Washington, DC | Today, Keep America Beautiful, Inc. announced the transfer of ownership of the well-known “Crying Indian” anti-pollution public service announcement that first aired on Earth Day in 1971, to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Fund. 

The advertisement, which became synonymous with furthering environmental protection and awareness in popular culture at the time of its creation, was later known for featuring imagery that stereotyped American Indian and Alaska Native people and misappropriated Native culture.

Keep America Beautiful, a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire and educate people to take action to improve and beautify their community environment, decided it was time to officially retire the advertisement.

The property has now been assigned to the NCAI Fund, a 501(c)(3) public education nonprofit organization that is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.

“NCAI is proud to assume the role of monitoring the use of this advertisement and ensure it is only used for historical context; this advertisement was inappropriate then and remains inappropriate today,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “NCAI looks forward to putting this advertisement to bed for good.”

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About the National Congress of American Indians:

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the United States. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies. NCAI promotes an understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people, and rights. For more information, visit www.ncai.org.