Editing Saint Paul, Minnesota (section)

===Ethnic history===
The earliest known inhabitants of the St. Paul area, from about 400 AD, were members of the [[Hopewell tradition]], who buried their dead in mounds on the river bluffs (now [[Indian Mounds Park (Saint Paul, Minnesota)|Indian Mounds Park]]). The next known inhabitants were the [[Mdewakanton]] [[Sioux|Dakota]] in the 17th century, who fled their ancestral home of [[Mille Lacs Lake]] in central Minnesota in response to westward expansion of the [[Ojibwa|Ojibwe]] nation.<ref name="DakotaLife" /> The Ojibwe later occupied the north (east) bank of the Mississippi River.

By 1800, [[French-Canadian]] explorers came through the region and attracted fur traders. [[Fort Snelling]] and Pig's Eye Tavern also brought the first Yankees from [[New England]] and [[English people|English]], [[Irish people|Irish]], and [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[immigrant]]s, who had enlisted in the army and settled nearby after discharge. These early settlers and entrepreneurs built houses on the heights north of the river. The first wave of immigration came with the Irish, who settled at [[Connemara Patch]] along the Mississippi, named for their home, [[Connemara]], Ireland. The Irish [[History of the Irish in Saint Paul|became prolific]] in politics, city governance, and public safety, much to the chagrin of the Germans and French, who had grown into the majority. In 1850, the first of many groups of [[Swedish people|Swedish immigrants]] passed through St. Paul on their way to farming communities in northern and western regions of the [[Minnesota Territory|territory]]. A large group settled in [[Swede Hollow]], which later became home to Poles, Italians, and Mexicans. The last Swedish presence moved up St. Paul's East Side along [[Payne Avenue State Bank|Payne Avenue]] in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macalester.edu/geography/mage/curriculum/gomn/tc_geog/from_swede_hollow_to_arlington_hills.pdf |title=From Swede Hollow to Arlington Hills, From Snoose Boulevard to Minnehaha Parkway: Swedish Neighborhoods of the Twin Cities |year=2001 |first=David A. |last=Lanegran |publisher=Macalester College |access-date=July 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724113740/http://www.macalester.edu/geography/mage/curriculum/goMN/tc_geog/From_Swede_Hollow_to_Arlington_Hills.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008}}</ref>

Of people who specified [[European American|European ancestry]] in the 2005–07 [[American Community Survey]] of St. Paul, 26.4% were [[German American|German]], 13.8% [[Irish American|Irish]], 8.4% [[Norwegian American|Norwegian]], 7.0% [[Swedish American|Swedish]], and 6.2% [[English American|English]]. There is also a visible community of people of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]n ancestry, representing 4.2% of the population.

By the 1980s, the Thomas-Dale area, once an Austro-Hungarian enclave known as [[Frogtown, Saint Paul, Minnesota|Frogtown]] (German: ''Froschburg''), became home to Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian people who had left their war-torn countries. A settlement program for the Hmong diaspora came soon after, and by 2000, St. Paul had the largest urban Hmong contingent in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rchs.com/neighborhoods/frogtown.htm |title=District 7: Thomas-Dale or Frogtown |publisher=Ramsey County Historical Society |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411064558/http://www.rchs.com/neighborhoods/frogtown.htm |archive-date=April 11, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-29-hmong-closerlook_x.htm |date=November 29, 2004 |title=Hmong get closer look since shootings |first=Tom |last=Kenworthy |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630193716/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-29-hmong-closerlook_x.htm |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hmong Resettlement Revisited |publisher=Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services |date=June 2004 |url=http://www.brycs.org/brycs_spotjune04.htm |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823120646/http://www.brycs.org/brycs_spotjune04.htm |archive-date=August 23, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

[[Hmong Americans]] make up 11% of St. Paul's population as of 2021, and Saint Paul, as well as the [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul|Twin Cities]] area in general, is considered the center of Hmong culture in America. Hmongs are most concentrated in the neighborhoods of [[Frogtown, Saint Paul, Minnesota|Frogtown]], [[Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul|Payne-Phalen]], [[Dayton's Bluff, Saint Paul|Dayton's Bluff]], the [[North End, Saint Paul|North End]], and the [[Greater East Side, Saint Paul|Greater East Side]],<ref name="statisticalatlas.com"/> which are considered ethnic enclaves for [[History of the Hmong in Minneapolis–Saint Paul|Hmong Minnesotans]], with a large number of businesses, organizations, and events catering to the Hmong population, such as the [[Hmongtown Marketplace]] in Frogtown.

Other large Southeast Asian populations live in Saint Paul, particularly [[Burmese Americans]] of the [[Karen people|Karen]] and [[Karenni people|Karenni]] ethnic group, who immigrated to the U.S. as refugees in the 2000s and 2010s due to [[Myanmar conflict|internal conflict]] and discrimination in [[Myanmar]]. Minnesota is believed to have the largest population of [[Karen Americans]], with a population of 12,000 in 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homepage {{!}} Literacy Minnesota |url=https://www.literacymn.org/ |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=www.literacymn.org |language=en}}</ref> who are mostly concentrated in Saint Paul. Burmese and Karen residents of Saint Paul make up 5.2% of the population in 2021, and are most concentrated in the neighborhoods of the [[North End, Saint Paul|North End]], [[Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul|Payne-Phalen]], and [[Frogtown, Saint Paul, Minnesota|Frogtown]].<ref name="statisticalatlas.com"/>

Mexican immigrants have settled in St. Paul since the 1930s; although Mexican populations exist throughout Saint Paul, by far the largest concentration of [[Mexican Americans]] is on St. Paul's [[West Side, Saint Paul|West Side]], where Mexicans form a plurality of the population; Mexico opened a foreign consulate there in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Paul Ethnic Population Growth |publisher=City of Saint Paul |url=http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/index.asp?NID=2020 |access-date=November 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116144505/http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/index.asp?NID=2020 |archive-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Bianca Vazquez |last=Toness |title=Mexican consulate opens in June |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |date=May 24, 2005 |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/05/20_tonessb_consulate/ |access-date=November 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060918174236/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/05/20_tonessb_consulate/ |archive-date=September 18, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Saint Paul also has a large population of Central Americans, particularly [[Salvadoran Americans|Salvadorans]], throughout eastern St. Paul and the West Side.

St. Paul has become home to a large number of [[Somali Americans|Somalis]] and [[Ethiopian Americans|Ethiopians]] since the 1990s, largely as refugees fleeing conflict in their home regions. Somali and Ethiopian populations are largest in the neighborhoods of [[Summit-University, Saint Paul|Summit-University]] and [[Frogtown, Saint Paul, Minnesota|Frogtown]], where there are many businesses and organizations for Somali and Ethiopian populations.<ref name="statisticalatlas.com"/>

[[African Americans]] in St. Paul initially entered through servitude to officers at Fort Snelling, marking a crucial point in their history. Despite the absence of legal slavery in Minnesota, Army officers were permitted to bring their enslaved individuals into the region.<ref>[https://saintpaulhistorical.com/tours/show/41 Tour | African American Heritage: Points of Entry]</ref> Today, African Americans are one of the largest groups among Saint Paul's population; African Americans make up approximately 14% of Saint Paul's population, the second-largest background group, before Hmongs and after German-Americans. The city's African American residents are concentrated in its central and eastern neighborhoods.

Most St. Paul residents claiming religious affiliation are [[Christianity|Christian]], split between the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and various [[Protestant]] denominations. The Roman Catholic presence comes from Irish, German, Scottish, and French Canadian settlers, later bolstered by Hispanic immigrants. There are [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[synagogue]]s such as [[Mount Zion Temple]] and significant populations of [[Hinduism|Hindus]], [[Islam|Muslims]], and [[Buddhism|Buddhists]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ramsey County, Minnesota |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/27123_2000.asp |work=Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States, 2000 |publisher=Association of Religion Data Archives |access-date=December 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205193048/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/27123_2000.asp |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city has been dubbed "paganistan" due to its large [[Wicca]]n population.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gihring |first=Tim |title=Welcome to Paganistan |work=Minnesota Monthly |access-date=May 23, 2011 |date=April 2009 |url=http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/April-2009/MNMO-Recommends/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908075718/http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/April-2009/MNMO-Recommends/ |archive-date=September 8, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>