Seal of Minnesota

A Native American rides on horseback in the background, symbolizing Minnesota's Native American heritage. A sun on the western horizon is a sunset. The straight horizon line reflects the plains covering much of Minnesota. The Native American is on horseback is riding towards the south. The native's horse and spear and the pioneer's ax, rifle, and plow represent tools of daily life. The only interaction between the figures is one observing the other. The tools used by the Native American and the farmer represent the tools used for labor and hunting while the stump symbolizes the taming of the land and the importance of the lumber industry to Minnesota in 1858. The Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls are depicted in the revised seal to note the importance of these resources in transportation, industry and the settling of the state. The furrowing of the ground by the plow represents the submission of the land to the pioneer. The plow also symbolizes the importance of agriculture to Minnesota and its future. The waterfalls are not on the original State Seal. Beyond the falls on the current seal are three pine trees representing the state tree and the three pine regions of the state; the St Croix, Mississippi, and Lake Superior.[4][5][6]

As displayed on the Flag of Minnesota, the Minnesota Great Seal has been criticized as racist, said to depict a white settler displacing the original Native American inhabitants of Minnesota. The inferred symbolism has been described as an example of an erasure of Native history to promote white racial power, as the inferred symbolism provides a false historical context for Native genocide and displacement. Discussion is ongoing about the historical context of the seal, particularly the absence of Native American voices in the creation of a seal that represents their native homeland. [7]

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  Seal of the Minnesota Department of Transportation
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  Seal of the Minnesota National Guard

• Flag of Minnesota