A Minnesota panel chooses a new state flag with North Star to replace the old flag deemed racist

MINNEAPOLIS– MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —

Minnesota's new state flag should feature an eight-pointed North Star against a dark blue background in the shape of the state, with a solid light blue field on the right, a special committee decided Tuesday as it chose a replacement for an older design that many Native Americans had chosen. considered offensive.

The State Emblems Redesign Commission selected the final version by an 11-1 vote after finalizing a new state seal depicting a duiker, the state bird. Unless the Legislature rejects them, the new flag and seal will automatically become official on April 1, 2024, when Minnesota celebrates Statehood Day.

The star reflects Minnesota's state motto: “Star of the North.” Committee Chairman Luis Fitch said he believes the light blue represents the Mississippi River, “the most important river in the United States,” pointing to the North Star. But he recognized that it could mean different things to other people. Symmetry and simplicity won out over other versions, including versions with a green stripe for the state's agricultural heritage.

The new flag is a revised version of a design submitted by Andrew Prekker, 24, of Luverne, who said he was grateful and amazed at the “rare privilege” of being able to contribute to the state's history.

“It is an achievement that I hope will bring great unity and pride to our country, and I will cherish that fact with great honor for the rest of my life,” Prekker said in a statement read to the committee. “It is my greatest hope that this new flag can finally properly represent our state and all its people – that every Minnesotan of every background, including those indigenous communities and tribal nations who have been historically excluded, can look at our flag with pride and honor and see themselves in it.”

The current flag of Minnesota dates from 1957, an update of the 1893 original. It features the current state seal, slightly modified from the 1858 original, which depicts a Native American riding into the sunset as a white settler plows his field with leaning his rifle on a nearby tree stump. Critics say images suggest the indigenous people were defeated and left, while whites won and stayed.

The state's 11 recognized Dakota and Ojibwe tribes are considering the earlier draft offensive. And experts in the study of flags – known as vexillology – say it's overly complicated that ideally a child should be able to draw a state flag.

The North American Vexillological Association ranks the old Minnesota flag 67th out of 72 U.S. and Canadian state and provincial flags. Fitch said experts from the group rated the final pick as an “A-plus.”

The committee included members of the state's tribal and other communities of color. Last week, a new stamp was chosen featuring a diver and the Dakota name for Minnesota: Mni Sóta Makoce, which can be translated as 'where the water meets the sky'. On Tuesday, commissioners voted to increase the number of gold bars on the border from 87 — one for each county — to 98, including the 11 tribes.

It remains to be seen whether the new flag and seal will become the symbols of unity their supporters hope for. Two non-voting Republican members of the committee, Rep. Bjorn Olson and Sen. Steve Drazkowski, plan to submit a minority report to the Legislature. Olson said they believe the chosen seal violates the statute that created the commission, which must select a unifying symbol. With Dakota's name on the seal, Drazkowski said, “it elevates one race above all of Minnesota's races.” Olson also said the process was too rushed and that Minnesotans should vote on both the flag and seal in November.

But Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon, a voting member, said his office had studied the issue and reached a “prudent conclusion” that such a vote would be unconstitutional because Minnesota law does not allow statewide initiatives and referendums .

Several other states have also redesigned outdated flags. The Utah Legislature last winter approved a simplified design that still features a beehive, a symbol of the prosperity and zeal of its Mormon pioneers. Mississippi voters chose a new flag with a magnolia in 2020 to replace a Confederate-themed flag that was widely condemned as racist.

Other states considering simplifying their flags include Michigan, Illinois and Maine, where voters will decide next year whether to replace their current banner with a retro version featuring a simple pine tree and a blue North Star.