In this blog:
- Dream of Wild Health expands its farm
- A different take on the Land O’ Lakes logo change
- Rolling Stone: LaDuke and McKibben talk about the fight against Line 3
Dream of Wild Health expands its farm
Dream of Wild Health has expanded its farm in Hugo.
In 2004, Peta Wakan Tipi, Dream of Wild Health’s forerunner, purchased land in Hugo that now includes a 10-acre farm, Indigenous fruit orchard, and pollinator meadow. It announced this week that it bought an additional 20 acres.
Dream of Wild Health is an Indigenous-led organization committed to restore health and well-being in the Native community by recovering knowledge of and access to healthy Indigenous foods, medicines and lifeways. The farm is a place where indigenous youth learn about their relationship to the land and traditional plants. The farm also produces revenue through selling community supported agriculture (CSA) shares.
According to the announcement:
In response to a growing demand in the Native community for culturally relevant food, as well as increased interest in cultural programs from Native youth and families, the organization’s board of directors and staff decided to take advantage of a unique opportunity to purchase additional acreage on the same street as the existing farm.
The purchase comes in a time when the community is reeling from the economic and social impact of COVID-19. The high rates of poverty and health disparities in Native communities heightens the effects of COVID-19. Dream of Wild Health youth and family participants are expressing an increasing need for access to food. The organization is working to expand food access immediately to respond to this need. The revitalization of healthy, Indigenous foods and traditional seeds is essential to the success of our communities.
Click on the links above for more information.
A different take on the Land O’ Lakes Indian maiden logo
Indian Country Today ran a story: There’s another story behind that Land O’Lakes butter box.
Artist Patrick DesJarlait worked for the Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell-Mithun back in the 1920s, and he was given the task of helping to market Land O’Lakes, the story said. DesJarlait was also Ojibwe from Red Lake.
The original brand of “Mia” had been refurbished twice since its launch in 1928. DesJarlait was tapped to create a third version. He reimagined a more human character, adding detail to Mia’s face and floral motifs on her dress. Subtle changes that mattered.
That was the brand that stuck for seven decades.
Patrick’s son Robert DesJarlait said on his Facebook page that many Ojibwe people shared their perspective of Mia while growing up Native, the story said. “Basically, it was giving the previous generation a sense of almost empowerment to see a Native woman on a box of butter. It gave them a sense of cultural pride,” he said. “After seeing those posts, I said, ‘that’s right, that’s why my dad created this image to begin with’.”
Click on the link above for more details.
Rolling Stone: LaDuke and McKibben talk about the fight against Line 3
In a timely Earth Day bounce, Rolling Stone magazine featured a story about the Line 3 battle in northern Minnesota and an engaging 20-minute conversation – recorded in mid-March — between two world renowned environmentalists, authors and activists. Winona LaDuke, Executive Director and Co-founder of Honor the Earth, and Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone and other media, move through a variety of topics
Also check out the newly released 38-minute film LN3: Seven Teachings of the Anishinaabe in Resistance, produced by Nine Muses and posted on Honor the Earth’s website.
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