Since 1994, the Minnesota Filipino-American community has campaigned to correct an historically inaccurate and racially sensitive plaque that hangs in the Minnesota State Capitol.

The corrective bronze plaque was installed at a special ceremony at 3:30 pm on Monday, February 4, 2002, in the state Capitol Rotunda. TO VIEW IMAGES OF THE CELEBRATION, AND TO READ THE TEXT OF SPEECHES PRESENTED, click here

The Twin Cities Filipino community also held a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on June 8, 2002, as part of its annual Philippine Independence Day celebration. In the June event, important speeches were given by Dr. Michael Cullinane and Dr. Jorge Emmanuel. TO READ THE TEXT OF THE JUNE 8 SPEECHES, click here

These events make Minnesota the first state in the nation to correct a misleading commemorative concerning the Philippine American War (1899-1902).

The new plaque, designed by Duluth artist Ann Klefstad, now hangs immediately below the offending plaque, which commemorates Minnesota soldiers who volunteered to fight Spanish domination in the Philippines‹but were then ordered to wage war against Filipinos.

The old plaque had several historical facts wrong, and uses language that is offensive to Filipinos. The new plaque was installed by the Philippine Study Group of Minnesota, the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Minnesota Department of Administration, using a $10,000 appropriation from the Minnesota legislature.



To read the Philippine Study Group of Minnesota's fact sheet about the 1948 plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

For a copy of the event Press Release, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

For Media Contact information, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

For a list of speakers at the February 4 unveiling of the corrective plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To read the Embassy's confirmation that Ambassador Del Rosario will attend the plaque unveiling, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view the CV for Albert F. Del Rosario, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To read historic letters from Minnesota soldiers who were horrified at their role in the Philippines, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view comments by the Minnesota Adjutant General about the need to correct the old plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To read Dr. Michael Cullinane's (University of Wisconsin) call for a national campaign to correct other such commemoratives in the U.S., click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To read praise from historian James Loewen (author of Lies My Teacher Told Me), and his critique that the plaque does not do enough to correct the historical record, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To read historian Kyle Ward's (Vincennes University) acclaim for the new plaque as a commemoration of the 13th Minnesota and their role in the Philippine War, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

For a quick history of the campaign to correct the plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view a photo of the 2002 plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view the artist's design of the 2002 plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view the text of the 2002 plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)

To view an image of the 1948 plaque, click here (jpg)

To view the text of the 1948 plaque, click here (Adobe Acrobat 4.0)


For more important readings and links, including coverage of the issue in books by Loewen and Ward, click here



If you would like to contact PSGM for further information, click here

 

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