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Native American 'Butter Maiden' Removed From Land O'Lakes Packaging

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (AP/WCCO) -- The Native American woman who has appeared on the packaging of Land O'Lakes butter, cheese and other products since the late 1920s has been quietly removed.

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's replaced by photos of Land O'Lakes member farmers.

President and CEO Beth Ford said that as the cooperative looks toward its 100th anniversary next year it needed packaging that reflects the foundation and heart of the company's culture, which are its farmers.

"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 February statement. "Our farmer-to-fork structure gives us a unique ability to bridge this divide."

The removal of the Native American, who was dubbed the "butter maiden", was not addressed in the packaging changes.

Land O'Lakes Native American Maiden
A view of the previous packaging. (credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The logo had long been criticized as racist and stereotypical, with North Dakota Rep. Ruth Buffalo telling the Grand Forks Tribune the image goes "hand-in-hand with human and sex trafficking of our women and girls."

More recently, Land O'Lakes packaging emphasized a head-and-shoulders view of the maiden, who was no longer obviously kneeling.

Land O'Lakes is a member-owned cooperative based in Arden Hills, Minnesota. It reported 2018 annual sales of $15 billion.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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