Minnesota folklore

Minnesota folklore, although its study and documentation has never been a priority among academics, is exceptionally rich. As the state has been the residence of such a wide variety of ethnic groups, Minnesota's folktales and folk songs are reflective of its history.

Folk heroes

Paul Bunyan, the legendary giant lumberjack
Otto Walta, a Finnish-American homesteader and strongman from the northern Iron Range, is the hero of many folktales told around St. Louis County, Minnesota.[1]
Ola Värmlänning, a booze swilling, Swedish-American prankster from Minneapolis, can easily be compared to the German Till Eulenspiegel.[2]
Father Francis Xavier Pierz, a pioneer missionary priest, is the subject of many tales told among the Ojibwe people of White Earth Reservation and the German- and Slovenian-American Catholics of Stearns County, Minnesota.[3][4]

Folk creatures

While not restricted to Minnesota, many wendigo myths and sightings originate from areas within Minnesota.

The Minnesota Iceman.

Duluth, Minnesota is home to a myriad of supernatural urban legends and folktales.

Folk songs

Much work of collecting Minnesota folk songs was conducted during the Great Depression by Bessie M. Stanchfield, whose papers and research are now housed by the Minnesota Historical Society.

"The Beauty of the West", a Minnesota pioneer ballad from the 1850s, was collected by Stanchfield in spring 1936. She arranged for it to be published for the first time in the Minnesota History in September 1946.

References

Karni, Michael G. (1967). "Otto Walta: Finnish folk hero of the Iron Range" (PDF). Minnesota History. 40 (8): 391–402. JSTOR 20177932.
Swanson, Roy (1948). "A Swedish Immigrant Folk Figure: Ola Värmlänning" (PDF). Minnesota History. 29 (2): 105–113. JSTOR 20175384.
McDonald, Grace (1929). "Father Francis Pierz Missionary" (PDF). Minnesota History. 10 (2): 107–125. JSTOR 20160783.
Stories of Father Pierz, collected on the White Earth Reservation during the 1920s by Father Benno Watrin, OSB. Taken from the Archives of the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. A photocopy is in Father Francis Pierz file in the Archive Room, Stearns County Historical Society, St. Cloud, Minnesota.

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[1] Karni, Michael G. (1967). "Otto Walta: Finnish folk hero of the Iron Range" (PDF). Minnesota History. 40 (8): 391–402. JSTOR 20177932.

[2] Swanson, Roy (1948). "A Swedish Immigrant Folk Figure: Ola Värmlänning" (PDF). Minnesota History. 29 (2): 105–113. JSTOR 20175384.

[3] McDonald, Grace (1929). "Father Francis Pierz Missionary" (PDF). Minnesota History. 10 (2): 107–125. JSTOR 20160783.

[4] Stories of Father Pierz, collected on the White Earth Reservation during the 1920s by Father Benno Watrin, OSB. Taken from the Archives of the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. A photocopy is in Father Francis Pierz file in the Archive Room, Stearns County Historical Society, St. Cloud, Minnesota.