Commission

turns attention

to diversity

in New Ulm

Some Native

Americans

uncomfortable

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm Human Rights Commission is trying to get a handle on the extent of diversity within the city's population and how best to address the issues that diversity brings with it.

At its June meeting, President Tom Donnelly asked fellow commissioners to think about the issue and bring suggestions to the group's July meeting.

The request was triggered by the summer institute on diabetes and how it impacts Native Americans being held at Martin Luther College this week. The commission's vice president, Mark Lindquist, recounted discussions with several area Native Americans at the conference who said they felt "uncomfortable" in New Ulm.

"People of Minnesota are changing in looks, and the challenge is how do we deal with these changes?" Lindquist asked. He suggested one way would be to contact the college "to see how we can reach out to students of diversity on the campus."

Then, Rev. Henry Campbell reported on his contact with District 88 officials concerning complaints from several Native Americans about a mural in the New Ulm Middle School which depicts a violent Indian attack upon settlers. It's one of three murals in the school's auditorium that were commissioned by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1940.

Campbell said school officials had indicated a desire to deal with the complaints but preferred to wait until after a possible levy referendum. Donnelly said later the district has shown good intentions by holding diversity seminars for its staff, and "the commission really doesn't have any power in this matter, anyway."

That observation led to a brief discussion about the entire diversity issue with all minorities and the difficulty in determining if problems exist.

"We haven't had as much going as we should have had," Donnelly admonished members. "This is such an important commission."

Of the 26,911 inhabitants of Brown County, the 2000 Census identified Hispanics or Latinos as the largest minority with a total of 545 inhabitants. That's 2 percent of the county's population.

That total includes 344 Mexicans, 21 Puerto Ricans, 2 Cubans and 178 of other Hispanic or Latino origins.

Asians represent the next largest minority in Brown County. Those of a single Asian race total 111, but when Asians representing a combination of two or more races are added, the total grows to 146.

There are 31 inhabitants of American Indian or Alaska Native race, but when those representing a combination of two or more races are added, the total grows to 85.

Black or African American inhabitants of a single race total 27, and those representing a combination of two or more races increase the total to 61. There are four Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander inhabitants, and nine who represent a combination of races. Inhabitants who are of "some other race" total 299.