Eskimo Pies Ice Cream Treats Changing Name
There have been so many of these name and branding changes lately. Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix, Uncle Ben's rice, Mrs. Butterworths, Cream of Wheat, and Land-O-Lakes changed their logo last year... or maybe the year before. Also, sports teams have been changing their mascots as well. The Fighting Sioux from UND I think got the ball rolling on that front. The Suns, used to be the Sun Devils, and The Redskins. There are probably more, but this is what is coming to mind right now.
Now, we have the Eskimo Pies. A yummy ice cream treat that has a (possibly) derogatory name.
Eskimo Pies have been around since the 1920s. That is a really long time. But the question comes up... what is derogatory about Eskimo? There are a couple of sources that I found that refer to the word and what it could mean.
The first one is from the Alaska Native Language Center. Eskimo refers to the Inuit or Yupil people.
"This name is considered derogatory in many other places because it was given by non-Inuit people and was said to mean 'eater of raw meat.'"
There is another source that says that Eskimo refers to:
Linguists now say the word has another origin, based on a word meaning "to net snowshoes," the language center notes on its website. But people of Canada and Greenland prefer other names.
The branding and logos as well as the images used on products should not have anything that people may find offensive. The use of any branding of products should be seen as part of the "solution" and not the problem in providing "racial equality".
So, there may be more changes coming in an ongoing goal to provide racial equality.
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