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How did your family end up in Minnesota? Do you know the story of your ancestors’ journey?

In the 1800s, immigrants to our region primarily came from Scandinavia and Germany. More recently, major populations have come to Minnesota from Laos, Somalia, Mexico, Liberia, Ecuador, Afghanistan and India. In fact, almost 500,000 people who live in Minnesota today were born outside of the United States.

But behind the where is also a why. And over time, those narratives can get lost if not recorded.

That’s why MPR News, together with Sahan Journal, presented a collaborative North Star Journey Live and Sahan Community Live conversation at St. Paul Neighborhood Network on Feb. 20. Hosted by immigration reporters Sarah Thamer and Katelyn Vue, this in-person event focused on how immigrant communities in Minnesota preserve their histories and pass them on to new generations. Panelists shared their own arrival stories and tips for recording your own family’s journey.

You can listen to and watch more immigrant and refugee stories at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Becoming Minnesotan online archive and the Immigrant History Research Center at the University of Minnesota.

Panelists:

• Diego Guaman is the interim director of Movimiento Comunitario Minnesota and cofounder of the Aztec dance group Kalpulli Tlaloctecuhtli.
• Julie Vang is program manager at Green Card Voices — a nonprofit that uses storytelling to build community connections between immigrants and their neighbors.
• Marian Hassan is an educator and author helping to preserve Somali oral histories.
• Saengmany Ratsabout is an independent scholar and community advocate who studies Southeast Asian history and is helping to document the history of the Lao diaspora. He’s also one of the founders of the Immigrant Stories project at the University of Minnesota’s Immigration History Research Center.

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