In the inner circle is the phrase Mni Sóta Makoce, the Dakota term for "Land where the water reflects the sky," which is the origin of the state's name.

[24] Fur trader, territorial Representative and later on Minnesota’s first Governor, Henry M. Sibley then commissioned four alternative seals from Col. John J. Abert, an Army engineer and draftsman.

The state should have changed the seal to reflect its new status, but, even though the Legislature approved a new design, Sibley insisted on the one he had promoted while he was a territorial representative.

The Indigenous figure was reoriented to ride more towards the American settler than away from him, and images of Saint Anthony Falls, the Mississippi River, and Norway pines were also added.

[26] From 1858 to 2024, the seal included two human figures, an Indigenous warrior being on horseback riding off in the background, and an American pioneer in the foreground plowing his land.

The rider's horse and spear, and the pioneer's hand axe, long gun, powder horn, and plow represented tools of daily life.

The Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls were depicted in the seal starting in 1983 to note the importance of these resources in transportation, industry and the settling of the state.

"[32] Indigenous groups in Minnesota found the imagery offensive because their perception is that the seal celebrated the removal of American Indian tribes.

In 1968, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights concurred and called to replace it with something that would not show American Indians in a derogatory light, but little action was taken.

[24] Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (DFL), who is a member of White Earth Band of Ojibwe, said the flag "literally [showed] the Native person being driven off their land" and refused to use the state seal in official documents prior to the redesign.

[34] According to Kevin Jensvold, leader of the Upper Sioux Community, few tribal reservations in the state would fly the flag containing the old seal for the same reason.

On December 19, 2023, the commission standardized the design by specifying that the outer seal will have 98 gold "boxes" to symbolize the 87 counties and 11 recognized American Indian tribes of Minnesota.

Prior to the 2024 redesign, Minnesota's state seal included a ribbon that read L'Etoile du Nord (translated to English as 'The Star of the North').