Native American history has been written largely by the white population which has led to traditions being lost and monstrosities against the people. Native American culture and identity has also been used and taken advantage of by advertising and media due to the stereotypes that have been weaved along with the people. Appropriation and the loss of agency is rampant in advertising of products. Native Americans are grouped as one people and placed into categories. Native Americans are faced with seeing their own people and culture represented falsely throughout history as well as into the present. Advertising, starting in the 19th century has used Native American images and traditional clothing on items varying from firearms to food products like butter. Native Americans were used by many different companies and organizations even when there was no correlation between Native Americans and the company. Native Americans are present on many different items with no explanation. Many companies in the United States used Native Americans in their branding in order to elicit a connection to the country that seems more genuine. The realization that the depiction of Native Americans in advertising is not acceptable has only recently been acknowledged.
My Four Views project was focused on the Land-O-Lakes advertising images that could be found on the butter packages. Terrence Witkowski (2024) mentions the Land-O-Lakes advertising as a symbol of the belief that Native women were meant to represent the maternal and giving nature of the Native American community. Witkowski also mentions the focus on the beauty of the woman on the package and the way she is meant to be both beautiful and morally upstanding. Mia, the name of the woman on the packaging of the Land-O-Lakes containers is seen on her knees in a giving position which is meant to symbolize these attributes to the consumers of the product. The use of Mia on the packaging is also representing gender roles like caregiving and food preparation by having the woman in this position on the product. The dress of the woman is also very important due to the fact that traditional Native American dress has been appropriated for the benefit of those using it like advertising agencies. This appropriation and stereotyping is an obvious example of racism and stealing of identity from the Native American community. Native Americans and Native American women in particular lack the respect of their identity due to the way they are all grouped as one instead of individuals.
The use of Mia on the Land-O-Lakes packaging was to garner a specific response from those who buy the products. Michael Green (1993) uses the term “Indian Princess” to categorize Mia from Land-O-Lakes due to the fact that Native American women are depicted in the media in a very specific light. They typically are not shown with agency and they lose their true identity and an image is fabricated in their place. This can be seen in Pocahontas, Sacagawea and many of the other Native Women who were married to white travelers. Mia was placed on the packaging “…in order to attempt to convince the consumer that the products made by this company are natural, wholesome, and healthy” (Green 1993, 323). I related the image of Mia offering the butter to the viewer similar to artwork that depicted Native Americans trading with white settlers. They were seen as very amicable and fascinated with the products which is similar to the Land-O-Lakes advertising. Native Americans tend to be represented as giving and closer with nature. The closeness with nature correlates with Mia due to Land-O-Lakes wanting to seem farm fresh. Land-O-Lakes advertises the natural and farm connection to their products and Mia is meant to symbolize this connection.
The reason for the change of the logo has been due to the reaction from the Native American community. Adrienne Keene who is a member of the Cherokee Nation as well as a professor at Brown University spoke in depth about the Indigenous appropriation that can be seen in day to day life. Keene (2016) explained how logos that include Native Americans have become commonplace and have become something that people are used to seeing. The images are seen so often that they become normalized in people’s everyday lives. Mia has been portrayed as a “warrior” (Keene 2016, 55). Her clothing and headdress allude to the fact that she is a warrior due to society’s accustomed thoughts on how a Native American warriors should appear. The larger picture and conversation that should be sparked from simple advertisements like Land-O-Lakes should be the effect that stereotypes have on Native American communities. This form of cultural appropriation has been lessened as companies have seen the effect of their use and have tried to change their names or logos to a better representation of their product. Mia will always be remembered by those who saw her on the product but that does not mean that she was meant to be placed on the product.
Native American history is still being written whether it’s through movies or advertising the narrative continues to be written which must continue. Native American history needs to be written according to the individuals and their groups instead of putting all Native Americans together or worse, putting them into categories based on stereotypes. The worst thing to happen to the Native American community would be to fall into silence which has happened throughout history. Issues that occur on reservations like missing persons and murders should be acknowledged instead of ignored. A small step on a much longer path has been the change in Native American depiction in everyday media. The depiction of Land-O-Lakes is an example of the ever changing Native American history with their choice to remove Mia as their logo. The company really wanted to put an emphasis on the farmers and the fact that the company was led and run by Minnostan farmers. Mia is now gone from the butter logo which is good for young Native Americans who growing up thought this was a wrong depiction of their culture but the emptiness it left says a lot for the silence that Native Americans have been put under over the years.
Work Cited
Green, Michael K. 1993. “Images of Native Americans in Advertising: Some Moral Issues.” Journal of business ethics 12, no. 4: 323-330.
Keene, Adrienne. 2016. “Engaging Indigeneity and Avoiding Appropriation: An Interview with Adrienne Keene.” English journal 106, no. 1: 55-57.
Witkowski, Terrence H. 2024. “Cultural Appropriation in Historical Context: Native Americans in Firearms Advertising.” Journal of macromarketing 44, no. 1: 199-223.