The Finnish Pioneers of Minnesota
Near Minneapolis St Paul, Minnesota
This granite stone honors the Finnish men and women who helped build Minnesota. It was raised by Finnish Americans in honor of those pioneers.
Finns came to America in real numbers beginning in the eighteen sixties, drawn by the same iron ranges, forests, and farmland that would define this state. They brought a word that does not translate cleanly into English. Sisu. It means a stubborn, quiet grit, the will to keep going long after a sensible person would quit.
One face of the monument carries a map of Finland, marking the homeland and the territory it lost in the wars of the last century. The other face shows Minnesota, the place where that homeland's children put down new roots and stayed.
