Native America Calling

The owners of Lei's Poke Stop in Anchorage, Alaska recently changed their restaurant's name after getting pressure from a Chicago-based restaurant chain (Photo: courtesy Lei's Poke Stop)

Monday, August 6, 2018 – Trademarking Native culture

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

A Chicago-based Hawaiian restaurant chain, Aloha Poke Co., trademarked the words “Aloha Poke.” They sent a cease and desist notice to several businesses including a small, Hawaiian-owned restaurant in Anchorage. The legal confrontation sparked complaints on social media and elsewhere about a corporation appropriating and trademarking Native words and names. With so many Native words and images used for everything from state and city names to cars, are there any legal protections? What best practices should a company think about when considering Native names?

Guests:

Tasha Kahele (Kanaka Maoli) – owner of Lei’s Poke Stop

Dr. Kalamaoka’aina Niheu (Kanaka Maoli) – organizer with Ohana Koa-Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific

Michael Padilla – New Mexico state senator

Trevor Reed (Hopi) – associate professor of law at the Sandra day O’Connor college of law

Break 1 Music: Generations (song) P. Town Boyz (artist) P. Town Boyz (album)

Break 2 Music: Prayer Loop (song) Supaman (artist)

Comments

  1. Lyn McNutt says

    Thank you for looking at this. What an insult they have done. They don’t even spell poke right and they make yuppie Halle poke. Boycott. Lyn, Kauai, Hawai`i

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use our site, we will assume you have given your consent. Click here to opt-out.