The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

Original Text of Resolution:

(D053)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the Episcopal Church assert the need for special attention to the continuing widespread exploitation, misuse and abuse of the cultures, symbols, identities, personalities and spirituality of individuals, tribes and nations indigenous to the Western Hemisphere, by some popular sports franchises, members of the beverage, advertising, retail, and automotive industries, and others; and be it further

Resolved, That, in response, the Episcopal Church will join or lead in initiatives against such practices, through verbal persuasion and negotiation where potentially effective, but also through public economic boycotts of offending enterprises, their products and their stock and, in appropriate circumstances, support of legislation; and be it further

Resolved, That, as an expression of this policy, the Episcopal Church endorse initiatives by the Crazy Horse Defense Project and other organizations to halt the commercial exploitation of popular American heroes without the consent of themselves or their heirs and, in particular, exploitation of the identities of revered historic leaders of tribes and nations present in the Western Hemisphere before Europeans immigrated, including Lakota leader Tasunke Witko, also known as Crazy Horse; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church calls upon all of its members to join in boycotting products of what are known as the "Arizona Ice Tea companies," specifically, Hornell Brewing Company, the G. Heileman Brewing Company, the Stroh Brewing Company and Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons who, without permission or authorization, have and continue to purposefully misappropriate the good name of Crazy Horse for the purpose of promotion, labeling and sale of a malt liquor beverage against the expressed desires and to the detriment of his descendants, his Tribe and of the North American Indian peoples; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church endorses public action to prevent such unjust exploitation including laws to prohibit the use of names, images and personae of respected leaders without their consent or that of their heirs or estate.

Proposed Committee Amendment:

In the third Resolved clause, delete lines 3-6 [beginning with "popular"] and add "Native Americans; and be it further".

Delete the fourth and fifth Resolved clauses, and add the following:

"Resolved, That the Episcopal Church calls upon all of its members to join in public policy initiatives opposing exploitation and in boycotting products of companies which abuse the principles and values of Native American culture; especially Crazy Horse Malt Liquor and Arizona Iced Tea products, which are produced by Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons, Hornell Brewing Company, the Stroh Brewing Company, and the G. Heileman Brewing Company."

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #328)