Cherokee Chief Ask Businesses and Sports Teams to Stop Using Native Americans Likenesses On Merchandise

In a statement first published by Car & Driver magazine, Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. said that he agrees that businesses and sports teams should avoid using Native American names, pictures, and mascots as nicknames or on their merchandise.

Hoskin said, “I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car.”

In a statement, Kristin Starnes, a spokeswoman for the parent company of Jeep, Amsterdam-based Stellantis, said that the name of the vehicle was deliberately chosen “and nurtured over the years to honor and celebrate Native American people for their nobility, prowess, and pride.” She did not say if the company was considering renaming the vehicles.

Hoskin says that learning more about its history is the best way to honor the Tahlequah, an Oklahoma-based tribe.

“The best way to honor us is to learn about our sovereign government, our role in this country, our history, culture, and language and have meaningful dialogue with federally recognized tribes on cultural appropriateness,” Hoskin said.

The controversy comes in the midst of national reckoning about Native American names and images being used, especially in sports.

The NFL’s Washington, D.C. franchise announced last year after years of resistance and under pressure from corporate sponsors that it was dropping its “Redskins” nickname and Indian head logo and would go by the name Washington Football Team until a permanent replacement was chosen. The Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball also announced last year that it would change its name.