1993 model year.
“We are more than ever committed to a respectful and open dialogue with Chuck Hoskin, Jr., head of Cherokee Nation,” the company said.
The Cherokee Nation spokesman said Stellantis and Hoskin had a Zoom call late last month after the company reached out.
Hoskin told Stellantis that he did not approve of 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 mind.
“I think we are in a day and time in this country where it is time for corporations and team sports to abandon the use of Native American names, images and good luck charms from their products, team jerseys and sports in general,” said Hoskin. his statement.
Some have done so recently – the NFL team from Washington, DC, announced in July that they would be taking down their name and logo, which has long been considered a hindrance. It is now called Washington Football Team until it decides on a new name.
And in December, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team announced that it would change its name to the 2021 season. The team did not say what the new name will be, except that it will be a ‘new Native American name’.
Cleveland announced in 2018 that it would drop its Chief Wahoo logo, a racist caricature, from its caps and jerseys.
More than 141,000 Cherokee Nation citizens live within the reservation boundaries of the tribe in northeastern Oklahoma.
