ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Native American woman who has graced the packaging of Land O'Lakes butter, cheese and other products since the late 1920s has quietly disappeared.
Known as Mia, the woman was shown sitting in a serene landscape of lakes and woods. That landscape remains on the Minnesota cooperative's packaging, but Mia is nowhere to be found.
On some packaging she is replaced by photos of Land O'Lakes member farmers.
President and CEO Beth Ford said that as the cooperative, founded in 1921, looks toward its 100th anniversary it needed packaging that reflects the foundation and heart of the company's culture.
"As a farmer-owned co-op, we strongly feel the need to better connect the men and women who grow our food with those who consume it," Ford said in a statement.
WATCH: How women in Iowa are leading farmland conservation efforts
The woman's image has been modified over the years.
Ojibwe artist Patrick DesJarlait remade Mia in the mid-1950s. DesJarlait's work is included in the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul.
"I have mixed feelings about it," Robert DesJarlait, Patrick's son and an artist and writer, told the Star Tribune from his home in Onamia, Minnesota. "I'm sad to see it go, but I can understand why it's gone. We live in a politically correct time, so maybe it was time to get rid of it. It certainly devolved into a stereotype."
Land O'Lakes, which is headquartered in Arden Hills, posted $14 billion in sales in 2019.
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
John Leguizamo has appeared in more than 100 films while also telling a distinctly Latino story in documentaries, one-man shows…
In death, Leonard Cohen is having a rebirth. The legendary singer is being remembered by older and younger generations alike…
Alec Baldwin's Western "Rust" had its world premiere Wednesday at a film festival in Poland, three years after the shooting…
In her new collection of columns from The Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan takes readers on a journey…
If you've ever wanted to own a piece of Hollywood history, now's your chance. A pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers…
When Centurion was founded, it was the first group of its kind working to overturn wrongful convictions for people facing…
As major American museums reexamine their collections to ensure diversity and inclusion, there's a growing realization that they need more…
As a dancer, choreographer, director and speaker, Jamison's distinguished career leaped over barriers of race and gender.
In the 1980s, about 70 percent of clothes sold in the U.S. were made in the country. Today, it's down…
This is her first time receiving nominations in the country and Americana categories.
For many Muslim and Arab Americans, Israel's wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and the wider Middle East are personal, and so…
A giant in the music and entertainment industry has died. Quincy Jones, known to many as 'Q,' was revered as…
Jones rose from music school dropout to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives…
Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in the final days before the presidential election, playing herself…
