Minnesota is home to the largest Somali and Somali American population in the United States.

But, “nobody knows anything about Somalia,” says Osman Ali, founder and executive director of the Somali Museum of Minnesota, “except poverty, refugees, immigrants, pirates, tourists.”

Ali has partnered with the Minnesota Historical Society for the exhibit “Somalis + America,” which opened Saturday at the History Center in St. Paul. The exhibit is designed to shed light on Somalia — for Somali immigrants, children of Somali immigrants who have never seen Somalia and non-Somali Americans who have never lived the culture.

“We have a rich culture and that’s what we’re gonna show the people, show the Minnesotans, how Somalia was and … their culture and share it with them,” Ali says.

“The museum’s mission is to build a bridge that connects the Somali community with other communities,” he added. “They feel isolated from other communities, (so this is) to make kind of integration between the communities.”

The exhibit has three sections: a room dedicated to the contributions that Somalis have made in Minnesota and their stories, an overview of the history of Somalia and a taste of life in Somalia, complete with an aqal soomaali, or nomadic hut, that was imported from Somalia.

Minnesota Historical Society exhibit developer Kate Roberts played a crucial role in the gallery dedicated to modern day Somalis in Minnesota. Roberts said she and her team collected stories of Somalis in Minnesota following the Somali culture of oral tradition. Roberts heard stories and asked to hear more, leading her to more and more Somalis in Minnesota.

“I was privileged to meet all of these people and talk to them, so personally, this room to me feels like here I am with a room full of new friends,” Roberts says of the exhibit.

“So I’m really excited for others to just sort of get a little taste of that,” she added. “Read some of these stories, look at some of these folks and say, ‘Oh, I know somebody like that,’ or ‘I know that person.’ I personally really like this because it’s a great introduction to the culture in a really accessible way.”

The bright, colorful gallery also tries to emphasize the struggles of Somali immigrant lives in Minnesota.

“We wanted to get across in this room that in many cases, folks had to start over when they came here. That there were whole, rich lives being led in Somalia,” Roberts says. “Many people had to start over and now, after a lot of hard work, are starting to regain some of the work in fields they were trained for over there or kind of start over in a new field and now get some success.

“Even though the life and the stories were disrupted by civil war, resulting in this worldwide diaspora … so many of the values that are traditional in the culture, the values of community, of the importance of education, of entrepreneurship, of faith of course, of helping each other, that those values really have followed Somalis to Minnesota,” she adds. “They’ve drawn on their community, they’ve drawn on their history, to sort of meet the challenges of being in a completely different environment.”

The gallery highlighting modern Somalis in Minnesota works in tandem with the other facets of the exhibit that show the traditional aspects of Somali culture, connecting old and new. One of the goals of the exhibit is to do just that, connecting younger generations with older generations.

“This gives young people a chance to sort of really look at and understand the stories they heard from their parents and grandparents. Over and over we’ll have young people come into the traditional room and say, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been hearing about! This nomadic dwelling or life in Mogadishu (the capital of Somalia). These are the stories I’ve heard,’ ” says Roberts. “And now they’re getting to see it in three dimensions.”

The Minnesota Historical Society has hired Somali speakers and community members to work in the galleries, making it more interactive. They’re also hoping the exhibit will spark conversations between elders and family members.

Somalia’s culture is largely nomadic, so storytelling is important.

The exhibit developers have left prompts they hope will start conversations, including supplementing the exhibit with definitions of “immigrant” or “refugee.”

“Our best exhibits are the ones that start conversations,” Roberts says. “We consider that a successful exhibit if we get people talking.”

Ali hopes the exhibit will bolster understanding of Somalia and its people.

“As long as [Somalis] are going to be here, people have to know something about them,” Ali says. “And that’s their culture and when they sing and they talk and they do something, they have to know that that’s their culture. ”

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