Land O Lakes Butter 2020 package design
Although ther have been no posts on Celestial Venus for several months, there has been an increase in views for the site. So that fact encourages me to write. Recently, I saw something that troubled me, the Native American Maiden has been removed from the package design of Land O Lakes. There was an empty space where the welcoming figure once sat. Most would hardly notice the change of the design but I see it as symbolic of the criss of our culture.
Land O Lakes vintage package
Patrick DesJarlait ~ Land O Lakes butter
For many years a young American Indian Maiden, Mia, appeared on Land O Lakes packages. Mia was created by the illustrator Author C. Hanson in 1928. In the 1950’s the Native American artist Patrick DesJarlait was commissioned to redesign the image. He placed Mia in the center of the landscape and placed her head at the center of the “O” of the brand name. The “O” halo is iconic of the nurture of the Virgin Mary. Desjarlait was known to represent the nurturing character of women in his art. Many Native Americans identified with the lady of the lakes. But the decision to remove Mia from the package design was admired by many. North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Buffalo said the image goes “hand-in-hand with human and sex trafficking of our women and girls … by depicting Native women as sex objects.” How could people have such conflicting perceptions of an image?
Patrick Desjarlait
Several years ago I can across an obscure book of sociology titled Culture Against Man by Jules Henry. The author had profound insight into the decline of culture. Henry recognized two forms of orientation toward the world, a polarity of values and drives. Values that are principles for society should be distinguished from drives. The values; love, kindness, quietness, contentment, simplicity, honesty and decency are where meaning is to be found. While the drives such as expansiveness, competition, profit and mobility are concerned with material stability and survival. Henry wrote, “Drives are what urge use blindly into getting bigger, into going further into outer space and into destructive competition; values are the sentiments that work in the opposite direction. Drives belong to the occupational world; values to the world of the family and friendly intimacy.”
Wendell Berry also accounted for the two orientations in the area of agriculture. He saw that those who held values were often forced into an orientation of drives which lead to a great state of alienation. He wrote, “It seems likely that all the “movements” of recent years have been representing various claims that nurture has to make against exploitation. The woman’s movement, for example, when its energies are most accurately placed, is arguing the cause of nurture; other times it is arguing the right of women to be exploiters – which men have no right to be.”
Land O Lakes package back 2020
The new image on the back of the Land O Lakes packages shows farmers who stand apart from each other. Women stand with their arms akimbo have an opposing presence. The image hardly emulates the feeling of family and intimacy. The image reminds me more of a group of Marvel characters ready for battle. That is because drives are given more respect by our culture than values. Therefore the icon of the Indian Maiden will be perceived as a form of exploitation by those who are oriented in separation and competition. Those who are moved mostly by values will recognize the love, kindness and simplicity the artist intended to express. Although there are many who are concerned with preserving the environment, the preservation needs to be extended. It seems there is little awareness of the estrangement from ourselves.