A staple lolly of the New Zealand 50-cent mixture has angered a Canadian tourist for its offensive name and shape.
Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons, 21, an Inuit of the Nunavut Territory in Canada, says the Eskimo lolly, manufactured by Cadbury/Pascall, is an insult to her people.
The word Eskimo is unacceptable in her country and carries with it negative racial connotations, she said.
She intends sending packets of the iconic confectionary to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and her grandfather, a Inuit tribal elder in the Nunavut Territory.
When she found the lollies for sale in Timaru three weeks ago she was surprised a company would be able to use the word for a product.
"I was taken aback. When I was a little girl white kids in the community used to tease me about it in a bad way. It's just not the correct term."
Eskimo was long used to describe the native people of the northern territories of Canada and means "eater of raw meat", said Ms Parsons.
But it has not been acceptable for as long as she can remember. The correct term is Inuit, she says.
Not only has the name of the lolly aroused painful memories, she believes the shape is an unfair stereotype of her people.
"We are much more of a people than that image. We have deep ties to the land and an ancient culture and I think we should be recognised as that and not just a marshmallow figure."
The young woman wondered how New Zealanders visiting Canada would appreciate finding confectionary shaped like Maori warriors and hoped the manufacturers would consider changing the name and shape of the lolly. If anything, she said, it should be shaped like a seal, the Inuits' main source of food.
A spokesman for Cadbury/Pascall said the product had been in the market and enjoyed by consumers for many years and it was never their intention to offend any member of the public.
He was unable to say whether the lolly shape and name would be changed now they had been made aware it had caused offence.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says the name Eskimo has been applied to Arctic peoples by Europeans and others since the 16th century and was once thought to mean eaters of raw flesh, but is now believed to make reference to snowshoes.
It says the self-designations of Eskimo peoples vary with their languages and dialects and include such names as Inuit, Inupiat, Yupik, and Alutiit, each of which is a regional variant meaning the people or the real people.
Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons, 21, an Inuit of the Nunavut Territory in Canada, says the Eskimo lolly, manufactured by Cadbury/Pascall, is an insult to her people.
The word Eskimo is unacceptable in her country and carries with it negative racial connotations, she said.
She intends sending packets of the iconic confectionary to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and her grandfather, a Inuit tribal elder in the Nunavut Territory.
When she found the lollies for sale in Timaru three weeks ago she was surprised a company would be able to use the word for a product.
"I was taken aback. When I was a little girl white kids in the community used to tease me about it in a bad way. It's just not the correct term."
Eskimo was long used to describe the native people of the northern territories of Canada and means "eater of raw meat", said Ms Parsons.
But it has not been acceptable for as long as she can remember. The correct term is Inuit, she says.
Not only has the name of the lolly aroused painful memories, she believes the shape is an unfair stereotype of her people.
"We are much more of a people than that image. We have deep ties to the land and an ancient culture and I think we should be recognised as that and not just a marshmallow figure."
The young woman wondered how New Zealanders visiting Canada would appreciate finding confectionary shaped like Maori warriors and hoped the manufacturers would consider changing the name and shape of the lolly. If anything, she said, it should be shaped like a seal, the Inuits' main source of food.
A spokesman for Cadbury/Pascall said the product had been in the market and enjoyed by consumers for many years and it was never their intention to offend any member of the public.
He was unable to say whether the lolly shape and name would be changed now they had been made aware it had caused offence.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says the name Eskimo has been applied to Arctic peoples by Europeans and others since the 16th century and was once thought to mean eaters of raw flesh, but is now believed to make reference to snowshoes.
It says the self-designations of Eskimo peoples vary with their languages and dialects and include such names as Inuit, Inupiat, Yupik, and Alutiit, each of which is a regional variant meaning the people or the real people.