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Ancestry refers to the lineage or descent of a person, family, or group, tracing back through generations to identify their origins, heritage, and familial connections. It encompasses the genetic, cultural, and historical ties that link individuals to their forebears, shaping their identity and sense of belonging. Ancestry is a multifaceted concept, intertwining biology, genealogy, history, and culture, and it plays a significant role in how people understand themselves and their place in the world.

At its core, ancestry is rooted in genetics. Each individual inherits a unique combination of DNA from their parents, who in turn inherited their DNA from their own ancestors. This genetic material carries information about physical traits, predispositions to certain health conditions, and even behavioral tendencies. Advances in genetic testing, such as DNA analysis, have made it possible for individuals to trace their biological ancestry with remarkable precision. Companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA offer services that analyze genetic markers to provide insights into a person's ethnic composition and geographic origins, often revealing surprising connections to distant relatives or previously unknown heritage.

Beyond genetics, ancestry is deeply tied to genealogy, the study of family history and lineage. Genealogical research involves constructing family trees, documenting relationships, and uncovering historical records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, census data, and immigration documents. This process often reveals stories of migration, resilience, and adaptation, offering a window into the lives of ancestors and the challenges they faced. For many, genealogy is a way to honor their forebears and preserve their legacy for future generations.

Cultural ancestry is another critical dimension, encompassing the traditions, languages, customs, and values passed down through generations. It connects individuals to their ethnic or national heritage, shaping their cultural identity and worldview. For example, someone with Irish ancestry might celebrate St. Patrick's Day, learn traditional Irish dance, or explore the Gaelic language, while someone with Japanese ancestry might practice tea ceremonies, study calligraphy, or observe Obon festivals. Cultural ancestry fosters a sense of continuity and belonging, linking individuals to a broader community with shared experiences and values.

Historical ancestry delves into the broader context of a family's or group's past, including significant events, social conditions, and historical movements that shaped their lives. For instance, the transatlantic slave trade, the Irish Potato Famine, or the Jewish diaspora have profoundly influenced the ancestry of millions of people, leaving lasting imprints on their descendants' identities. Understanding historical ancestry often involves grappling with complex narratives of triumph and tragedy, resilience and oppression, and the interplay of individual and collective experiences.

Ancestry also has a deeply personal and emotional dimension. For many, exploring their ancestry is a journey of self-discovery, offering insights into who they are and where they come from. It can foster a sense of pride, connection, and continuity, as well as a deeper appreciation for the struggles and achievements of those who came before. At the same time, it can raise questions about identity, belonging, and the complexities of heritage, particularly for individuals with mixed or multicultural backgrounds.

In a globalized world, ancestry serves as a bridge between the past and the present, connecting individuals to their roots while also highlighting the interconnectedness of human history. It underscores the diversity and richness of human experience, reminding us that every person's story is part of a larger tapestry woven over centuries. Whether through genetic testing, genealogical research, cultural practices, or historical exploration, ancestry offers a profound way to understand ourselves and our place in the world.

A diversification score measures the diversity of ancestries in the county. As the value appoaches 100, ancestry diversity decreases and therefore increasing the risk of a lack of cultural diversity. The ancestry diversification score for this county is:

Most common ancestry not including "Unknown" is:

Ancestry Report Part I
Description	Total Population	American	Native American	Hawaiian	Caribbean (Latino)	Mexican	Central American	South American	Other Hispanic	African American	Sub- Saharan	Caribbean (Black)

Swift County	9,653	291	33	131	51	462	106	2	32	19	44	8
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	149	55	3	30	230	37	36	21	191	160	40
National (in 000's)	343,251	13,890	2,213	626	11,327	38,879	6,181	4,644	3,687	25,893	7,852	7,174
Kandiyohi County	45,069	1,225	114	33	87	4,202	1,066	238	527	727	1,758	101
Chippewa County	12,385	190	94	262	15	545	441	47	179	66	21	2
Pope County	11,632	309	25	0	49	147	0	2	19	32	19	1
Stevens County	9,854	242	112	1	60	781	83	81	37	64	42	17
Lac qui Parle County	6,627	164	13	0	20	160	0	8	13	26	5	3
Big Stone County	5,092	167	26	3	32	98	0	0	3	5	8	1

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Swift County	16.20	3.01	0.34	1.36	0.53	4.79	1.10	0.02	0.33	0.20	0.46	0.08
Minnesota	10.33	2.55	0.95	0.05	0.52	3.94	0.64	0.61	0.36	3.26	2.73	0.69
National	7.83	4.05	0.64	0.18	3.30	11.33	1.80	1.35	1.07	7.54	2.29	2.09
Kandiyohi County	12.38	2.72	0.25	0.07	0.19	9.32	2.37	0.53	1.17	1.61	3.90	0.22
Chippewa County	15.77	1.53	0.76	2.12	0.12	4.40	3.56	0.38	1.45	0.53	0.17	0.02
Pope County	19.64	2.66	0.21	0.00	0.42	1.26	0.00	0.02	0.16	0.28	0.16	0.01
Stevens County	15.13	2.46	1.14	0.01	0.61	7.93	0.84	0.82	0.38	0.65	0.43	0.17
Lac qui Parle County	23.05	2.47	0.20	0.00	0.30	2.41	0.00	0.12	0.20	0.39	0.08	0.05
Big Stone County	20.45	3.28	0.51	0.06	0.63	1.92	0.00	0.00	0.06	0.10	0.16	0.02

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		118.28	36.00	2,926.75	102.01	121.48	171.25	3.38	93.27	6.03	16.68	12.06
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		158.77	67.91	393.55	637.16	287.50	280.84	221.03	302.20	231.15	83.72	304.22
Kandiyohi County		106.64	26.64	157.91	37.27	236.65	368.87	86.27	329.00	49.43	142.76	32.62
Chippewa County		60.19	79.93	4,562.27	23.39	111.70	555.31	62.00	406.65	16.33	6.21	2.35
Pope County		104.23	22.63	0.00	81.34	32.08	0.00	2.81	45.96	8.43	5.98	1.25
Stevens County		96.36	119.70	21.89	117.57	201.18	131.36	134.29	105.65	19.90	15.60	25.11
Lac qui Parle County		97.10	20.66	0.00	58.27	61.28	0.00	19.72	55.19	12.02	2.76	6.59
Big Stone County		128.68	53.77	127.06	121.34	48.85	0.00	0.00	16.58	3.01	5.75	2.86

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		74.50	53.02	743.68	16.01	42.26	60.98	1.53	30.86	2.61	19.93	3.97
Minnesota		62.98	147.26	25.41	15.69	34.78	35.61	45.24	33.09	43.26	119.45	32.87
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kandiyohi County		67.17	39.23	40.12	5.85	82.31	131.35	39.03	108.87	21.38	170.52	10.72
Chippewa County		37.91	117.71	1,159.26	3.67	38.85	197.73	28.05	134.56	7.06	7.41	0.77
Pope County		65.65	33.33	0.00	12.77	11.16	0.00	1.27	15.21	3.65	7.14	0.41
Stevens County		60.69	176.27	5.56	18.45	69.97	46.77	60.76	34.96	8.61	18.63	8.25
Lac qui Parle County		61.15	30.42	0.00	9.15	21.32	0.00	8.92	18.26	5.20	3.30	2.17
Big Stone County		81.05	79.19	32.29	19.04	16.99	0.00	0.00	5.49	1.30	6.87	0.94

Ancestry Report Part II
Description	Total Population	Canadian	British	Dutch	French	German	Italian	Polish	Scandinavian	Scotish/ Irish	Spanish	Other European

Swift County	9,653	10	300	89	133	2,306	45	157	2,609	580	31	219
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	30	206	47	91	1,106	69	128	850	336	11	201
National (in 000's)	343,251	1,350	18,069	1,828	3,642	24,708	9,027	4,667	5,969	20,625	1,140	9,563
Kandiyohi County	45,069	97	1,196	1,365	395	9,069	153	351	9,162	1,545	95	851
Chippewa County	12,385	36	254	301	82	2,899	25	107	3,195	368	21	184
Pope County	11,632	13	334	189	185	3,035	112	145	3,508	574	23	393
Stevens County	9,854	20	246	121	100	2,763	27	131	1,501	484	4	159
Lac qui Parle County	6,627	24	129	83	84	1,863	25	34	2,265	198	11	54
Big Stone County	5,092	26	144	53	47	1,764	16	75	1,074	349	0	97

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Swift County	16.20	0.10	3.11	0.92	1.38	23.89	0.47	1.63	27.03	6.01	0.32	2.27
Minnesota	10.33	0.52	3.53	0.81	1.56	18.94	1.18	2.18	14.55	5.75	0.19	3.44
National	7.83	0.39	5.26	0.53	1.06	7.20	2.63	1.36	1.74	6.01	0.33	2.79
Kandiyohi County	12.38	0.22	2.65	3.03	0.88	20.12	0.34	0.78	20.33	3.43	0.21	1.89
Chippewa County	15.77	0.29	2.05	2.43	0.66	23.41	0.20	0.86	25.80	2.97	0.17	1.49
Pope County	19.64	0.11	2.87	1.62	1.59	26.09	0.96	1.25	30.16	4.93	0.20	3.38
Stevens County	15.13	0.20	2.50	1.23	1.01	28.04	0.27	1.33	15.23	4.91	0.04	1.61
Lac qui Parle County	23.05	0.36	1.95	1.25	1.27	28.11	0.38	0.51	34.18	2.99	0.17	0.81
Big Stone County	20.45	0.51	2.83	1.04	0.92	34.64	0.31	1.47	21.09	6.85	0.00	1.90

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		19.99	87.95	114.43	88.54	126.15	39.51	74.50	185.72	104.42	167.43	66.02
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		75.91	148.97	66.10	68.18	38.01	222.87	62.28	11.95	104.42	173.19	81.08
Kandiyohi County		41.54	75.10	375.89	56.32	106.26	28.77	35.67	139.68	59.58	109.89	54.95
Chippewa County		56.10	58.04	301.63	42.55	123.61	17.11	39.57	177.26	51.64	88.40	43.23
Pope County		21.57	81.26	201.66	102.20	137.78	81.60	57.10	207.22	85.76	103.09	98.32
Stevens County		39.17	70.65	152.40	65.21	148.07	23.22	60.89	104.67	85.36	21.16	46.96
Lac qui Parle County		69.89	55.09	155.44	81.45	148.45	31.97	23.50	234.85	51.92	86.54	23.71
Big Stone County		98.54	80.03	129.18	59.31	182.93	26.63	67.47	144.93	119.11	0.00	55.44

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		26.34	59.04	173.13	129.86	331.87	17.73	119.63	1,554.36	100.00	96.68	81.43
Minnesota		131.73	67.13	151.30	146.67	263.08	44.87	160.57	836.96	95.77	57.74	123.34
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kandiyohi County		54.72	50.41	568.71	82.61	279.55	12.91	57.28	1,169.10	57.05	63.45	67.77
Chippewa County		73.90	38.96	456.36	62.40	325.18	7.68	63.54	1,483.59	49.45	51.04	53.32
Pope County		28.41	54.55	305.10	149.90	362.47	36.61	91.69	1,734.38	82.13	59.52	121.26
Stevens County		51.60	47.42	230.57	95.65	389.53	10.42	97.78	876.01	81.74	12.22	57.91
Lac qui Parle County		92.07	36.98	235.18	119.47	390.54	14.34	37.74	1,965.58	49.72	49.97	29.25
Big Stone County		129.81	53.72	195.45	87.00	481.26	11.95	108.33	1,212.98	114.07	0.00	68.37

Ancestry Report Part III
Description	Total Population	Chinese	Filipino	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	South Central Asian	South East Asian	Other Asian	Middle Eastern	Other Ancestry	Unknown

Swift County	9,653	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	31	0	668	1,289
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	31	14	4	16	30	56	50	96	21	564	931
National (in 000's)	343,251	4,461	3,010	793	1,541	1,913	5,452	1,643	1,229	1,931	47,322	51,000
Kandiyohi County	45,069	15	20	2	74	11	9	386	66	9	3,849	6,271
Chippewa County	12,385	6	7	1	6	0	69	9	4	0	1,130	1,819
Pope County	11,632	2	34	0	8	26	0	0	1	0	437	2,010
Stevens County	9,854	24	18	1	8	0	1	12	36	15	1,025	1,638
Lac qui Parle County	6,627	0	17	3	7	0	2	5	1	2	256	1,152
Big Stone County	5,092	0	11	2	2	0	9	0	0	0	186	894

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Swift County	16.20	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.07	0.32	0.00	6.92	13.35
Minnesota	10.33	0.54	0.24	0.08	0.28	0.51	0.97	0.85	1.64	0.36	9.67	15.94
National	7.83	1.30	0.88	0.23	0.45	0.56	1.59	0.48	0.36	0.56	13.79	14.86
Kandiyohi County	12.38	0.03	0.04	0.00	0.16	0.02	0.02	0.86	0.15	0.02	8.54	13.91
Chippewa County	15.77	0.05	0.06	0.01	0.05	0.00	0.56	0.07	0.03	0.00	9.12	14.69
Pope County	19.64	0.02	0.29	0.00	0.07	0.22	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	3.76	17.28
Stevens County	15.13	0.24	0.18	0.01	0.08	0.00	0.01	0.12	0.37	0.15	10.40	16.62
Lac qui Parle County	23.05	0.00	0.26	0.05	0.11	0.00	0.03	0.08	0.02	0.03	3.86	17.38
Big Stone County	20.45	0.00	0.22	0.04	0.04	0.00	0.18	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.65	17.56

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	8.48	19.59	0.00	71.60	83.78
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		241.10	372.94	306.03	160.04	110.04	164.48	55.98	21.85	157.89	142.64	93.22
Kandiyohi County		6.17	18.87	5.88	58.52	4.82	2.07	100.17	8.93	5.61	88.36	87.30
Chippewa County		8.99	24.03	10.70	17.27	0.00	57.69	8.50	1.97	0.00	94.40	92.15
Pope County		3.19	124.29	0.00	24.51	44.14	0.00	0.00	0.52	0.00	38.87	108.42
Stevens County		45.18	77.68	13.45	28.93	0.00	1.05	14.24	22.29	42.73	107.62	104.29
Lac qui Parle County		0.00	109.08	59.98	37.64	0.00	3.13	8.82	0.92	8.47	39.97	109.07
Big Stone County		0.00	91.86	52.04	14.00	0.00	18.30	0.00	0.00	0.00	37.79	110.16

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Swift County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	15.15	89.66	0.00	50.20	89.87
Minnesota		41.48	26.81	32.68	62.49	90.88	60.80	178.63	457.65	63.34	70.11	107.27
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kandiyohi County		2.56	5.06	1.92	36.56	4.38	1.26	178.94	40.89	3.55	61.95	93.65
Chippewa County		3.73	6.44	3.50	10.79	0.00	35.08	15.18	9.02	0.00	66.18	98.85
Pope County		1.32	33.33	0.00	15.32	40.11	0.00	0.00	2.40	0.00	27.25	116.30
Stevens County		18.74	20.83	4.39	18.08	0.00	0.64	25.44	102.00	27.06	75.45	111.88
Lac qui Parle County		0.00	29.25	19.60	23.52	0.00	1.90	15.76	4.21	5.37	28.02	117.00
Big Stone County		0.00	24.63	17.00	8.75	0.00	11.13	0.00	0.00	0.00	26.50	118.17

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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