Posted on 02/17/2024 6:34:10 PM PST by Red Badger
Are automakers using tribal names honoring those people or appropriated their culture? Learn more about the debate and models under fire.
The Washington Redskins NFL team has officially changed its name to the Washington Commanders. So what–if anything–should Jeep do about the Cherokee? What about Winnebago, the Volkswagen Touareg, and Indian Motorcycles? You may be surprised just how many cars are named after tribes. Some of these models are coming under fire as Native Americans ask automakers to reconsider their names.
Which cars are named after tribes? The most obvious cars named after Native American tribes are Jeep’s Cherokee and Comanche. But don’t forget Chevrolet’s Apache, Pontiac’s Aztek, and the entire Winnebago brand. In addition, over a dozen more automakers use place names that were tribe names first.
What are the vehicles with names that may be borrowed from a tribe or lifted from places that in turn borrowed them from tribes? The Chevrolet Cheyenne, Dodge Dakota, Toyota Tacoma, and Volkswagen Taos. The big one here is Pontiac, which happens to be a town in Michigan–but in truth, the automaker was named after the tribe.
Pontiac certainly didn’t shy away from the native origins of its name. This automaker released the Pontiac Aztek, Pontiac Chieftan, Pontiac Star Chief, and Pontiac Super Chief. I mean, its logo is even an arrowhead.
A vehicle you might not instantly identify as having a Native American name is the Ford Thunderbird. The employee who submitted the name borrowed it from a legendary creature that tribes of the Southwest supposedly told stories about.
The most blatant name borrowing is the Indian motorcycle company. This brand also leans into its identity with models such as the “Chief,” “Scout,” and “Dark Horse.”
Automakers certainly haven’t limited their vehicle names to American tribes. The Nissan Qashqai is named after an ethnic group that lives in Iran and surrounding countries. The Volkswagen Touareg borrows its moniker from a desert-dwelling tribe from the Sahara. And the Renault Oroch’s name probably originates with a tribe in eastern Russia.
Should cars named after tribes change their names? As with sports teams, this is a divisive issue. Some might say naming a car after a tribe is a sign of respect, but others call it cultural appropriation. Whatever your stance, it is clear that the pressure on corporations to change this practice is mounting.
In early 2021, Chuck Hoskin, Jr., the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief, called on Jeep to change its SUV’s name. He later explained his request to Car and Driver:
“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…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.”
Stellantis said it was open to changing the name and had even opened talks with the Cherokee Nation. But several months later, the automaker announced that it would not be changing the Jeep Cherokee’s name.
What do you think? Do you consider cars named after tribes an offensive form of cultural appropriation? Or do you think Jeep builds uniquely American cars and honors some of America’s earliest citizens with the name? Let us know in the comments section below.
Next, read about the Renault Oroch pickup, named after a nearly forgotten tribe, or learn all about the Cherokee Nation’s call to change the Jeep’s name in the video below:
VIDEO AT LINK........................
There is no such thing as negatively “appropriating a culture”.
Totally made up. The left doesn’t want non whites to be part of our culture, so they can keep them alienated.
To appropriate means to take something that belongs to someone else for your own use thereby depriving them of it.
You can not appropriate a culture as they do not have owners, only followers.
So the answer is no.
Now buzz off you annoying little crustacean.
Don’t forget about the Super Bowl Champs...KC Chiefs...but they are ok I guess because they have taylor swift.
So what??????
Geez, people just feel the need to be perpetually offended these days, don’t they?
To paraphrase the pharaoh from The Ten Commandments "Let the names of American Indians be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of America. Let the names of American Indians be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time."
Most of the names are there for history or respect. If you don't want that then you will get nothing.
Let's just start calling people like this crazy.
If the "Normal Majority" of fed-up Americans just started actively ridiculing these Leftist bozos, rather than kowtowing to them for fear of being called "racist" or "sexist" or any of the other "ists", we might just save the country.
It's well past time to be what these entitled snowflakes hate so much. It's time to be mean.
Toureg - named after a tribe where men wear the veils.
“Introducing the all-new, 2024 Ford Dindu Nuffin. It’s a steal!”
Off the topic, but Chevrolet made a “Confederate” model...
I suspect it’d be very popular today.
Well, maybe not...
Yes, unfortunately.
“Where’s the Fire, Chief?”
- Mad Mag in the 60s...
If people had stood up to them black kids would still be seeing the modern versions of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
But then a lot more would be alive as well if we hadn’t allowed the kooks to hold back police protection.
Some tribes probably don’t deserved to be honored. The worst of the worst were pretty horrific.
This is exactly what’s happening. Pretty soon Native Americans won’t be known or remembered at all.
The names aren’t making fun of Indians - they are Honoring them! And if they don’t want that and manage to banish it, then we won’t remember or mention them at all.
(But the fact is that surveys taken of Native Americans have shown that the great majority of them have taken no offense to the Indian names of sports teams, etc. Again, we have a noisy activist minority trying to speak for the entire Native population.)
We have Apaches helicopters and Tomahawk missiles..............
BULLCRAP! Pontiac was the name of the chief of the Odawa tribe, not the name of the tribe.
If he can't get the basic facts straight, what else is wrong with this article?
The author’s bio says he has a degree in anthropology. I’m guessing not an honors student.
Hmmm. Seems racist. 😆😆😆😆😆
I’d guess most native Americans are happy to have associations with sports teams, automobiles, etc. Those names are designed to promote strength, toughness and endurance.
The objectors are a small group of agitators trying to gain attention sympathy (and a payoff,) and are sought out by the media to promote the narrative.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.