Food Indians

While not a new phenomenon in American Indian appropriations and all other things Indian, we wanted to take time to talk about Food Indians. Yes, many (or all) Indians like food, so if that’s what you’re thinking, you’re off base. The food Indians we are referring to are the lovely, and strange, Indians we often see gracing the covers of our staple foods, favorite candies, and even alcoholic beverages.

We want to start off with the Calumet Baking Powder Indian. I find this food most interesting food to star an Indian as its mascot as it is a staple in many Indian people diets. Interestingly enough, baking powder is an important ingredient in Indian Fry Bread. We highly doubt that Calumet took this into consideration when they decided the silhouette of an Indian with a headdress would be their mascot. We also are fairly certain they weren’t thinking of the real Indian “Calumet”, which is a smoking pipe used in American Indian ceremonies.

Regardless of what they were thinking, don’t you agree that it’s quite rude to put an Indian figure on an ingredient that most Indians use on a daily basis? Whenever I look at the container of Calumet, it always seems to be saying to me “This is what a real Indian looks like”. We know this isn’t true, and most Indians do as well, so it often seems like the packaging is mocking the idea of an Indian, and mocking the idea that Indians still exist, especially in a modern form.

Next on our list of food Indians is the Tootsie Pop Indian

What on Earth does an Indian chief have to do with these suckers? We’re not sure, but what we do know is that if the Indian Chief is shooting his bow and aiming for a star on your Tootsie Pop wrapper, you get a free Tootsie Pop (or so urban legend says). The worst part of the Tootsie Pop Indian is that it’s a child’s food, and children everywhere grow up thinking that the Indian chief’s primary role is to give free Tootsie Pops to children everywhere. Also, they learn that “real Indians” wear headdresses, frilly pants, and only shoot bows and arrows. We wonder if the Tootsie Pop Indian was updated- would it feature a man in blaze orange aiming for the star with his 20 gauge shot gun?

The final food (or technically drink, this case) Indian that really grinds on our nerves is the Leinenkugels Indian.

Leinenkugels beer features the face of an Indian maiden on its labels. I'm fairly certain that I've never met an Indian woman who looked like the woman above. She is definitely not portrayed as "modern", as we can tell by the picture she is wearing "traditional" clothing, but somehow she is also wearing lipstick? We also see the portrayal of Indians on beer. I don't think it's appropriate to feature Indians on beer, as many know the fractured history of American Indian people and alcohol problems.

Although the top nerve-grinding Indians are featured above, below are severl "honorable mentions" when it comes to food Indians.