Minnesota’s History as a Destination for Immigrants The first peoples living in the region now known as Minnesota were members of diverse Native American tribes who settled in the area as long ago as 6000 B.C. The Ojibwe and Dakota, the largest tribes living in Minnesota in the early and mid-nineteenth century, both had well-established societies based on hunting and gathering when the first French and French Canadian traders arrived to establish fur posts among them.
By 1850, many settlers from New England as well as immigrants from Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and Germany had settled in Minnesota. Drawn by the lure of inexpensive farmland and a growing industrial base, diverse groups continued to migrate to Minnesota, and by 1896, official election instructions were being issued in nine languages: English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, French, Czech, Italian, and Polish.
Minnesota became a significant immigration state as a result of the wave of immigration to the United States at the turn of the century. While the foreign-born population in the United States was only 15% in the 1890s, 40% of Minnesota’s population was foreign born. This first major wave of immigration to Minnesota peaked around 1910, when more than 60% of the immigrants came from Sweden, Norway, and Germany.
Today’s Immigrants to Minnesota
Another wave of immigration to Minnesota, which began after the Vietnam War, marked a change in the ethnic makeup of Minnesota’s immigrant populations. This wave peaked in the 1980s when hundreds of refugees from Southeast Asia, aided by local churches, were resettled in Minnesota communities. Minnesota’s ethnic mix, originally comprised of Native Americans, African Americans, and immigrants from diverse Western European countries, was now further enriched by new populations primarily from Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.
Today, although only 5.1% of Minnesota’s population is foreign born (which is half the national average), the state remains a destination for immigrants and refugees. The US Office of Immigration Statistics estimates that 13, 522 immigrants came to Minnesota from 160 different countries in 2002. The current number of refugees in Minnesota is estimated at more than 70,500 people, although the number is difficult to verify because people move to and from other states. About 13,500 refugees have resettled in Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, and approximately 5,000 new Hmong refugees are expected to arrive in Minnesota in the next several months. Current immigrant populations in Minnesota are growing in number and diversity.
Consider the following statistics:
- In 2000, nearly 20% of all Minnesota immigrants came as refugees. This percentage is down from 42% in 1996, but is still higher than the national refugee percentage (8% in 2000.) Most refugees come from the former Soviet Union, Bosnia, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Listed below are the largest refugee populations* living in Minnesota as of January 1999:
* Estimates include U.S.-born children and refugees Estimate include U.S.-born children and refugees resettled in other states who subsequently moved to Minnesota.
- Approximately 143,382 members of the Chicano/Latino population lived in Minnesota in 2000.
- INS estimates from 1996 show that Minnesota has fewer undocumented immigrants than almost any other state: just two-tenths of one percent.
- According to reports from the Hmong and Somali communities, Minnesota is home to the largest Hmong and the largest Somali population in the United States.
- More than 80 languages were spoken by students in Minneapolis Public Schools during the 2000-2001 academic year. Minnesota Public Schools estimate over 10,000 students that speak a language other than English at home.
- A record number of 1,500 immigrants from about 100 countries became U.S. citizens in Minnesota on June 28, 2001. Part of a nationwide increase in naturalization, immigrants are increasingly settling in Minnesota communities and enriching them with their economic and cultural contributions.
Sources: Holmquist, June Drenning. They Chose Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981. Leslie, Lourdes Medrano. “Minnesota Welcomes Record Number of New Americans,” Star Tribune, July 1, 1999. Nelson, Todd. “New Americans Bring New Record,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 28, 2001. Collins, Terry. “It was Minnesota’s Biggest Day,” Star Tribune, June 28, 2001.Minneapolis Public Schools, 2001. MN Planning/Office of the State Demographer, 2000. Refugee Services of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2000. Census 2000.