The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) through its involvement with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is collaborating with cultural organizations throughout the state to capture and expose the myriad stories of the citizens who make up this great state and call Minnesota home. Minnesota has a long tradition of immigration to the state. The Ojibwe and Dakota people, the largest American Indian tribes living in Minnesota in the early and mid-nineteenth century, were joined by an influx of European émigrés settling in Minnesota in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Immigration continues today, more recently with the Hmong, Somali, Korean and Latino entrants to the state.
In sharing these immigrant stories, told through their own voices, the MDL and the DPLA seek to share with the world a broader view of what it means to be Minnesotan. This initiative has gathered and digitized oral histories from organizations across the state. These existing materials have been coupled with newly created stories that best document the rich tradition of immigration to this state. This project weaves together these audio and video histories into a single space where these stories can be gathered, saved, and shared in an openly and freely accessible manner.
The following organizations contributed content to Minnesota Immigrants: Minnesota Historical Society, American Swedish Institute, Iron Range Research Center, Center for Hmong Studies, Concordia University-St. Paul.