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Native American ➔ Margarine Box
Identifier:
2021.67.3Description:
This Land O' Lakes margarine box was collected following the announcement that Land O' Lakes, Inc. would be removing the image of the Native American woman from the packaging. This decision was made in April of 2020 after criticism that the image was a racial stereotype. Two months later, prompted by the surge in the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd, many other companies also vowed to rebrand products that depicted racist imagery.Mia, the Native American woman depicted on Land O' Lakes packaging, was painted in 1928 by Arthur C. Hanson and was updated in 1939 by Jess Betlach. In the 1950s, the image was updated again by Ojibwe artist Patrick DesJarlait, correcting her clothing to reflect Ojibwe styles and updating the background to depict a specific Ojibwe place, the Red Lake in Minnesota. In 2018 the image was changed to only show the woman's head and shoulders, and by April of 2020, the image was removed altogether.
The removal of Mia's image from Land O' Lakes packaging was controversial, with many people, including those in the Native American community, disagreeing that the logo was stereotypical or offensive. Many saw the representation as a sense of cultural pride while others believed having a Native American mascot was racist.
Date:
2020Materials:
CardboardCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift of Alex ForistRelated Entity:
Alex Forist (donor)Curator at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
