Born in
Cass Lake, Minnesota, to a Norwegian father and a
Native American mother, Finn was a member of the
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He attended
Moorhead State College (now Minnesota State University Moorhead) for three years, studying sociology and American Indian studies. He transferred to the
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971, the first alumnus to receive a degree in American Indian studies. He later returned to the
U of M Law School to receive his Juris Doctor in 1979. Finn worked as an Ojibwe attorney and owned a small business, then ran for a
Minnesota Senate seat in 1990. He became the first Native American to serve as a Minnesota senator in 1991. He was the
majority whip for the
78th and
79th Minnesota Legislatures. He served Minnesota's 4th state Senate district until his resignation in July 1996 after being convicted of fraud. ==Fraud conviction==