Just a week ago, we covered how the country’s ongoing conversation about racism and social justice has led to the Dirty Kanza renaming its race, Ocoee Bikes renaming their brand, and Yeti Cycles considering removing the word “tribe” from their marketing and event use.
For those who don’t know, Yeti Cycles has long used tribe as a way to describe the Yeti owners group, and an annual event for Yeti Cycles enthusiasts. After a petition circulated, started by Renee Hutchens, a Native American mountain biker, Yeti has decided to cease using tribe in any fashion.
Here’s the statement from Yeti in full:
When Yeti Cycles started thirty-five years ago, the founders felt strongly about building a community that was founded on racing and the belief that mountain bikes make us better people. We shared this with our friends at the races, at festivals and ultimately at Yeti Tribe Gatherings, where hundreds gather each year to ride epic trails, and enjoy the camaraderie of post ride beers and stories together.
We’ve referred to this crew as the Yeti Tribe – a community of people who love to ride mountain bikes. The notion of tribe was appealing to us because it was community-centric, familial, and had strong social values.
Recently, we’ve learned our use of the term “Tribe” can be offensive to indigenous people, due to the violent history they have endured in the United States. The word “Tribe” is a colonial construct that was used to marginalize Native Americans and its continued use by non-indigenous people fails to accurately recognize their history and unique status as Tribal Nations.
After discussion with members of the indigenous community, studying accurate representations of our shared history, and reflecting on our values as a company, Yeti Cycles has decided we will no longer use the term “Tribe” in our marketing.
The community we have built will move forward and thrive. Yeti Gatherings will continue to be our most valued events of the year. We have walked away from a word, but the soul of our community remains intact. We ask you all to join us in embracing this change.
Thanks to the mountain bike community for your guidance and especially to the members of the indigenous community for educating us on this issue.
See you on the trail.
Chris + Hoog
5 Comments
Jul 15, 2020
The word "tribe" is a Middle English derivation of the Latin word and was first used in English literature to refer to the 12 tribes of Israel, several centuries before Europeans discovered America. It was never a term that refers only to Native Americans or only to colonized peoples. The Oxford dictionary definition is "1.
a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader."
I think it's pretty silly for a mountain bike manufacturer to think that people who own their brand of bikes feel that they are a member of a "tribe", but if Harley riders do it maybe Yeti riders do also.
Jul 16, 2020
A simpler rule is that when no offense is intended none should be taken. I guess this shows I'm not "woke". There are lots more important battles to fight. Good for Yeti to avoid getting in a spiff on this minor thing.
Jul 16, 2020
Jul 17, 2020
Similar words
tribe
noun
plural noun: tribes
a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.
Similar
ethnic group
people
race
nation
family
dynasty
house
clan
sept
gens
folk
a distinctive or close-knit group. (apparently this definition is now void and needs to be removed)
Similar
group
crowd
gang
company
body
band
host
bevy
party
pack
army
herd
flock
drove
horde
mob
bunch
crew
gaggle
posse
load
Follow this path, and get ready to lose half the words in the language to anyone who makes a claim, regardless of the strength of the claim.
Next up: the use of the word tribe in the English language bible:
“All these are the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jul 17, 2020
Jeff's software won't let me repost that comment, so you'll have to hunt for it.
Anyone who's this "flexible" should be ready to lose half the words in the in their vocabulary to flimsy exclusivity claims. If the claimants want an exclusive word, they should fashion themselves a new word, rather than making claims on a word with a broader existing definition. This would make the language richer, rather than poorer.