A state commission began work Tuesday to design a new state flag and seal for Minnesota to replace the current emblems in both that are considered offensive to Native Americans.
One of the main elements of the Minnesota state flag includes the state seal that stands out against a blue background. The seal depicts a Native American riding into the sunset while a white settler plows his field with his rifle resting on a nearby stump. The imagery suggested to many that the Aboriginal people had been defeated and left, while the whites had won and remained.
Not only do the state’s Dakota and Ojibwe tribes find it offensive, but experts in the scientific and scholarly study of flags – known as vexillology – say it’s an overly complicated design.
Guidelines from the Vexillological Society of North America say flags should be simple but meaningful, with only a few colors, easily recognizable from a distance and without seals or lettering. The association ranked Minnesota 67th out of 72 US and Canadian state and territory flags. The Minnesota design dates from 1957, an evolution from the 1893 original.
Minnesota joins several other states in redesigning flags that have not stood the test of time. The Utah Legislature last winter approved a simple flag design that still includes a beehive, a symbol of the prosperity and perseverance of Mormon pioneers who settled the state. Mississippi voters in 2020 chose a new state flag with magnolias and the phrase “In God We Trust” to replace a Confederate-themed flag that had been used by the Ku Klux Klan and widely condemned as racist.
Minnesota’s state flag is under renovation due to Native American concerns. AP
Other states considering simplifying their flags include Maine, where voters will decide next year whether to replace their current banner with a retro version featuring a simple pine tree and blue North Star, as well as Michigan and Illinois.
The Democrat-controlled Minnesota Legislature earlier this year tasked its commission — which includes representatives of state tribes and other communities of color — with coming up with new designs for the flag and seal by Jan. 1. Unless the Legislature rejects it, the new emblem will automatically become official on April 1, 2024, which Minnesota celebrates as National Day.
“What I’m looking forward to is creating a flag that we can all be proud of, and a flag that everyone can look at and say: “Yeah, that’s the Minnesota flag. That’s a cool flag. That’s very distinctive,” said the commission’s vice chair, Anita Gall, who teaches state history at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington.
Unlike the flag, the state seal, which is used among other things to stamp official documents, can be more complicated, said Rep. Democrat Mike Freiberg, of Golden Valley, is an author of the legislation for the new emblem.
Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon, who sat on the panel, noted that one of his official duties is to serve as keeper of the national seal. “These are enduring symbols and emblems that are meant to last not just a few decades, but a century or more,” Simon said. “So it’s a big responsibility.”
Two Republican lawmakers with nonvoting seats on the panel urged their colleagues to choose a design that would be a symbol of unification.
Rep. Bjorn Olson, of Fairmont, said the change would be difficult for him, both as a student of history and as a captain in the Army Reserves, because the outnumbered soldiers from Minnesota made critical charges that helped hold Union lines against advancing Confederate forces. in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. The First Minnesota Infantry Regiment suffered heavy casualties while carrying a flag similar to the current design, he said.
“I know that there are many Minnesotans who think we need a new flag and there are many who don’t,” said Sen. Steve Drazkowski, of Mazeppa. “Obviously, the decision has been made — we will have a new flag. So my goal going forward … is that we have a flag that doesn’t represent one idea or one ideology or anything, but represents all of Minnesota.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
