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December 12, 2000
Liz Claiborne and J.C. Penney Criticized for Use of Crazy Horse Name
by Mark Thomsen
A protest at Liz Claiborne headquarters yesterday held by the American Indian community spotlights
unauthorized corporate use of American Indian images and names.
SocialFunds.com --
Yesterday, representatives from the Crazy Horse Estate and the American Indian community held a
demonstration in front of Liz Claiborne headquarters in New York City. The protest was organized as
part of a long-running effort to end corporate use of American Indian names and images that are
considered offensive and sometimes sacrilegious to Native Americans.
 The focus of the protest was the CRaZY
HORSE lines of clothing, which includes women's apparel and accessories and men's sportswear. The
lines are styled and manufactured by divisions of Liz Claiborne, Inc. and offered exclusively by
J.C. Penney.
Liz Clairborne, Inc. is a major seller of clothes and accessories for
career women, and J.C. Penney is one of America's largest retailers, operating J.C. Penney
department stores, Eckerd's drug stores and J.C. Penney catalog sales. Both companies are listed in
the Citizen's Index and the Domini 400.
The protestors demanded that Liz Claiborne end the
use of Crazy Horse's name, and implored the public not to purchase Crazy Horse fashions this
holiday season. Seth Big Crow, a descendant of Crazy Horse and administrator of the Crazy Horse
Estate, has been leading the fight against the unauthorized and often misuse of the name "Crazy
Horse."
To the Lakota and American Indian community, Crazy Horse is not just a legendary
warrior. He is also considered, perhaps more importantly, as a great teacher, spiritual leader and
role model. "To misinform or misrepresent the meaning of his name or his life is sacrilegious,"
stated Sammy Toineeta, a member of the Lakota Nation.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate
Responsibility (ICCR) sent a letter earlier this year to Liz Claiborne's CEO Paul Charron and J.C.
Penney's CEO James Oesterreich regarding use of the Crazy Horse name. The letter was signed by
over 800 religious organizations and American Indian institutions. The ICCR is an association of
275 Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish and American Indian institutional investors, and has been a
trailblazer in shareholder activism.
Shareholder activists and other stakeholders have
been engaged in dialogue with both companies for over two years regarding this issue. A breakdown
of the talks led to the sending of the letter and the protest at Liz Claiborne's headquarters.
The misuse of the Crazy Horse name is but a small indication of the widespread negative
images and perceptions that the American Indian community is struggling to change. For example, the
Crazy Horse Estate has been embroiled in a lawsuit with Feralito, Vultagio & Sons, the maker of
Arizona iced teas and fruit drinks and the owner of the Hornell Brewing Company, since 1993. The
lawsuit involves Hornell's Crazy Horse Malt Liquor brand. Feralito, Vultagio & Sons is a privately
owned company.
Gary Brouse, Program Director for ICCR, sees these actions as part of the
larger movement to erase corporate ignorance about American Indian issues. "Our initiative to end
corporate use of the Crazy Horse name is deeply related to…our overall efforts to achieve equal
employment opportunities for American Indians in the workplace." These efforts include filing glass
ceiling and executive compensation shareholder resolutions.
Social investors should note
that the groups involved in the protest did indeed attempt to work out the disagreement through
discussion. Liz Claiborne and J.C. Penney so far have chosen to not listen. Bill Means, tireless
advocate for American Indian issues, put it simply. "These actions will not stop until the name is
dropped from the products."
www.lizclairborne.com
www.jcpenney.com
www.iccr.org
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SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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