Seal of Minnesota#History

The duly elected secretary of state is custodian of the state seal in accordance with the Minnesota Constitution.{{Cite web |title=Article XIII, Section 11, Minnesota Constitution |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/constitution/#article_13 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} As with great seals in other jurisdictions, Minnesota's state seal serves to attest to the veracity of official government acts. In practice, the secretary of state uses the state seal to authenticate various instruments filed in his or her office, such as enrolled bills passed by the Legislature,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 4.034, 2023 Minnesota Statutes |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/4.034 |access-date=December 16, 2023}} executive orders and proclamations issued by the governor,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 4.03, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/4.03 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}}{{Cite web |title=Sec. 4.035, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/4.035 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesoat Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} oaths of office for state officials,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 358.11, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/358.11 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} state agency administrative rules,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 14.08, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/14.08 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}}{{Cite web |title=Sec. 14.16, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/14.16 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}}{{Cite web |title=Sec. 14.26, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/14.26 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}}{{Cite web |title=Sec. 14.386, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/14.386 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} evidences of state debt,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 16A.462, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/16A.462 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} extraditions,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 629.07, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/629.07 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}}{{Cite web |title=Sec. 929.22, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/629.22 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} certificates of registration for trademarks,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 333.21, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/333.21 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} notary public commissions,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 359.01, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/359.01 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} certifications of notarized documents,{{Cite web |title=Apostille Authentication |url=https://www.sos.state.mn.us/notary-apostille/apostille-authentication/ |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State}} or changes to municipal boundaries,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 414.09, 2023 Minn. Stats. |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/414.09 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes}} among many other public documents.{{Cite web |title=About Official Documents |url=https://officialdocuments.sos.state.mn.us/Home/About |access-date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State}}

The current seal, which was approved in 2023 depicts a series of state symbols contained within a traditional round design, with lettering in an outer circle ringed by a series of gold rectangles and a collection of state symbols and other symbolism in the inner circle. There are official versions in color and black-and-white. The description is detailed in the official report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission.{{cite web |author1=State Emblems Redesign Commission |title=Selection for the New Official Flag and Great Seal for the State of Minnesota |url=https://21588026.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/21588026/State%20Emblems%20Redesign%20Commission/2023_SERC_Final_Report.pdf |publisher=State of Minnesota |access-date=11 May 2024 |date=January 1, 2024}}

• The lettering around the circle is in Georgia bold font: The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota.
• In the inner circle is the phrase {{lang|dak|Mni Sóta Makoce}} in Montserrat-Variable font. This is the Dakota term for "Land where the water reflects the clouds," which is the origin of the state's name.

• The outermost circle contains 98 rectangular golden bars, representing the state's 87 counties and 11 federally-recognized tribes
• A series of blue roundels between the inner and outer circles separates the "Great Seal" text from the imagery; these are decorative only.
• In the inner circle are images containing:
• Wild rice, the official state grain of Minnesota;
• The common loon, the official state bird of Minnesota, depicted with a red eye{{Cite web |date=2023-12-05 |title=Minnesota's new state seal will feature a loon |url=https://www.fox9.com/news/the-loon-will-be-on-minnesotas-new-state-seal |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=FOX 9 |language=en-US}}
• A white, four-pointed star representing the state motto "L'Étoile du Nord," a French phrase for “The Star of the North”
• Trees, shown as triangular green figures, representing the official state tree, Norway Pine and other natural areas
• Water, stylized as blue waves, to represent the many lakes, rivers and other bodies of water in Minnesota.{{cite news |title=What's on the new Minnesota state seal? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/whats-on-the-new-minnesota-state-seal/ |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=WCCO News |date=May 10, 2024}}

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The need for a seal came when Minnesota became a territory in 1849 and it was necessary to stamp official documents with something. Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey first used one of his own design—a sunburst surrounded by the motto, "Liberty, Law, Religion, and Education." The Territorial Council then approved a second version depicting a Native family offering a ceremonial pipe to a white visitor, symbolizing "the eternal friendship" between both the American settlers and Native American tribes.{{Cite web |last=Convery |first=William |date=2023-09-20 |title=Minnesota State Seal |url=https://www.mnopedia.org/thing/minnesota-state-seal |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=MNOpedia}}

Fur trader, territorial Representative and later on Minnesota's first Governor, Henry M. Sibley then commissioned four alternative seals from Col. John J. Abert, an Army engineer and draftsman. One of the versions featured the theme occurring in the eventual state seal, i.e. an American settler plowing land just as a Native man rides horseback away towards the sun, of which Sibley asked a watercolor version, created by Army Capt. Seth Eastman. Sibley dismissed Territorial Gov. Ramsey's concerns that the imagery was too hostile towards Native people, and in fact, he doubled down on his idea by adding an ax and a Latin motto saying "I wish to see what is beyond" ({{Langx|la|Quo sursum velo videre}}) instead of adding a tipi to the territorial symbol. That seal became official in 1849.{{Cite web |last=Bierschbach |first=Briana |date=2023-11-03 |title=Minnesota's state seal and flag are changing. How was this controversial image created? |url=https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-state-seal-flag-native-americans-henry-sibley-alexander-ramsey/600316990/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Star Tribune}}

When Minnesota became a state in 1858, Sibley officially became the state's first governor. The state should have changed the seal to reflect its new status, but, even though the Legislature approved a new design, Sibley insisted on the one he had promoted while he was a territorial representative. He changed the motto to the current one in French and reoriented the Indigenous man so that he would ride into the sunset. The Legislature yielded and approved Sibley's design in 1861. A similar design, with a few small modifications over the years, remained on the seal until 2024.

The seal was altered in 1983. The Indigenous figure was reoriented to ride more towards the American settler than away from him, and images of Saint Anthony Falls, the Mississippi River, and Norway pines were also added.{{cite web |author1=Minnesota Historical Society |title=State Seal |url=https://www.leg.mn.gov/webcontent/leg/symbols/sealarticle.pdf |website=Roots: Minnesota Almanac |publisher=Minnesota Legislature |access-date=11 May 2024}}

From 1858 to 2024, the seal included two human figures, an Indigenous man being on horseback riding off in the background, and an American pioneer in the foreground plowing his land. The Indigenous man was on horseback riding westward until 1983 and southward afterwards,{{Cite web |title=Sec. 1.135 MN Statutes |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/1.135 |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.revisor.mn.gov}}{{Cite web |title=Minnesota (U.S.) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/FLAGS/us-mn.html |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.crwflags.com}} symbolizing Indigenous people of Minnesota. The rider's horse and spear, and the pioneer's hand axe, long gun, powder horn, and plow represented tools of daily life. The tools used by the Native American and the farmer represented the tools used for labor and hunting while the stump symbolized the taming of the land and the importance of the lumber industry to Minnesota in 1858. The furrowing of the ground by the plow represented the submission of the land to the pioneer. The plow also symbolized the importance of agriculture to Minnesota and its future. On the western horizon was a sunset. The straight horizon line reflected the plains covering much of Minnesota.

The Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls were depicted in the seal starting in 1983 to note the importance of these resources in transportation, industry and the settling of the state. Beyond the falls were three Norway pine trees representing the state tree and the three pine regions of the state: the St Croix, Mississippi, and Lake Superior.{{cite web|title=Minnesota Statutes - 1.135 STATE SEAL |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=1.135 |work=Office of the Revisor of Statutes |date=1983 |access-date=June 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609183928/https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=1.135 |archive-date=June 9, 2012 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/mn_flag.htm|title=Minnesota State Flag - About the Minnesota Flag, its adoption and history from NETSTATE.COM|last=www.n-state.com|first=NSTATE, LLC|website=www.netstate.com|access-date=2017-08-11}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=1.135|title=1.135, 2011 Minnesota Statutes|date=2012-06-09|access-date=2017-08-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609183928/https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=1.135|archive-date=2012-06-09}}

When the 1858 seal was commissioned, it was fairly common for territories to adopt seals with the underlying theme of manifest destiny, i.e. the belief that American settlers were ordained by God to colonize new territories within North America in order to expand the United States borders. Mary, Seth Eastman's wife, wrote a poem that suggested that "the red man's course is onward" and that the land should come to "the white man's grasping hand."{{Cite book |last=Hedin |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fGIJN56SoEgC&dq=%22seal+of+minnesota%22&pg=PA5 |title=Where One Voice Ends Another Begins: 150 Years of Minnesota Poetry |date=2007 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |isbn=978-0-87351-584-9 |pages=5 |language=en}}

Indigenous groups in Minnesota found the imagery offensive because their perception is that the seal celebrated the removal of Native American tribes.{{Cite web |last=Judd |first=Jake |title=Finalists Selected for Redesigned State Flag and Seal to Eliminate Controversial Imagery |url=https://knsiradio.com/2023/11/22/finalists-selected-for-redesigned-state-flag-and-seal-to-eliminate-controversial-imagery/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=KNSI |language=en}} In the 1960s, the American Indian Movement criticized the design and called for its reevaluation. In 1968, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights concurred and called to replace it with something that would not show Native peoples in a derogatory light, but little action was taken. The design underwent a minor change in 1983 when the rider was turned southwards (towards the farmer) rather than westwards (towards the sunset), but this did not change the minds of many people about the symbolism. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (DFL), who is a member of White Earth Band of Ojibwe, said the flag "literally [showed] the Native person being driven off their land" and refused to use the state seal in official documents prior to the redesign.{{Cite news |last=Londoño |first=Ernesto |date=2023-12-09 |title=Minnesota Is Looking for a New State Flag. Residents Have a Few (Thousand) Ideas. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/09/us/minnesota-new-flag.html |access-date=2023-12-09 |issn=0362-4331}} According to Kevin Jensvold, leader of the Upper Sioux Community, few tribal reservations in the state would fly the flag containing the old seal for the same reason.{{Cite web |last=Callaghan |first=Peter |date=2023-06-08 |title=Formal effort begins to replace 'cluttered genocidal mess' on Minnesota flag |url=https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2023/06/formal-effort-begins-to-replace-cluttered-genocidal-mess-on-minnesota-state-flag-and-seal/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US}}

In February 2023, State Representative Mike Freiberg (DFL-Golden Valley) introduced a bill that would create a State Emblems Redesign Commission (passed as part of the state budget).{{cite web |year=2023 |title=HF1830 |url=https://www.leg.mn.gov/leg/cc/Default?type=bill&year=2023-93&bill=HF-1830 |website=Office of the Revisor of Statutes |publisher=Minnesota Legislature }} Freiberg justified his decision by deriding the current state seal as "a cluttered genocidal mess" that was in need of change. New designs of the flag and the seal were to be submitted in a report to the legislature by January 1, 2024. The designs passed by the commission became official on May 11, 2024 (Statehood Day).

The commission put out an open call for submissions in October 2023,{{cite web |last1=Simon |first1=Steve |title=Sec. Steve Simon Statement on Public Submissions for the State Flag and Seal |url=https://www.sos.mn.gov/about-the-office/news-room/sec-steve-simon-statement-on-public-submissions-for-the-state-flag-and-seal/ |website=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State |access-date=2024-05-11 |date=2023-10-02}} then selected six finalists. The commission then selected a final design, modified it by eliminating the nineteen stars in the background, eliminating the year of the state's founding, and replacing the state motto with the Dakota name for the state. On December 5, 2023, the commission declared the new design based on Ross Bruggink's submission the winner in the contest.{{Cite web |last=Cummings |first=Caroline |date=2023-12-08 |title=Designer of new Minnesota state seal "honored" the commission chose his work |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/designer-of-new-minnesota-state-seal-honored-the-commission-chose-his-work/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=WCCO - CBS Minnesota |language=en-US}}

File:Seal of Minnesota.svg

The seal features a common loon (the state bird), the North Star, Northern wild rice (the state grain), and some pine trees (the state tree being the Norway pine). The seal also contains the Dakota phrase {{lang|dak|Mni Sóta Makoce}}, which is translated to {{gloss|land where the waters reflect the sky}}.

On December 19, 2023, the commission standardized the design by specifying that the outer seal will have 98 gold "boxes" to symbolize the 87 counties and 11 recognized Native American tribes of Minnesota.

The redesign commission's initial vote the seal was unanimous in favor of Bruggink's design.{{cite news |last1=Ferguson |first1=Dana |title=Emblems panel won over by call of the loon as state bird to grace Minnesota seal |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/12/05/minnesota-state-seal-loon-vote |access-date=December 3, 2024 |work=MPR News |date=December 5, 2023}} The seal received some media praise for its symbolism and style.{{cite news |last1=Wittnebel |first1=Aaron |last2=Johnson |first2=Amanda |title=A straightforward explanation and defense of the new state flag and seal |url=https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/03/08/a-straightforward-explanation-and-defense-of-the-new-state-flag-and-seal/ |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=Minnesota Reformer |date=March 8, 2024}} Changes made by the commission drew some initial opposition.

Prior to the 2024 redesign, Minnesota's state seal included a ribbon that read {{lang|fr|L'Etoile du Nord}} (translated to English as {{gloss|The Star of the North}}). While the 2024 design continues to reference this motto through the inclusion of a four-pointed star representing the North Star, the decision to replace the {{lang|fr|L'etoile du Nord}} text with the Dakota language phrase {{lang|dak|Mni Sóta Makoce}}, the origin of the name Minnesota, was criticized by several Republican members of the Minnesota Legislature.{{cite news |date=2023-12-22 |title=Urdahl Opposes New Seal & Flag Designs |url=https://klfdradio.com/news/local/urdahl-opposes-new-seal-flag-designs |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=KLFD Radio}}{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Esme |last2=Swanson |first2=Stephen |last3=Cummings |first3=Caroline |date=2023-12-21 |title=Could Minnesota lawmakers change the new state flag and seal designs? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-state-flag-lawmakers-could-intervene |access-date=2024-05-11 |work=WCCO News |publisher=CBS News}} Indigenous groups and commission members spoke out in support of the choice to include the Dakota name.{{cite news |last1=Bierschbach |first1=Briana |title=Tribes criticized Minnesota's old state seal as racist. The new one includes Dakota language. |url=https://www.startribune.com/tribes-criticized-minnesotas-old-state-seal-as-racist-the-new-one-includes-dakota-language/600328583 |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=Minnesota Star Tribune |date=December 15, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Olson |first1=Melissa |title=How to pronounce ‘Mni Sóta Makoce,’ the Dakota phrase that will be on the new state seal |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/12/15/how-to-pronounce-mni-sta-makoce-the-dakota-phrase-that-will-be-on-the-new-state-seal |access-date=3 December 2024 |date=December 15, 2023}}

During commission proceedings, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon initially urged his fellow committee members to exclude the Dakota phrase and keep the Minnesota statehood year, 1858, on the seal. The year was ultimately not added due to concerns from the Dakota community stemming from its association with broken treaties between the United States government and the Dakota people.{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=Hank |date=13 December 2023 |title=Commission adds Dakota phrase, removes statehood date and motto from new seal |url=https://alphanews.org/commission-adds-dakota-phrase-removes-statehood-date-and-motto-from-new-seal/ |access-date=11 May 2024 |agency=Alpha News}} Simon later commended the seal for "showcas[ing] the features of our state that we can all recognize."{{cite web |title=New Official Minnesota State Seal and Flag |url=https://www.sos.state.mn.us/about-the-office/news-room/new-official-minnesota-state-seal-and-flag/ |website=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State |access-date=3 December 2024 |date=May 11, 2024}}

File:Seal of the Minnesota Department of Transportation.svg|Former seal of the Minnesota Department of Transportation

File:Seal of the Minnesota National Guard.svg|Seal of the Minnesota National Guard

{{Portal|United States}}

• Flag of Minnesota

{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=bysa3|url=https://www.mnopedia.org/thing/minnesota-state-seal|author=William Convery}}{{US state seals}}

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Category:Symbols of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota

Category:Native American history of Minnesota

Category:Native American-related controversies

Category:Coats of arms with birds

Category:Coats of arms with rice

Category:Coats of arms with stars

Category:Coats of arms introduced in 2023