Arriving in 1875, Mr. Wang See Ling is the first recorded Asian immigrant in Minnesota. Over the next few years, over one hundred Chinese men had entered and settled in the state, primarily concentrated in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth. The first recorded Japanese immigrant arrived in 1880; the first Korean, in the early 1900s; the first Filipino, in 1917. Since their arrivals and those of many others, the Asian population in Minnesota has grown dramatically. The 1990s saw a heightened number of legal immigrants compared to foreign-born populations, and Hennepin County experienced the largest growth in the country. The Twin Cities are currently, albeit informally, known as the Hmong capital of America.

The nationwide stigma against Asians cast a shadow over this trend of immigrant population growth. Throughout the late 1800s and continuing into the 1940s, the perception of Asians as depraved, uncivilized, and greedy foreigners propelled the narrative of a “yellow peril” seeking to subvert the American way of life. Well into the 1960s, Asian Americans were seen either as deceitful and dishonest or as submissive and subservient— and despite by this time being mainly third- or fourth-generation Americans, they were still largely considered as foreigners. As late as 1998, a Hmong-led protest broke out in St. Paul following racist comments directed toward the Hmong in local morning radio show KQRS: “Assimilate or hit the goddamn road!” From yellow perils to forever foreigners to model minorities, the history of Asian American is intricately complex, intersecting with the nation’s own past, present, and future. Please check out the interactive timeline below to find important Asian American events or moments in history.

Sources: 

Minnesota Historical Society. 2020. “Chinese-Americans in Minnesota: Overview.”
Lee, Erika. 2009. “Asian American Studies in the Midwest: New Questions, Approaches, and Communities.”
Zander, David. 2008. “History and Stories of Asians in Minnesota Date Back 130 Years.”