Antiracism DK: Are popsicles complicit in colonialism?

The Washington Redskins. Aunt Jemima. Uncle Ben. Eskimo Pie. And now the Edmonton Eskimos. They’ve all gone to the graveyard of racist brand names. As in the US in the wake of the George Floyd killing and demonstrations, the racism debate can sometimes overshadow the coronavirus pandemic. It was only a matter of time before the nomenclature police would go after Denmark’s ice cream popsicles Eskimo-is (Eskimo ice cream) and Kæmpe Eskimo (Giant Eskimo). The first has capitulated, but the second is still resisting.

Photo: Andreas Hagemann Bro, Scanpix Denmark.

Last week ice cream producer Hansens announced that it was changing the name Eskimo-is (DK) to O’Payo, which is the type of chocolate used in the popsicle. It was with “a certain amount of sadness” that Hansens decided to drop the name of its classic snack, which dated from an “older and more unenlightened time,” the company wrote in a press release. In Denmark, the word is used mainly in reference to Greenlanders, and it is described in the Danish dictionary as “possibly offensive.” Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Greenlanders are Inuit

Since the founding of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1977, Greenland’s inhabitants have preferred the term Inuit. They object to “Eskimo,” which was applied to them by colonial powers from outside the polar region, because it has negative connotations from a time when they were a subjugated and oppressed people. Greenland suffers from a number of social problems. It has the highest suicide rate in the world and a high rate of alcoholism.

No complaints from customers

Denmark’s largest ice cream maker, Premier Is, however, does not intend to change the name (DK) of its popular popsicle: “For us Kæmpe Eskimo is nostalgia and the name of an ice cream that consumers love,” said Claus Dahlmann Larsen, commercial manager of the company. “And we haven’t received any referrals at all about it.” Dahlmann Larsen adds that they follow the debate and will listen to objections if they come because they do not wish to be offensive or exclude anyone.

That was only the beginning of the controversy. Both ice cream aficionados and antiracist activists have stormed social media with their clashing opinions. The most dramatic confrontation involved Tina Jakobsen Wilstrup, the owner of Frederiksberg Chokolade, which sells its own version of Eskimo-is: “I think it’s annoying because I don’t associate Eskimo-is with anything negative, it is almost a tribute in my world.”

Free popsicles - courageous or disrespectful?

Jakobsen Wilstrup felt so strongly about the tradition that she offered a free Eskimo-is to customers on Friday. Many customers showed up, not only to get a free snack but also to show their support for the shop: “People can be offended about anything,” says Jonas Bjørneskjold, who came with his wife and two children, and it could lead to a “violation tyranny.” 

But Jakobsen Wilstrup was surprised by other reactions: “I received threats, hate-mail, and my staff were threatened. I was called Nazi pig and a bad speller. . . . I know in my heart that I don’t want to offend anyone.”

Juno Berthelsen, cofounder of the Greenlandic organization Nalik, does not support hate-mail or threats but finds the free ice cream offer disrespectful. Greenlanders are still subject to racism in Denmark, and the word “Eskimo” is used in that context: “Businesses share responsibility for breaking this racist structure. . . . Ice cream is just ice cream, but a word is not just a word.”