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Beer Mon Jan 05 2015
Heyoka Goodbye, Hello Senita
Half Acre Beer Co. announced today that it is renaming Heyoka, its canned IPA rolled out in November 2013, to honor requests from the Lakota tribe.
Heyoka is a Lakota Native American word. Recently, some members of the Lakota community reached out with disappointment in our usage of the word and requested that we stop. We didn't and aren't going to spend any time defending or explaining our use of the word. We're simply making the right choice and respecting their wishes.
The beer's new name will be Senita India Pale Ale. New packaging will be rolling out soon.
Heyoka is the Lakota name for the "sacred clown," a trickster or contrarian figure who is also the spirit of thunder and lightning. The new name honors the Senita cactus, a species native to the Southwest and Mexico, and the beer label now features a snake weaving through the pipe organ-like branches of a cactus.
Commenters on Half Acre's blog and Facebook page were overwhelmingly supportive of the change. Redskins and Indians organizations, take note: this is the way to respond to requests from Native Americans.
