Following complaints from Native American groups, Minnesota's long-standing state flag and seal are undergoing an overhaul partly due to "racist undertones" supposedly on display. The state's 2023 legislative session led by Democrat lawmakers ordered both be changed because they've been deemed offensive to the Dakota and Ojibwe tribes as well as unattractive to the eye.
As it currently is, the historic 174-year-old seal—centered on the Minnesota flag—depicts a Native American atop a horse riding away into the sunset whilst a pioneer plows a field in the foreground with a rifle leaning on a nearby stump. "Native Americans have condemned this image for its depiction of a white settler encroaching on Native territory," the Minnesota Reformer wrote.
It apparently implies an Indian being driven off the land. "The imagery suggests to many that the Indigenous people were defeated and going away, while whites won and were staying," the Associated Press said. "That way of life, that genocidal attempt to destroy our culture is depicted on that flag," Kevin Jensvold, tribal chairman for the Yellow Medicine Dakota of the Upper Sioux Community, told AP, saying it "fails to come to terms with Minnesota's history of violence against Native Americans."
"I guess it's [the flag is] historically honest, reflecting a deep well of racism that is inseparable from our state history," penned University of Minnesota professor of urban studies William Lindeke for a MinnPost column on reasons for retiring the flag.
The outcry, spearheaded by the Minnesotans for a Better Flag campaign, over axing today's flag culminated in the creation of a committee. For weeks, the committee tasked with adopting a new flag and seal by Jan. 1, 2024, has accepted suggestions from the general public. In response, the appointed 13-member State Emblems Redesign Commission (SERC), which includes representatives of the state's tribunal councils as well as advocates from "communities of color," received over 2,600 entries.
Though the rules explicitly stipulate that "Symbols, emblems, or likenesses that represent only a single community or person, regardless of whether real or stylized, may not be included in a design," among the "qualifying" contenders are...
The Somalia-Pride flag (Submission #F61); Minnesota is reportedly home to the largest number of Somalis in the country:
These salutes to communism featuring the Marxist hammer-and-sickle symbol (Submissions #F332, #F1503, and #F1646):
Duplicates of the USSR flag (Submissions #F134 and #F182):
The black-power fist (Submission #F129):
The image galleries for the graphics are still up on the Minnesota Historical Society's site. Deliberations began on Oct. 30 with the commission shifting through the serious submissions, the juvenile sketches, and the light-hearted takes submitted as jokes.
This week, the finalists in the redesign competition were selected Tuesday, whittled down to six candidates for the flag and five favorites for the state seal (viewable here). Though simplistic compared to the current flag, the illustrations are more sensible and less of an eyesore than others aforementioned. Common elements are thematically threaded throughout the final selections, including shades of blue symbolizing the Land of 10,000 Lakes and drawings of Polaris, a nod to Minnesota's motto, "L'Étoile du Nord," meaning "The Star of the North." Accordingly, the French phrase is also printed along the bottom of the seal renditions.
JUST IN: Here are the six finalists for the new Minnesota state flag. See the full flags in a gallery on the story. https://t.co/QL1Tml22Ww pic.twitter.com/GZw6UpTTk4
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) November 22, 2023
🚨These are the six (yes the added an extra) finalists for the new Minnesota state flag.
— Caroline Cummings (@CaroRCummings) November 22, 2023
They have the liberty to change elements, like pulling symbols from other flags or changing colors. pic.twitter.com/U2Eok8Uctv
Minnesotans will be able to share feedback on the finalists via a comments form. The highest-ranked picks are subject to modifications, including alterations to shapes and color choices. Commission members can tweak the creations, using the incorporated ideas as the basis for the final cut to "inform" their work. "We are in the process of crafting—not just choosing..." commission chair Luis Fitch said at the start of a public hearing that stretched into the evening, The Star Tribune reported.
Unless the Democrat-controlled legislature uses its veto power to reject the commission's emblems, the newly designed flag will automatically start flying on May 11, 2024, Minnesota's Statehood Day. However, there's been some pushback from the people.
Fitch has heard from mostly older folks who are unhappy about the flag changing. "Not everybody is racist," Fitch told the Washington Post. "They don't see this other iconography or tones of racism. They just see history." Fitch said an older man emailed declaring that he would use the old one until the day he died. Adoption is expected to be slow among residents, Fitch acknowledged. But, "as soon as the old generation passes, the new flag will be raised up," the commission chairman said.
"What I am looking forward to is creating a flag that we can all be proud of..." the commission's vice chair Anita Gall, who teaches state history at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, stated, per AP. Republican state Rep. Bjorn Olson, a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, noted that outnumbered Civil War-era soldiers from Minnesota staged a critical charge that helped hold the Union line against advancing Confederate forces in the Battle of Gettysburg. He said the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment suffered heavy casualties carrying a regimental battle flag similar to what's now proudly flying across the state.
The present Great Seal of the State of Minnesota is rich in symbolism. According to the Minnesota Secretary of State's website: "The sun, visible on the western horizon, signifies the flat plains covering much of the state [...] The tree stump symbolizes the importance of Minnesota's timber industry. The American Indian on horseback represents the great American Indian heritage of the state while the horse, spear, axe, rifle, and plow represent important tools that were used for hunting and labor."
Acting as the "State's signature," the seal is affixed to government documents to authenticate them as official.
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