I was excited to hear that Minneapolis would be getting our first bike counter on Franklin Bridge after it reopens. I was dismayed when I went to the product page and realized the counter was called the "eco-TOTEM."
Please join me in writing this company to #changethename of their bike counter. A great product doesn't need to appropriate Native culture!
Change the Name
We are excited to have a bike counter installed on the Franklin Ave Bridge, but are dismayed that this product is named "eco-TOTEM." We have reached out several times to the company about their product name and how it disrespects Native people, and they have indicated that they will not be changing the name.
Please join me in writing this company to change the name of their bike counter. A great product doesn't need to appropriate Native culture!
Sign this petition, or call 1-514-849-9779 / Toll Free: 1-866-518-4404 and email sales @eco-counter.com
As people who live and or bike in Minneapolis, we are excited to have this bike counter installed on the Franklin Ave Bridge, but are dismayed that this product is named "eco-TOTEM."
"Totem" is a word for a cultural indigenous object, not to be appropriated and commercialized for bike and pedestrian causes. A good product does not need to appropriate culture. Cultural appropriation lends to the oppression of Native people, by erasing and colonizing culture, or making culture into a commodity. (Further reading on the appropriation of "totem poles.")
Minnesota is Anishinabe Ojibwe and Bdewakantonwan Dakota land, and we have a large Indigenous population in Minneapolis. We are coming together to ask that you change the name of your product to something that does not contribute to the oppression of Native people.