Immigration | Page 6

Hannah Jensen holding a piglet

Hannah Jensen holding a piglet in front of the Jensen family cabin, ca. 1890s. Otter Tail County Historical Society, Fergus Falls.

Johannah and John Jensen

Johannah and John Jensen in Norway, ca. 1885. Otter Tail County Historical Society, Fergus Falls.

Jensen family cabin

The cabin of Ole and Martha Jensen, Friberg Township, undated. Otter Tail County Historical Society, Fergus Falls.

Valley Grove Church, Wheeling Township

In 1862, the Valley Grove Lutheran congregation erected a church made from local quarried limestone in Wheeling Township. By 1894, it had outgrown the original building and built a wooden Gothic Revival edifice seventy-five feet away. Although the congregation disbanded in 1973, the remaining picturesque site and its structures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Christopher Columbus Memorial, St. Paul

Italian Americans erected a Christopher Columbus memorial on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in 1931 to mark Columbus as the first white man to set foot in the Americas. Though they intended to celebrate the achievement of a fellow Italian during a time of anti-Italian bigotry, the memorial they installed promoted white supremacist myths of discovery and erased Native Americans from history. It made no comment on the atrocities committed by Columbus against Native people. Native Americans and their allies protested the memorial’s existence for decades, and in 2020, a group that included self-identified members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) tore it down.

Toppled Christopher Columbus statue on a truck

The Christopher Columbus statue outside the Minnesota State Capitol sits on a flatbed truck after a group including self-identified members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) tore it down on June 10, 2020. Photograph by Tony Webster; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Christopher Columbus statue torn down

A statue of Christopher Columbus—part of a memorial on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol—lies on the ground after a group including self-identified members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) tore it down on June 10, 2020. Photograph by Tony Webster; CC BY 2.0.