Tribe Challenges `Indian' Brand Of Motorcycles

PORTLAND - The Cow Creek Band of southern Oregon's Umpqua Indian Tribe is mounting a nationwide campaign to challenge a lucrative motorcycle company that uses the Indian image as its trademark.

California-based Indian Motorcycle just started making Indian-brand motorcycles last month and stands to gain millions from its retro-looking cycles complete with flared fenders and chrome Indian-head ornaments.

The company is hoping to cash in on the nostalgia of the Indian brand, a manufacturer that went out of production nearly 50 years ago.

The tribe is suing the manufacturer and its business consultant and may even challenge the trademark directly with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Its complaint centers on the issue of who has the power to determine how Native American names and images are used.

The Cow Creek Band worked with a federal receiver for four years on plans to produce the cycles itself and to spread royalties from the trademark throughout Indian Country. But the court awarded the trademark to someone else. Now the tribe claims Indian Motorcycle is profiting from a symbol that should benefit American Indians.