South Dakota governor slams Ben & Jerry’s for July 4 call to return ‘stolen indigenous land’ including Mount Rushmore

The South Dakota Republican called Mount Rushmore “the greatest symbol of our freedom” in US history.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t “have any idea what they’re doing” after the ice cream brand wrote a Fourth of July message saying Mount Rushmore was on “stolen” land.

In a message detailing the history of the landmark, Ben & Jerry’s wrote it wanted the US to “commit to returning” the stolen land this year, starting with Mount Rushmore – which is located in South Dakota.

The ice cream company said the Lakota Sioux tribe called the mountain Tunkasila Sakpe, and it was considered sacred. In 1868, the US government signed a treaty with the Lakota and other tribes – collectively known as the Sioux – acknowledging that the territory around and including the Black Hills belonged to the group.

That treaty remained in effect until gold was discovered on the land a few years later. The company wrote, “The US exists on stolen land. We have to acknowledge that – today and every day. In the case of Mount Rushmore, the Supreme Court already did!”

The company was referring to the 1980 Supreme Court case in which the court awarded the Sioux $105m in damages. But the Sioux never accepted the compensation, citing that the land was not for sale.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday, the South Dakota Republican called Mount Rushmore “the greatest symbol of our freedom” in US history. She said she refuses to listen to “a bunch of liberal Vermont businessmen who think they know everything about this country and haven’t studied our history.”

The governor continued, referring to the four presidents featured on the mountain, “We can learn from the men on that mountain. We can do better, but boy did they lead us through some challenging times.”

Last month, Governor Noem also defended Mount Rushmore after learning that Target funded NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led nonprofit, that previously called for the closure of Mount Rushmore, saying it sat on stolen land. In response, the South Dakota Repbulican said Target was “fundamentally tearing down this country.”