ST PAUL, Minn. — The new official symbols of Minnesota are closer to being final.
The State Emblem Redesign Commission announced the final three finalists during a meeting on Tuesday, with another meeting scheduled Friday.
The commission started by going over the nuances of the state seal design that was accepted last week. Members talked about trees and agreed on the red eyes of the loon, but after that, the discussion quickly heated up when they got to the state motto.
They discussed including the motto in the original French version or in the Dakota language. Ultimately, the commission decided to leave the motto out. In a different motion, they replaced the space with the Dakota phrase Mni Sota Makoce, Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds.
There was also a heated discussion to include the date of Minnesota’s admission to the union. Some noted the year was painful for Native people. A motion passed to remove the date.
“If we are going to include language within the model, or within the seal, really thinking about the first language of this land paying respect to that and paying respect to that longer history, and contemporary experience of people who are fighting really hard today to retain our ways of communication and being I would appreciate that,” said commission member Dr. Kate Beane, who is also part of the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board.
“I'm perplexed here,” said commission member and State Sen, Steve Drawkowski. “Is our charge to develop a seal for the state of Minnesota or for the Dakota or for the Polish people who came here or for the Germans or for the English or for any other culture group of people that became part of Minnesota at some point in our history? Or is it for the state of Minnesota and everyone in the state of Minnesota?”
The commission faces a Jan. 1 deadline to choose the new state symbols. Unless challenged by the legislature, the new flag will fly starting on May 11, the day Minnesota entered the union.
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