Big Tobacco
& the American Indian/
Native American Community

Documents from the tobacco industry labeled Native Americans as coming from “broken homes” and “extreme poverty” with a “lack of direction and productive activity with little do and a sense of hopelessness.”

The tobacco plant has been used by Native American communities for centuries for ceremonial, medicinal, and social purposes. It holds a significant cultural and spiritual importance for many tribes. In the 1400’s when European settlers arrived in the Americas, they observed and adopted Native American tobacco practices.

As the tobacco industry grew over the next few centuries, companies began to commercialize and market tobacco products using Native American imagery, symbols, and rituals to sell their products.

Harris, Beebe & Co.:
The Pocahontas Chewing Tobacco,
 Printed 1868, New York

Dukes Cameo Cigarettes,
Printed 1885, New York

Red Man chewing tobacco began appropriating Native American culture in 1901 by using Native headdress images, which has carried on into today’s marketing. The images below are from the 1950s when ads for Old Gold, Velvet, and Natural American Spirit heavily portrayed headdresses in their marketing. Promotional items like coupons also featured a man in full traditional clothing, including a headdress and beaded regalia.

From the 1950s – 1960s, tobacco companies also used stereotypical language and valued traditions to promote their products on the radio, TV, and other media.

Changing their Tone

“In the more sophisticated atmosphere of the 1980s, there should be an opportunity to use the image of America’s original frontiersman: the Indian. The Indian is also the original cultivator of tobacco and the American Tobacco symbol.”

- American Tobacco Company

During the 1980s, tobacco companies shifted their tone from using negative stereotypes to creating a sense of respect towards this culture and their use of tobacco.

Companies implemented coordinated strategies to increase sales to minority consumers and improve the companies’ overall image and credibility with Corporate Responsibility programs.

• Philip Morris donated money to the American Indian College Fund, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Native American Rights Fund, and the Arizona Food Banks that served Native Americans.

• R.J. Reynolds provided grants to “preserve, promote and advance American Indian
  self-sufficiency, language and culture.”

• United States Tobacco sponsored rodeo events and pow-wows popular with youth. They awarded $135,000 each year to rodeo students.

• Philip Morris created the “Marlboro Unlimited” sweepstakes featuring themed gifts and train trips thorugh Tribal lands highlighiting Tribal cultural attractions.

Companies also used price reductions, coupons and giveaways, casino and bingo promotions, and indirectly targeted youth as young as 8 years old with a youth smoking prevention program.

Internal Tobacco Document

R.J. Reynolds
1996

Belt Buckle

R.J. Reynolds

Circa 1980s

Claiming their Product is “Natural”

"Messages of a pesticide-free and additive-free product resonate with consumers, as the American Indian imagery serves as a reminder of tobacco’s original use in its natural state.”

- Philip Morris

In the 1990s, tobacco companies started using the word “natural” to describe tobacco products as safe and healthy. Advertisements depicted a spiritual or sacred connection to the world as a way for companies to make a profit in the public’s interest of all things natural and healthy.

The most notorious brand, Natural American Spirit was sold directly to a small number of retailers, focusing on health food stores, smoke shops, coffee bars, independent grocers, and gift stores to further reinforce the ‘natural’ aspect of their product.