Ben & Jerry's on Independence Day declared that the United States exists on stolen land that must be returned, starting with Mount Rushmore.
"This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it," the ice cream brand tweeted on the national holiday.
The company went further on its website, saying traditional Independence Day celebrations can "distract" from "an essential truth."
"Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn't love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display," the Vermont-based company said. "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 the United States must first look to restore justice by ceding Mount Rushmore and surrounding National Park land in South Dakota to tribal communities.
Twitter users responded by suggesting the company follow its own call to action. "Sounds like it’s time for Ben and Jerry to donate 100% of their profits to indigenous people," one user said.
"Lead by example. What locations are you going to give back to the rightful owners of our land?" another replied.
It's not the first controversy the ice cream maker has gotten into. In 2021 it announced it would stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank and East Jerusalem because such sales were "inconsistent with our values." The parent company of Ben & Jerry's, however, overruled that decision and said "anti-Semitism has no place in any society."
The company also supports left-wing activist Colin Kaepernick through the sale of a non-dairy ice cream flavor with his image called "Change the Whirled."
The company was also implicated in the February New York Times exposé that revealed migrant children process the milk used in the company's ice cream.
A Ben & Jerry's official defended the practices to the Times, saying "that if migrant children needed to work full time, it was preferable for them to have jobs at a well-monitored workplace."