ethos of minneapolis, minnesota

Author: rayela

Brazil 18years + Chicago 20yrs + Paducah since 2005 These have shaped my path and interests. I spent many years as an active artist (ceramics and textiles) but have focused on promoting the creative community online since 2010. My current projects are Artizan Made and this site, Creative PlaceMakers.

I was born in Minneapolis in 1962. Both of my parents were Minnesota farm kids and went to St. Olaf College, also my alma mater. My mother became a nurse and my father, a pastor, after studying theology at Luther Seminary in St. Paul (city next to Minneapolis). They were Lutheran missionaries in Brazil from 1962-1980. My American identity is deeply tied into the ethos of Minnesota even though I lived in Chicago for 20 years and have now been in Paducah, Kentucky for another 20.

ethos

Ethos is the appeal to credibility and character, persuading an audience by showing the speaker or writer is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and has good moral standing; it’s the distinctive spirit or guiding beliefs of a culture, group, or individual, rooted in the Greek word for character.

Key aspects of ethos:

Credibility: Demonstrating expertise, experience, or good reputation to convince others you’re reliable.
Character: Projecting honesty, fairness, and good moral grounding.
Cultural Spirit: The fundamental values, beliefs, and spirit that define a group, society, or era (e.g., a company’s innovation ethos).

When I lived in Chicago, I listened to Prairie Home Companion weekly. The first time I heard it, I was delighted! My people, my people! Garrison Keillor captured the essence of white Protestant Minnesotans perfectly. A naive spirit mixed with curiosity, wry humor, defined personal space, and an unwillingness to rock the boat shines in this telling of Lutheran pastors standing on pontoon:

If you were able to listen to this story and chuckled a few times, maybe you also come from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average!

ice

Watching videos of the brutal attacks ICE has delivered to the people of Minneapolis has been shocking to the core. The violence that ICE is using has no justification. Two people have been shot dead, countless others injured, and it no longer matters if someone has no criminal history or is undocumented. Native Americans are threatened with deportation (huh? to where?), beat up protesters have been thrown in the woods with no clothes, chemical agents sprayed into people’s faces, children grabbed and sent away…. The cruelty of it all is the point.

Bruce Springsteen showed support by writing a song:

why minnesota?

Several cities and states have been targeted by ICE, mostly Democratic ones and we know that a big part of this is revenge from Trump. I think Minnesota has been especially targeted because of its history of organizing and embracing other cultures. There is, of course, Tim Walz, the Governor who ran against Trump and is staunchly defiant against his policies and Ilhan Omar, Democratic Representative whom Trump despises. Minnesota’s ethos calls for progressive ideas and empathy, even as religious affiliations have changed over time:

The big-picture trends include a decline in people identifying as Christians, along with a sharp increase in those who don’t belong to any religion at all. In 2007, for instance, 83% of Minnesota adults identified as some type of Christian, while just 13% were religiously unaffiliated. In 2024, by contrast, 63% of Minnesota adults said they were Christian, while 29% now belong to no church at all.

Among Minnesota Christians, declines have mostly been concentrated among mainline Protestant denominations and Catholics. The share of Minnesotans identifying as Methodist has fallen by more than half, from 5% to 2%. Lutherans, who once made up 21% of the population, now account for 16%. The Catholic share has fallen from 28% to 18%.

The share of evangelical, or born-again Christians has held steady over the years, at around 20% of the population.

The rise of atheists, by contrast, perfectly mirrors the decline of Methodists: 2% were atheist in 2007, and 5% identify as such today. Agnostics, who made up just 1% of the population in 2007, now account for 9% of all adults. An additional 15% say they’re simply “nothing in particular.”

Another notable trend is the increase in the Muslim population, who went from 1% of adults in 2007 to 3% in 2024.

Some of the population’s social and political views have changed as well. Today nearly 70% of Minnesotans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, up from 49% in 2007. Similar shifts are apparent in favorable views toward homosexuality and gay marriage.

Minnesotans are also now considerably more likely than they were in 2014 to say that immigrants change society for the better. And compared to the rest of the country, Minnesotans stand out for their support of environmental regulation: 71% say stricter environmental laws are worth the cost, compared to 60% nationwide.

Minnesota Reformer

Watch this beautiful anthem in support of the Resistance in Minnesota:

These positions are all in clear opposition to Trump’s agenda. Politically, Minnesota has been solidly Democrat since the 1970’s:

Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout, ranking highest or near-highest in recent elections. This is due in part to its same-day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day with evidence of residency.

…

Minnesotans have voted for Democratic presidential candidates ever since 1976, more times consecutively than any other state outside of the South, and longer than any other ongoing streak. Minnesota and the District of Columbia were the only electoral votes not won by incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Wikipedia

roots

Perhaps one reason Trump resents Minnesota so much is that the people have a history of creative thinking, self reliance, and community. The climate is wintry for almost six months of the year which means that farming is intensive for planting, growing and harvesting. Then, the cold comes and while there are bitter tasks that have to be seen to, there is also time for creating, reading, writing and thinking. This is not a lifestyle that Trump would understand. Minnesota has dark periods in its history, especially in relation to the Native Americans who lived there, but there is also great healing and growth that has happened. I looked around for a video that introduces some of this history and found this one. While I find it flawed, it gives an idea of how the State developed without romanticizing it too much:

My Aunt Olive has been documenting our family’s stories from Iceland and Minnesota for many years. She recently sent me an account written by my Great Grandfather, JB Gislason, about his father’s life in Iceland and immigration to the United States.

I posted about it here.

My mother’s side of the family has shown quite a bit of literary talent, along with a deep love for Nature, woodworking, history, and languages. My father’s side (Norwegian/German/English/French) has loads of talent with drawing, painting, music, and literature.

Oh, and stubbornness and humor are also big traits on both sides. When families and communities treasure these traits, it’s much harder to instill cults like MAGA into the local culture, although Minnesota has its share of flat earthers and racists, too.

the red hat of resistance

Minneapolis ended up bringing back a famous hat that was used in Norway as a part of their resistance in World War II. A knitting shop learned about this history and started promoting it as a way to raise money for people who were attacked by ICE or who were afraid to leave their homes:

Benjamin Antoni Andersen, owner of the Red Hat Factory, adds more to the story and has personal ties to the hats worn in World War II. His grandmother was a knitter who then taught his mother and she collaborates with Benjamin on running the business. There are gnomes who wore red hats and became symbols of the Resistance. They were outlawed but the hats were easier to use as a symbol as they might just be a red hat, nothing more…. Another twist is that Wes Anderson made a spoof movie about Jacques Cousteau called The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This film was a big inspiration for Benjamin! So, once the need for resistance passes (it will!), the hat can bring some laughter, too….

Benjamin has lots of videos on YouTube and Instagram. Here is his story:

What does Trump think about when he says, “Make America Great Again”? Apparently it’s not the America that so many of us remember with fondness, the small towns in rural America that supported life on the farms… I’m thinking that he longs for a different “Amerika”, one that will be rejected by Minnesota, Portland, California, Chicago, New York, and all of the Blue Cities and States he and his cronies try to subjugate. This is what he longs for:

resist!

your story

Share with us what is happening in your community. Is ICE persecuting your people? I live in Paducah, Kentucky and am grateful that things have been pretty quiet here. We have a wonderful group of young people that have taken over leadership for our local Democratic Party and it is heartening to see their involvement and the time they are taking to mobilize people here.

What are your insights? Do you feel hopeful about the future? Exhausted by the constant barrage of shock and horror coming from the White House? The attacks being made on other countries? The push towards more endless wars?

How does creativity help you in these difficult times? Do you find a place of refuge in art, in music, in collaboration? Let us know in the comments!

We can learn from each other and ready ourselves for when those times might come to our communities, too. Here are a couple of examples of how Minneapolis is responding to the need: