Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 21, 2008 11:19:56 GMT -5
American Indians opposed to Martha Stewart's trademark attempt
KATONAH, N.Y. - Martha Stewart's attempt to trademark
"Katonah" - a move that has already riled some of her village neighbors
- has now upset some American Indians because the name originally
belonged to a 17th-century chief.
Two members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, which claims Chief
Katonah as its own, have joined the anti-trademark battle being waged by
the Katonah Village Improvement Society.
And other American Indian leaders said that Stewart's trademark
application was offensive.
"If I wanted to trademark 'Martha Stewart' and put out a line of tea
towels, she would have me in court very quickly," said Suzan Harjo,
president of the Morning Star Institute, a national advocacy group.
"She'd be saying, 'You can't use my name, that's valuable, that belongs
to me.'"
Clint Halftown, the federally recognized representative for the Cayuga
Nation, said, "If it's being done for profit, then of course it's
offensive. Of all the names in the world and all the words, why can't
she pick something out that's not offensive?"
Stewart bought a 153-acre estate in Katonah, 40 miles north of New York
City, for $16 million in 2000 and returned there in 2005 after five
months in prison. Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, wants to
trademark "Katonah" for home furnishings, paints and other products,
some of which are already on sale. A spokeswoman for the domestic
doyenne, Diana Pearson, has said Stewart "seeks to honor the town and
the hamlet by using the word Katonah."
Pearson declined Tuesday to comment on the Indian opposition.
The village says Chief Katonah led the Ramapough Indians in the New
York-New Jersey area and in 1680 sold land to white settlers.
The Village Improvement Society has launched a campaign called "Nobody
Owns Katonah" to fight the trademarking of the name. Last week it
announced the support of Autumn Scott and Steven Burton of the Mahwah,
N.J.-based Ramapough Lenape group.
Scott, who co-chairs the New Jersey State Commission on Indian Affairs,
said, "We trust that Martha Stewart intended no malice in seeking to
have her corporation trademark the name of one of our great ancestral
leaders, but for her to say she is doing so to honor him and our tribe
is absurd especially when it is being done solely for profit."
"The fact that Ms. Stewart now stubbornly resists the opposition of our
community, and the Village of Katonah, only reveals a heightened level
of insensitivity," added Burton.
Many American Indian names, including some chiefs' names, are used for
consumer products, from Mohawk carpets to Pontiac cars. John Cuti, a
lawyer for Stewart, told the Village Improvement Society in February
that the trademark "will not stop Katonah residents - or anyone else -
from using the name Katonah exactly as they always have."
But Joe Heath, lawyer for the Onondaga Nation, said, "Should Martha
Stewart be allowed to trademark George Washington's name? It's probably
on the same level. I just hope that if this is a legitimate concern by
the Native American nation whose area that is, that people listen to
them."
Harjo, who's Cheyenne and Muscogee, said Stewart "should ask the tribe's
permission to use their name and if they say no, she should move on to
select another name. A lot of people seem to think everything is fair
game when it comes to Indians: land, gold, water, whatever the commodity
is."
KATONAH, N.Y. - Martha Stewart's attempt to trademark
"Katonah" - a move that has already riled some of her village neighbors
- has now upset some American Indians because the name originally
belonged to a 17th-century chief.
Two members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, which claims Chief
Katonah as its own, have joined the anti-trademark battle being waged by
the Katonah Village Improvement Society.
And other American Indian leaders said that Stewart's trademark
application was offensive.
"If I wanted to trademark 'Martha Stewart' and put out a line of tea
towels, she would have me in court very quickly," said Suzan Harjo,
president of the Morning Star Institute, a national advocacy group.
"She'd be saying, 'You can't use my name, that's valuable, that belongs
to me.'"
Clint Halftown, the federally recognized representative for the Cayuga
Nation, said, "If it's being done for profit, then of course it's
offensive. Of all the names in the world and all the words, why can't
she pick something out that's not offensive?"
Stewart bought a 153-acre estate in Katonah, 40 miles north of New York
City, for $16 million in 2000 and returned there in 2005 after five
months in prison. Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, wants to
trademark "Katonah" for home furnishings, paints and other products,
some of which are already on sale. A spokeswoman for the domestic
doyenne, Diana Pearson, has said Stewart "seeks to honor the town and
the hamlet by using the word Katonah."
Pearson declined Tuesday to comment on the Indian opposition.
The village says Chief Katonah led the Ramapough Indians in the New
York-New Jersey area and in 1680 sold land to white settlers.
The Village Improvement Society has launched a campaign called "Nobody
Owns Katonah" to fight the trademarking of the name. Last week it
announced the support of Autumn Scott and Steven Burton of the Mahwah,
N.J.-based Ramapough Lenape group.
Scott, who co-chairs the New Jersey State Commission on Indian Affairs,
said, "We trust that Martha Stewart intended no malice in seeking to
have her corporation trademark the name of one of our great ancestral
leaders, but for her to say she is doing so to honor him and our tribe
is absurd especially when it is being done solely for profit."
"The fact that Ms. Stewart now stubbornly resists the opposition of our
community, and the Village of Katonah, only reveals a heightened level
of insensitivity," added Burton.
Many American Indian names, including some chiefs' names, are used for
consumer products, from Mohawk carpets to Pontiac cars. John Cuti, a
lawyer for Stewart, told the Village Improvement Society in February
that the trademark "will not stop Katonah residents - or anyone else -
from using the name Katonah exactly as they always have."
But Joe Heath, lawyer for the Onondaga Nation, said, "Should Martha
Stewart be allowed to trademark George Washington's name? It's probably
on the same level. I just hope that if this is a legitimate concern by
the Native American nation whose area that is, that people listen to
them."
Harjo, who's Cheyenne and Muscogee, said Stewart "should ask the tribe's
permission to use their name and if they say no, she should move on to
select another name. A lot of people seem to think everything is fair
game when it comes to Indians: land, gold, water, whatever the commodity
is."