The US state of Minnesota gave its residents a Christmas present this week, adopting a new local flag because the old one had been considered racist for decades against indigenous peoples.
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The new navy and sky blue banner features an eight-pointed star in white for the “North Star,” the symbol and motto (in French in the text) of this state in the northern United States.
“My greatest hope is that this new flag can finally truly represent our state and all of its residents,” said Andrew Prekker, whose flag was selected by a commission from hundreds of suggestions submitted by residents.
In a statement released Tuesday by the local government, Andrew Prekker said he hopes that “all Minnesotans, regardless of their background, including indigenous communities and tribal nations that have been historically excluded, can view and see themselves in our flag with pride and honor.” .” It.
Minnesota's current flag, covered in drawings, bears the motto “The North Star” above a white farmer standing next to his rifle and confronting a Native American on horseback armed with a spear.
One of the flag's main critics, elected official Mike Freiberg, called it a “genocidal mess,” local newspaper MinnPost reported.
If the state legislature raises no objection, the new flag will be flown for the first time on May 11, 2024, Minnesota's local holiday, according to MinnPost.
“I am pleased to have a new state flag that represents all residents,” said Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, herself of Native American descent.
“Can I say that anything that doesn't depict an indigenous person displaced from their land is a better flag?” she quipped on X, the old Twitter.
The old flag has been debated for decades, a debate that has been reinvigorated in the wake of the huge anti-racist movement sparked by the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota's largest city.
Since then, many voices have been raised against symbols that glorify the past of slavery or the genocide of indigenous peoples following the arrival of European settlers in the Americas.