Rights to famous 'Crying Indian' TV ad go to Native American group, which is retiring it [View all]

Source: MSN-LA Times

Story by TERRY TANG • 10h ago

Since its debut in 1971, an anti-pollution ad showing a man in Native American attire shedding a single tear at the sight of smokestacks and litter blighting a once-unblemished landscape has become an indelible piece of TV pop culture.

It's been referenced over the decades on shows like “The Simpsons” and “South Park” and in internet memes. But now a Native American advocacy group that was given the rights to the long-parodied public service announcement is retiring it, saying that it has always been inappropriate.

The “Crying Indian” with his buckskins and long braids made the late actor Iron Eyes Cody a recognizable face in households nationwide. But to many Native Americans, the public service announcement has been a painful reminder of the enduring stereotypes they face.

The nonprofit that originally commissioned the TV advertisement, Keep America Beautiful, had long been considering how to retire the ad and announced this week that it's doing so by transferring ownership of the rights to the National Congress of American Indians.




Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/rights-to-famous-crying-indian-tv-ad-go-to-native-american-group-which-is-retiring-it/ar-AA17Z1FN