Minnesota was settled by northern Europeans.
Minnesota ( [ [ ˌmɪnəˈso̞ɾɐ ] help = no ] ) is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States . Until European settlement , Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe . During the 19th and early 20th centuries , a large number of European settlers entered the state who had mainly emigrated from Scandinavia and Germany . Scandinavia [ ˌskændɪˈneɪviə ] is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages .