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Articles by Peter J. DeCarlo
The Common Loon: Minnesota’s State Bird
A migratory diver of the loon family, the common loon (Gavia immer) has been important to people living in the Great Lakes region for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Its striking calls and black-and-white summer plumage have made it an emblem of Minnesota, where more of the birds live than in any other state except Alaska. The loon became Minnesota’s state bird in 1961. Adult loons weigh eight to twelve pounds and are shaped like torpedoes.
The Christopher Columbus memorial at the Minnesota State Capitol
Between 1880 and 1920, over 4 million Italian immigrants entered the United States. Few came to Minnesota, and the state’s Italian-born population peaked in 1910 at 9,688. When they arrived, they faced a racial ideology of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Nordic superiority. Italian Americans were seen as “in between” white and non-white, enduring what some historians have called “soft racism.” In a nativist response, the US government passed the Johnson Reed Act in 1924.
The all-African American battalion of the Minnesota Home Guard Original
When the Minnesota National Guard was federalized in the spring of 1917, the state was left without any military organization. To defend the homefront the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety created the Minnesota Home Guard. The Home Guard existed for the duration of World War I. Units performed civilian and military duties. Minnesota’s Home Guard units followed the racist recruiting policies of the U.S. military. Still, African American men saw the Home Guard as an opportunity.
Snake River Fur Post was site of significant trading center
This article was originally published on MNopedia and is republished here with permission. For a single trading season between the fall of 1804 and the spring of 1805, the Snake River Fur Post was an epicenter of the Upper Mississippi fur trade. The stockaded structure, supervised by veteran trader John Sayer, was a place where employees of the North West Fur Company came together with Ojibwe and Metis hunters and trappers.
Snake River Fur Post: the epicenter of the Upper Mississippi fur trade (for one season) Original
The land on which the Snake River Fur Post was built in 1804 was, and still is, Ojibwe homeland. At that time, the Ojibwe had held a powerful position in the fur trade for over 175 years. Their homeland and influence reached from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains in the west, and to the homelands of the Cree and Assiniboine in the north. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States laid colonial claim to much of present-day Minnesota.
The U.S.-Dakota war of 1862 lasted just six weeks, but its effects are still felt today
Though the war that ranged across southwestern Minnesota in 1862 between settler-colonists and a faction of Dakota people lasted for six weeks, its causes were decades in the making. Its effects are still felt today. In 1851, after the treaties of Mendota and Traverse des Sioux, the US government removed most of the Dakota people living in Minnesota Territory (their homeland, called Mni Sota Makoce in the Dakota language) to a reservation on either side of the Minnesota River.
Why a new statue of Ojibwe leader Shaynowishkung was created to stand on the shores of Lake Bemidji
Photo by Peter J. DeCarlo Statue of Shaynowishkung (He Who Rattles, also called Chief Bemidji) On June 6, 2015, a bronze statue of Shaynowishkung (He Who Rattles, commonly known as Chief Bemidji) was erected in Library Park on the shore of Lake Bemidji. Meant to honor the Ojibwe man’s life and bring people together, the statue was the result of a six-year community-driven process.
The Minnesota Home Guard
When the Minnesota National Guard was federalized in the spring of 1917, the state was left without any military organization. To defend the state’s resources, the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety (MCPS) created the Minnesota Home Guard. The Home Guard existed for the duration of World War I, and units performed both civilian and military duties. The MCPS created the Home Guard on April 28, 1917, to ensure public safety and protect citizens’ lives and property.
African-Americans have long defied white supremacy and celebrated Black culture in public spaces
From Richmond to New York City to Seattle, anti-racist activists are getting results as Confederate monuments are coming down by the dozens. In Richmond, Virginia, protesters have changed the story of Lee Circle, home to a 130-year-old monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It’s now a new community space where graffiti, music and projected images turn the statue of Lee from a monument to white supremacy into a backdrop proclaiming that Black Lives Matter. This isn’t a new phenomenon.
Twin Cities statues: ubiquitous but ‘not at the forefront’ of public art
Until recently, it was a safe bet that people rarely noticed the statues around them. They stood, scattered all over the city’s parks and public spaces: statues of people like Floyd B. Olson, Charles Lindbergh, Leif Erikson, or Nathan Hale in St. Paul; or Mary Tyler Moore, Kirby Puckett, “Hiawatha,” and Hubert Humphrey over in Minneapolis. Especially these days, with most noses buried in smartphones, they’ve been the often-unseen background of everyday life.
The Soldiers and Sailorsailors MemorialMemorial, St.St Paul
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, St. Paul By Staff | on July 02, 2020 By Peter J. DeCarlo MNopedia Designed to commemorate people who served in the U.S. military during the Civil War, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in St. Paul (sometimes called the Josias King Memorial) was erected in 1903. Crowning the monument is a statue of Josias R. King, who is widely regarded as the first U.S. volunteer in the Civil War.
The complicated history of St. Paul’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
Designed to commemorate people who served in the US military during the Civil War, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in St. Paul (sometimes called the Josias King Memorial) was erected in 1903. Crowning the monument is a statue of Josias R. King, who is widely regarded as the first US volunteer in the Civil War. King also participated in violent campaigns to punish Dakota people after the US-Dakota War of 1862, known as the Punitive Expeditions.
The complicated history of St. Paul’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
Designed to commemorate people who served in the US military during the Civil War, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in St. Paul (sometimes called the Josias King Memorial) was erected in 1903. Crowning the monument is a statue of Josias R. King, who is widely regarded as the first US volunteer in the Civil War. King also participated in violent campaigns to punish Dakota people after the US-Dakota War of 1862, known as the Punitive Expeditions.
Minnesota, we need to talk about our Columbus monument
As Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated across Minnesota with parades, powwows, and feasts, it is worth revisiting the fact that a memorial to Christopher Columbus stands on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol enshrined by the power of the state. Some who know of the memorial, most prominently Native American activists and their allies, have called for its removal.
Minnesota, we need to talk about our Columbus monument
As Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated across Minnesota with parades, powwows, and feasts, it is worth revisiting the fact that a memorial to Christopher Columbus stands on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol enshrined by the power of the state. Some who know of the memorial, most prominently Native American activists and their allies, have called for its removal.
War in cars: the brief history of the Minnesota Motor Corps
The Minnesota Motor Corps was the first militarized organization of its kind in the United States. Made up of volunteers and their vehicles, the corps existed for the duration of World War I. It provided disaster relief, transported troops, and aided police.
The magic and elegance of elevators in downtown Minneapolis
MinnPost by Jen MarchElevators. We take their utility for granted. They take us where we want to go. But really, they're magical. You enter a tiny room and on the wall is a panel of numbered buttons waiting to be pushed. Select one, watch it light up. Doors slide shut to seal you in, and then you feel a slight rising or falling sensation. Then the doors open and you’re in a different place.
The history of the Christopher Columbus memorial at the Minnesota State Capitol
Between 1880 and 1920, over 4 million Italian immigrants entered the United States. Few came to Minnesota, and the state’s Italian-born population peaked in 1910 at 9,688. When they arrived, they faced a racial ideology of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Nordic superiority. Italian Americans were seen as “in between” white and non-white, enduring what some historians have called “soft racism.” In a nativist response, the US government passed the Johnson Reed Act in 1924.
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