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28 Cultural Highlight Section 4 – Explore Hmong-American Culture
Cultural Highlight: Hmong-American Culture
“In class today, I got to introduce myself as Hmong like Suni Lee and not Hmong, meaning a small Asian ethnicity that not many people know about. It was so nice” (posted by “Ashlee” on Twitter).
To this, Suni Lee responded, “This makes me happy.”
Macalester College Students display Traditional Hmong Attire
Learning Outcomes
After reading and considering this Unit, students will:
Learn facts about the Hmong and Hmong-American cultures
Distinguish between verbal and nonverbal symbolic cultural markers
Identify stereotypes, especially the “model minority” stereotype
Describe the self-fulfilling prophecy
Practice perception checking
Suni Lee brought Gold to the American Olympic Team, and a voice to a community often called “invisible” by scholars. All of Minnesota cheered Suni Lee, yet her community knew she gave more: shVe gave positive representation to her Hmong culture, who call Minnesota home.
In this unit, you will hear from various Hmong-American students, authors, artists, scholars, leaders, and community members. If you are from a Hmong background, please let Lori and Mark know if you have additional information to share or correct. Dr. Mai Na M. Lee, Ph.D., (2021), “The Hmong first arrived in Minnesota in late 1975, after the communist seizure of power in Indochina. They faced multiple barriers as refugees from a war-torn country, but with the help of generous sponsors, have managed to thrive in the Twin Cities area, a region they now claim as home. Today, many Hmong promote the economic, social, and political diversity of the state” (Lee, 2021). As of 2019, the “…Hmong population in the United States was 327,000, with Minnesota boasting a Hmong population of over 81,000, nearly a quarter of the total population and second only to California. Most Hmong in the U.S. are from Laos and nearly 94 percent of Minnesota Hmong live in the Twin Cities. Minnesota holds such a large share because many of the volunteer agencies involved in the resettlement of Hmong refugees were sponsored by Minnesota churches” (Carleton College, 2021).
Note – as with the previous three chapters dedicated to highlighting varied co-cultures in Minnesota, this chapter will include terms you have read about from previous chapters. It is our goal that in these four “Cultural Highlight” chapters you will apply the theory you have read to case studies.
Meet Cindy, your Peer Student Speaker
Suggested Activity: Cindy is a student who gave a video-based speech on her Hmong culture. She explains that her family came from Laos after the Secret Warand eventually resettled in Minnesota.
First, as you listen to Cindy’s speech, make a list of new information to you.
Second, make a list of your inferences while listening to the speech. As a reminder, we make observations through our five senses (in this case, what we see/hear) and build inferences based upon our observations.
Review the 3-part perception check if needed. Write at least one perception check using the three-part form.
Sample Observations & Inferences:
As a reminder, we make observations through our five senses (in this case, what we see/hear); then, we build inferences based upon our observations. For example, Do you notice Cindy’s smile? Did you infer that, as she shares, she possesses great pride in her culture? Did you hear her mention her grandfather’s role in the Secret War and guess she wants others to understand why Hmong individuals and families sought asylum in Minnesota?
Sample Perception Checks:
“Hi Cindy, I see you wear the traditional pink top you showed us in the video. I wonder if your family identifies with the Vietnamese-Hmong culture or if this is a garment you think is pretty and are just wearing today. Can you clarify this?”
“Hi Cindy, I see you are wearing a silver xauv. Does this mean your family is Hmong, not Chinese, since it is silver, or is this not the case, and perhaps you are wearing it because you like the way it looks? Can you help me understand?”
Verbal and Nonverbal Symbols
Cindy is wearing a Hmong xauv.
Did you know the differences between the various styles of Hmong clothing women wear in Vietnam, China, and Thailand? As Cindy explains, the “silver lock necklace” is called “xauv” in Hmong. Did you know that what might appear to be “just a piece of silver jewelry” would hold its significance? As she shares more about the xauv, note that she explains its symbolic meaning for Hmong people.
A symbol “…stands in for or represents something else” (Communication in the Real World, 2016). Symbols can be communicated verbally (speaking the word ‘xauv’), in writing (putting the letters X-A-U-V together), or nonverbally (e.g., pointing to the artifact on her neck). In any case, the symbols we use to stand in for something else, like a physical object or an idea, do not correspond to the thing referenced directly. Unlike hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, which often did have a literal relationship between the written symbol and the object referenced, the characters used in modern languages look nothing like the object or idea to which they refer” (Communication in the Real World, 2016). As Cindy states, the xauv “…symbolizes the hardships Hmong people went through.” If you did not know this, you might assume it is a pretty necklace.
The struggles faced by the Hmong people and their journey to the United States only came after an agreement with the United States CIA. This information allows one to understand and get beyond the negative stereotype of Hmong people coming to Minnesota as illegals hoping to cheat the system.
The videos, information, and links below provide additional information about the Hmong community.
Cultural Symbols Serve as Cultural Markers
Macalaster College Students share their Hmong cultures–a reminder that Cindy’s explanation does not mean that all Hmong people share the same idea. Still, with research, you can see that her explanation matches other accounts. Shared experiences, stories, language, and traditions all serve as cultural markers and, as such, function to show us we a part of a culture; they help build community and enhance the feeling of belonging and identity. Cultural markers help define a group. Clothing, stories, songs, musical instruments, and language are significant cultural markers for cultures, such as the Hmong, without a land or a nation (Fridman, 2017).
Remember that Cindy is not alone in sharing her reasons for wearing the xauv. Because members of the Hmong culture have struggled to find land throughout history and traditionally were excluded in written accounts of history, oral stories and stories told through symbolic “artifacts” such as jewelry, clothing, stitching, and musical instruments, have been important symbolic historical cultural markers and identifiers for the Hmong. The “paj ndau” or “Hmong story cloth” (a woven tapestry with extensive embroidered images) shares cultural history. “As pictorial representations of narratives, story cloths convey wartime and migrant experiences and serve as vehicles for communicating other stories. Folktales, oral histories, and farm life are frequently chosen as subjects for story cloths” (Hoh, 2020). The website Your Story, Our Story helps preserve such accounts.
Anthony Chang (Your Story, Our Story, 2021) shares that many women sewed the paj ntaub in Thai refugee camps. The cloths can be very personal and tell time-honored stories. The paj ntaub and the intricate work required were often sold for basic necessities for the Hmong family. Today, Hmong-American activists ask fashion designers to recognize their designs vs. appropriating their traditional art. Anthony archived a photo of his grandmother’s paj ntaub and offered this notation:
My grandma sewed some paj ntaub to decorate her apartment. She put them on her boxes. Every single year Hmong girls will wear there [sic] Hmong cloth to perform at the new year event. There different types of designs for paj ntaub, like a design for your last name. Paj ntaub was my object because it represents Hmong people and it special to Hmong and their culture (Your Story, Our Story, 2021).
This paj ndau or story cloth is displayed at the MN Hmong Culture Story.
Consider this poetic description of the paj ntaub:
The blueprint of our richness. A link bridging our virtues. Our free thought, ingenuity and and inspiration. Our intellectual property. Our art. The fabric of our people. Each paj ntaub is an original one of a kind performance. A movement. A dance for the ages on a fabric stage. Thread and needle in embrace. To the rhythm of the fingertips. Each layer another depth. Another step onward. An untamed union in which each stitch begins with a stab. Each stab, a push. Each push, a pull. A give and take. Weaving between the fabric in hand and the fabric of time on a quest for attainment. Wholeness. An equilibrium of the soul. Peace of mind.
The flower, symbolic of our growth.
The cloth, representative of our strength.
When I think of what Hmong is; among many things I think about the paj ntaub.
Hmong women were and are the stewards of the paj ntaub, making them not only remarkable artists but activists, educators, documentarians, fashionistas and entrepreneurs (Elephant Hustle, 2021).
Stereotypes
Macalaster College students share their Hmong culture.
Our goal is to distinguish between observations and inferences in developing intercultural communication competence. When we lack all the information about something we are trying to understand, we knowingly (explicitly) or unknowingly (implicitly) come to tentative conclusions or inferences about what we are seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or touching. Further, as you might recall from the chapter on Perception, analyzing the three steps of perception can help us better understand how we might have come to a particular interpretation. We select, organize, and then make an interpretation. According to Julia Wood (2020), one way we organize is through the use of stereotypes.
As noted in previous chapters, a stereotype is a predictive generalization applied to a person or situation. Based on the category in which we place someone or something and how that person or thing measures up against the personal constructs we apply, we predict what he, she, or it will do. For instance, if you label someone as a liberal, you might stereotype him or her as likely to vote Democratic and support environmental protections. You may have stereotypes of fraternity and sorority members, military personnel, athletes, and people from other cultures. Stereotypes don’t necessarily reflect the actual groups to which they refer. Instead, stereotypes are based on our perceptions of groups or on social perspectives that we’ve internalized (p. 83).
Wood further explains how stereotypes can provide another barrier to intercultural communication. She writes, “racial and ethnic stereotypes can lead us to not see differences among people we place in a particular category. The broad label Asian doesn’t distinguish among people from varied cultures, including Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, and China” (Wood, 2020, p. 83).
Why do we stereotype?
Psychologists call our mental shortcuts “heuristics”—and we need them to help our brains navigate the world. If you see a creature with feathers sitting on a tree branch, it probably does fly and eat worms. If you are planning a trip to upstate New York in the winter, it’s not a bad idea to bring snow boots. But heuristics can lead us to make potentially damaging assumptions about other people. Racial stereotyping, for instance, comes from the belief that membership in a racial group defines someone on a range of characteristics, including their behavior. This idea that group membership determines innate qualities is called ‘essentialism’ (Jilani, 2019).
Macalaster College Students Display Hmong Attire
When we interpret, we store the ideas and, ideally, can recall that information to create a more complex interpretation the next time. However, if we initially organize our perception on partial information from a stereotype or an incorrect assumption, we are more likely to create an even more incorrect interpretation. Therefore, remember that you will want to use perception checks, research, and experience to form more complex and correct interpretations. For example, suppose I can remember the distinctions Cindy shares of the Chinese-Hmong, Vietnamese-Hmong, and Thai-Hmong traditional women’s tops. Then, when I see a similar garment, I might make a more correct interpretation of the garment’s country of origin in the future. However, even if I correctly identify the garment as representing Vietnamese-Hmong culture, I could be wrong if Cindy dressed in the Vietnamese-Hmong traditional top and concluded that she is Vietnamese-Hmong. Just because she is wearing a garment associated with a particular culture does not mean she is from that culture.
Now that we better understand symbol use, the three-part perception formation, and the definition of stereotypes, let’s consider the significance of these ideas to successful intercultural communication.
Learning through Stories
We have highlighted Kao Kalia Yang in past chapters. If you have not listened to this TedTalk before, now is a great time to do so.
Who is Kao Kalia Yang?
“Kao Kalia Yang came to America after spending the first six years of her life in Hmong refugee camps in Thailand. Her family’s story is one of love, life, and a deadly war – one rarely taught in history classes. Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong-American writer. Born in the refugee camps of Thailand to a family that had fled the aftermath of America’s Secret War in Laos, she came to America at age six. Kao Kalia is a graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University’s MFA Program. Her books include National Endowment for the Arts Big Read title The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet, which will be the first Hmong story adapted into an opera by the Minnesota Opera in the spring of 2021. Yang’s first picture book A Map Into the World and an edited collection What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of Color were published in fall of 2019. In spring of 2020, a second children’s book The Shared Room and a collective memoir of refugee stories Somewhere in the Unknown World will be published. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community” (TEDTalk Description).
Kao Kalia Yang’s Story – Making Visible
photo credit: pexel.com
Researchers describe the “model minority” stereotype as one of the most pervasive and harmful assumptions about Asian Americans. It contends that Asian Americans are a uniformly high-achieving racial minority that has assimilated well into American society through hard work, obedience to social mores and academic achievement” (Abrams, 2019). Consider Ms. Yang’s explanation about how Hmong children in the United States should grow up to be doctors or lawyers, “Doctors to heal our bones and lawyers to stand up for the rights we have never had before.” The pressure to succeed is described in many research articles.
In thinking about the Hmong-American experience, researchers Lee, Xiong, Pheng, & Vang (2017) sought to understand better the impact of the “model minority” stereotype’s influence on young Hmong-Americans in the midwest:
Since the Civil Rights era, Asian Americans have been positioned as “model minorities” who have achieved economic and academic success through hard work, grit, and adherence to traditional cultural values. From the moment the stereotype emerged on the scene Asian American communities have been embroiled in debates over how to respond. Critical Asian American scholars have repeatedly argued that the model minority stereotype is a hegemonic tool that sustains the myth of meritocracy, silences charges of racial injustice, disciplines Black and Brown communities and masks the struggles faced by Asian American communities (see also Hartlep, 2013; Lee, 2009; Lee & Kumashiro, 2005; Leonardo, 2009; Osajima, 1988; Poon et al., 2015)…[T]he model minority stereotype continues to frame dominant understandings of who Asian Americans are and how they are doing relative to other racial groups.
As Asian Americans, the Hmong American community is also judged against the standards of the model minority stereotype. The scholarship on Hmong Americans and U.S. Census data on 3 Lee et al.: The Model Minority Maze Published by Purdue e-Pubs, 2017 Hmong Americans reveal that Hmong students often struggle to achieve the levels of economic and academic achievement associated with the model minority stereotype (Ngo, 2006; Ngo & Lee, 2007, pp. 1-4).
Hmong-American youth, then, face two different stereotypes – that of “being the least successful of Asian Americans” when also held to the demanding, high stereotypical standard of the “model minority.”
The pressure of living between the two stereotypes aforementioned has consequences. Communication in the Real World (2016) helps us understand the power of stereotypes and our self-development.
photo: pexel.com
A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs.” In her video, Kao Kalia Yang shares the story of how her mother was shunned at K-mart and, as a result of this and other racist treatment she has witnessed, Kalia decides not to speak in English. Subsequently, she is labeled, “selective mute” in her school records. The racist treatment she endured impacted her own communication behavior. Her story shares the incredible enduring love she also received from her family that she drew upon to complete her own, and her families’ dreams for her to become highly educated and successful.
Self-fulfilling prophecies are ubiquitous—teachers’ expectations about their students’ academic abilities can influence their school performance (Jussim, Robustelli, & Cain, 2009). Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to perform well had higher grades than disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to do poorly. From this study, we generalize that when given positive feedback, others will seek to fulfill that expectation. At the same time, when we fail to meet that expectation, we can feel more than disappointment; it can cause what theorists call “cognitive dissonance.”
If you’ve studied music, you probably know what dissonance is. Some notes, when played together on a piano, produce and sound that’s pleasing to our ears. When dissonant combinations of notes are played, we react by wincing or cringing because the sound is unpleasant to our ears. So dissonance is that unpleasant feeling we get when two sounds clash. The same principle applies to cognitive dissonance, which refers to the mental discomfort that results when new information clashes with or contradicts currently held beliefs, attitudes, or values. Using cognitive dissonance as a persuasive strategy relies on three assumptions: (1) people have a need for consistency in their thinking; (2) when inconsistency exists, people experience psychological discomfort; and (3) this discomfort motivates people to address the inconsistency to restore balance (Stiff & Mongeau, 2003). In short, when new information clashes with previously held information, there is an unpleasantness that results, as we have to try to reconcile the difference (Communcatoin in the Real World, 2016).
Students and their families gather at the Macalester College Hmong New Year
More recent studies on expectations placed on Hmong youth and students and the expectations of the perfect minority stereotype where one can not fail can cause cognitive dissonance. One strategy people use to deal with the tension of cognitive dissonance is to “avoid it in the future by shunning challenging situations and limiting information to that which affirms their current beliefs.”
“Compared to all other racial groups, Hmong Americans fare the worst across nearly all measures of income. When it comes to educational attainment, almost 30 percent of Southeast Asian Americans haven’t completed high school or passed the GED tests, compared to the 13 percent of the general population who have experienced the same” (Yam, 2021).
Being expected to be a “model minority” is often excluded in the binary of white-black race discussions and research. Being expected to be perfect while facing statistics that say you are from the refugee group that is the “most poor in the United States” is part of the experience shared in the following video by Nakita Yang.
Hmong American Experience: Life Between Two Worlds
The following video highlights one more challenge for Hmong younger generations: the expectation that they are both thoroughly American and fully Hmong. More youthful Hmong feel suspended between the traditional culture of their parents and the dominant culture they must deal with daily. Nakita Vang shares on her YouTube channel, “I was requested to upload this piece I created in celebration of #APIHeritageMonth back in May. This is a digital poetry piece on my Hmong-American journey juggling life and identity between two worlds. Although this is rooted in the narrative of my Hmong people, I know many ethnicities have voiced how they too share this experience. I think that is a beautiful thing for many of us who have no country on the map to explain where we are from and who we are. That we still have our very existence and story to tell” (YouTube Description).
Minnesota’s Pride: Olympian Gold Medalist, Sunisa (Suni) Lee
Did you watch the 2021 Olympics as Sunisa (Suni) Lee brought home the Gold? If you are in Minnesota, did you feel an attachment to her success? Do you share the same regional identity as Suni Lee as a Minnesotan or perhaps Midwesterner? We use regional identity when we define ourselves as a part of a geographic region of people. Minnesota’s regional identity stereotypes often miss Hmong Pho soup when boasting traditional Minnesota foods of Native American wild rice, Norwegian lefse, Swedish meatballs, and German Ale. Minnesota is home to the largest refugee population per capita in the United States. Suni Lee’s success helps “make visible” the growing diversity in Minnesota and the United States.
In the avalanche of news stories that followed the success story of Suni Lee, many learned about her love for her family, her supportive relationship with her father (who built her a balance beam in their St. Paul, MN backyard), and the great admiration, support, and pride of her Minnesota Hmong (as well as Hmong persons throughout the world) community.
photo: pexel.com
Looking toward social media and the trending news stories sharing Suni Lee’s success, we can see the different levels of shared identity. The “Hot Pot Boys – the Fung Bros.,” in their youtube channel exclaim, “David, this is not some crazy rich shiny Asian story Hollywood story, this is a crazy TALENTED under-represented refugee Asian story!” David replies, “Let me tell you this, Sunisa Lee’s gold medal means so much to Asian America more than a script, tv show, or movie because this was not Hollywood fake…this was real life global stage!” (Fung Bros., 2021). They continue to explain that the internet is “on fire” and that there are “so many layers to the story.” Due to shared Asian racial identity and similar Ethnic identities, the Fung Bros., like so many others in Asian social media, publications, press, etc. noted that, “It is important to share that she is Hmong as this is an underrepresented group in an under-represented group.”
Another point many have made on social media is that the Hmong people have not shared a nation or land since most migrated to Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in the early 1800s. Bringing the gold medal “home” to Americans symbolizes to Hmong-Americans their firm rooting in their new American home.
Representation: Becoming Visible on Campus
You may have heard, “representation is essential.” In other words, all voices and faces should be represented in conversations of political, social, educational, religious, personal, and other contexts. In Communication Theory, this notion is called “cultural representation.”
Cultural representation is a concept cultivated by Stuart Hall within cultural studies, a discipline originating in Great Britain during the 1960s. Hall is recognized as a major contributor to the field, particularly in expanding its focus on cultural representations of race and ethnicity, as well as gender. Culture can be understood as a set of common beliefs that hold people together. These common beliefs give rise to social practices, and social practices are imbued with meaning (Jackson, 2010).
Students at Macalester College brought their families and friends to campus for the Hmong New Year Celebration to share their college experience and their Hmong culture with their campus. One of the event organizers, Shauayee Ua Ke, explains why representation is essential. “Even though we are in St. Paul…there are only 10 of us on campus…having this Hmong New Year gives us a home…..it helps for our family to see how we are doing, not just academically but culturally.” She urges other campuses to celebrate cultural holidays and showcase students’ diverse backgrounds.
Quick Facts – Hmong Culture & Traditions
These points can help you better understand the Hmong culture. Later in this unit, additional videos and expanded explanations explore topics of intercultural communication Hmong Americans have faced. For a more comprehensive look at Hmong Culture in Minnesota, visit the Hmong Culture Center Museum and Library and the Minnesota Historical Society. Additionally, Carleton College offers a rich online resource site used extensively in this Unit as a free “open education” creative commons share-alike site.
St.Paul, Minnesota, has the largest Hmong population per capita in the United States (10.0%; 28,591 Hmong Americans), followed by Wausau in Wisconsin (3,569; 9.1% of its population) (Budiman, 2021).
Country Profile – “There is no Hmong nation or state. The Hmong have traditionally lived in Laos, Vietnam and China and are an ethnic group, not a nationality” (“Hmong,” 2017).
Hmong Traditional Lifestyle: “The Hmong people were farmers in Laos and Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Many Hmong fought with support from the US against the Vietcong and Communist forces inside Laos. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the region the Hmong were forced to abandon their homes and seek refuge in Thailand. The Hmong have always been an independent population living in the mountains of Southeast Asia. The Hmong culture is traditionally agrarian” (“Hmong,” 2017).
Hmong Migration History: “The journey of Saint Paul’s Hmong population to Saint Paul began more than 46 years ago following the Vietnam War in 1975, but their migration as a people started long before that in the 1600s when they were first pushed out of their kingdom in southwestern China. Most of the Hmong population at this time resettled in Laos, Thailand and other neighboring countries” (Visit St. Paul, 2019).
Hmong Names: “There are 18 clans within the Hmong community. They include Cha (Chang), Chue, Cheng, Fang, Hang, Her (Herr), Khang, Kong, Kue, Lor (Lo, Lao), Lee (Ly), Moua, Pha, Thao (Thor), Vang, Vue, Xiong and Yang” (Hmong culture & strengths, n.d.).
Green Hmong and White Hmong: “There are two primary Hmong groups, green and white. They are named for the colors and patterns of traditional clothing and each one speaks its own dialect. The difference in dialects is relatively subtle, similar to the difference between British and American English” (Visit St. Paul, 2019).
Hmong Food choices in the Twin Cities are abundant: “Hmong food—typically balanced between heat (usually from hot sauce), neutral rice for sopping up and balancing bold flavors, fresh vegetables, and fatty richness from proteins such as pork or poultry—is one of the state’s great culinary secrets. Other popular dishes include barbecue, papaya salad, pho, boba tea, khaub poob (a curry noodle dish), larb (minced meat salad) and nab vam (tapioca dessert). You can try them all at Hmongtown Marketplace and Hmong Village” (Visit St. Paul, 2019). Don’t forget food trucks and smaller venues such as Hmong Eatery, Happy Street Foods, and Qab Mib.
Among the most famous Hmong chefs, Chef Yia Vang remarks, “I tell people Hmong food isn’t a type of food, it’s a philosophy of food…It’s a way of thinking about food. When you come to my mom’s house and she’s cooking for you, from the moment you get there to the moment you leave, everything you’ve experienced, that’s part of Hmong food” (Norton, 2021).
Hmong farmers are mainstays at the many farmers’ markets here, and the Hmong American Farmers Association farm (HAFA) supplies produce and flowers to hundreds of clients in the region. Hmong Food” (Norton, 2021). “The HAFA Farm is a 155-acre research and incubator farm located in Vermillion Township, just 15 minutes south of Saint Paul, Minnesota. HAFA sub-leases the land to our members who are experienced farming families. HAFA also maintains multiple research and demonstration plots to provide continuing education in sustainable agricultural practices to our member-farmers” (HAFA, n.d.)
Traditional Hmong Spirituality: “Traditionally, Hmong religion involves belief in animism, that all things have spiritual essences or souls, and in multiple gods or creators, which do not dwell in the physical human realm. Ancestral spirits are very important, and spirits dwell in houses, mountains, rivers, winds, and trees. Spirits can cause illness, bad dreams, and suffering, as well as good fortune and luck. Spirits are contacted through a shaman, a spiritual leader, and a healer. People are believed to have twelve souls, and maladies come from disturbances to the souls, which a shaman seeks to correct” (Carleton College, 2021).
The Hmong Home and Spiritual Practice: “The religious practices of Hmong tradition take place in the private homes of Hmong families. In fact, if one didn’t know about home altars and the practices of Hmong Shamanism that distinguish Hmong homes as sacred places, one might overlook them entirely” (Carleton College, 2021).
Christianity and Hmong Culture: Most Hmong who initially resettled in Minnesota were sponsored by Christian organizations. As a result, many Hmong individuals belong to Christian churches. “One rough estimate suggests that up to 50% of Hmong people in the U.S. are Christian, but as with other indigenous traditions around the world, Hmong Christians may continue to practice elements of Hmong traditional religion, including veneration of ancestors, and the practices of traditional Hmong Shamanism for healing” (Carleton College, 2021).
Hmong New Year: “Each year, Saint Paul’s RiverCentre is home to Minnesota’s Hmong New Year Celebration—a three-day celebration including traditional Hmong dance, music, crafts, vendors and more. The event typically coincides with the Miss Hmong Minnesota pageant”(Visit St. Paul, 2019). Many Minnesota colleges and towns also hold celebrations for the Hmong New Year.
Hmong Freedom Festival: “Considered the Olympics of the Hmong American community, the annual Hmong Freedom Festival at Como Park’s McMurray Field is the largest gathering of any Hmong sports event in the United States. The event brings in nearly 60,000 attendees over two days and features a variety of sports matches, including soccer, football, dance, and sepak takraw—a volleyball-like game that excludes the use of hands and arms. There’s also tons of great food and merchandise from a variety of vendors” (Visit St. Paul, 2019).
Hmong American Day: “May 14, 1975, was the day that General Vang Pao fled Laos and made the United States the home to hundreds of thousands of Hmong, and now May 14 is recognized as Hmong American Day in Minnesota. The day honors the contributions of the Hmong people to America and celebrates the history, culture and achievements they have made” (Visit St. Paul, 2019).
Visit Hmong Businesses and Sites: Explore Minnesota can help you determine your next site visit!
Hmong Cultural Center: Minnesota’s Hmong Cultural Center provides additional online and physical resources to learn more about Hmong culture.
Hmong Paj Ntaub (story cloths): The vibrant “paj ntaub” embroideries are more than just beautiful tapestries. They preserve history in nonverbal forms. “Hmong women were and are the stewards of the paj ntaub, making them not only remarkable artists but activist, educators, documentarians, fashionistas and entrepreneurs” (“4 reasons why the Paj Ntaub is such an important piece to being Hmong,” 2018).
Hmong Markets:
Hmongtown Marketplace – “With over 250 vendors, Hmongtown Marketplace was the first such marketplace to open in the U.S. Toua Xiong wanted a place for Hmong immigrants to come together to support one another” (Carleton College, 2021).
Hmong Village “opened in 2011 on St. Paul’s East Side. Unlike Hmongtown Marketplace, Hmong Village is all indoors with individual shops, a Hmong version of a mall. Food courts comprise a whole side of the building. There is a salon, a pharmacy, photo studio, and even a small convenience store…[T]hey both sell mostly the same products, from food and clothing to videos and herbal medicines” (Carleton College, 2021).
The Hmong population in the United States grew from 186,000 in 2000 to 327,000 in 2019 (Pew Research, 2019). Further, “Asian Americans are projected to be the nation’s largest immigrant group by the middle of the century. Single-race, non-Hispanic Asians are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the country, surpassing Hispanics in 2055. By then, Asians are expected to make up 36% of all U.S. immigrants, while Hispanics will make up 34%, according to population projections from the Pew Research Center” (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021).
Hmong Americans in Minnesota
From Wikimedia Commons.
Dr. Lee is “an associate professor of history and Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota. She came to Minnesota as a refugee from Laos in 1981 and grew up in St. Paul. A first-generation college graduate, she obtained a BA from Carleton College and an MA and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison” (Lee, 2021). Dr. Lee has written an outstanding chapter on Hmong culture and is the featured voice in this chapter, shared via the creative commons 3.1 agreement. We are grateful for her contribution to the body of academic work on the Minnesota Hmong culture. Dr. Lee explains:
The Yang family in Ban Vinai refugee camp, Thailand, ca. 1978. | Details
The Hmong who came to Minnesota have endured decades of war trauma since at least 1945. Several generations suffered confinement in Thai refugee camps. Dependent on American rice-drops during the Secret War and fed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Thai camps, many Hmong grew up never knowing the life of subsistence farming in the mountains of Laos that their ancestors led. The psychological effects of sedentary confinement and war trauma remain unfathomable. They can perhaps be best captured by literary efforts, such as those written by Minnesota authors Kao Kalia Yang in The Latehomecomer and Mai Neng Moua and others in the literary anthology Bamboo Among the Oak.
Though the Hmong played a crucial role in the Secret War, they were deemed “too primitive” to be given asylum in the United States after their exile in May 1975. Other lowland Southeast Asians, such as the Vietnamese and Cambodians, were accepted for immediate resettlement. It took some maneuvering by individual Americans and Hmong, however, to get the Hmong into the U.S. At first, only General Vang Pao, his closest associates, and others employed directly by the U.S. government were allowed into the country.
After some wrangling, U.S. policy makers amended the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act to include the Hmong. They allowed the general population to enter the country in 1976. So as not to burden only a few states, they dispersed Hmong families, like other refugee groups, across the land. Many of them, however, relocated to specific locales to reunite with their clan members. Within a few years, pockets of Hmong populations appeared in areas like the Twin Cities.
Credit for the large Twin Cities Hmong population may be owed to the area’s progressive attitude, as well as its economic and educational opportunities. Minnesota has a long history of welcoming new immigrants. Moreover, the state has a reputation for excellent student achievement in national standardized tests. The Twin Cities in particular offer good job prospects and a high standard of living.
Since the war in Laos was a “secret,” many Minnesotans who helped refugees resettle had never heard of the Hmong. Some thought they were sponsoring Vietnamese refugees. Even so, organizations like the Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, Church World Services, and other groups and individuals generously provided the newcomers with basic necessities such as housing, furniture, household utensils, food, and clothing. Others volunteered as English tutors and transporters. (Lee, 2021).
Summary of Significant Events (Lee, 2021)
The Hmong are an ethnic minority indigenous to China who migrated to mainland Southeast Asia in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century.
After aiding the U.S. military in the Secret War in the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of Hmong and their families fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand. Beginning in 1976, many of them resettled in Minnesota.
In 2015, Minnesota contains the second-largest Hmong population in the United States: over 66,000 individuals, most of whom live in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington, the most densely concentrated area in the U.S.
[In 2021, Minnesota Compass reports Minnesota’s 81,161 Hmong population, with more than 9 in 10 [94%] Hmong Minnesotans living in the Twin Cities (MN Compass, 2021).]
Chronology of Dates of Importance for Hmong Resettlement in Minnesota (Lee, 2021)
1975 The first Hmong family settles in Minnesota.
1977 Twin Cities-area Hmong create the Association of Hmong in Minnesota (AHM), a forerunner of Lao Family Community, Inc.
1980 Congress passes the U.S. Refugee Act, triggering more Hmong emigration to Minnesota and other states.
1982 Agricultural initiatives designed to support Hmong farmers—the Hiawatha Valley Farm Cooperative and the Hmong Farming Cooperative—take root in Homer and Oakdale.
1992 Choua Lee is elected to the St. Paul School Board. She is the first Hmong to hold public office in the United States.
1996 Hmong entrepreneurs found the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce.
2000 After the passage of the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act, Minnesota non-profit groups like the Lao Family Community and the Hmong Cultural Center began holding Hmong-language citizenship classes for elders.
2002 In February, Mee Moua is elected as the first Hmong politician in the Minnesota Senate.
2002 Cy Thao is elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
2004 A final wave of Hmong families arrives in the United States after the closing of Wat Tham Krabok, an unofficial refugee camp in Thailand. Hmongtown Marketplace opens in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood.
2009 Hmong Village, a shopping complex similar to Hmongtown, opens in the Phalen Park area of St. Paul’s eastside.
2010 The U.S. Census documents more than 66,000 Hmong people living in Minnesota.
2015 Governor Mark Dayton and other Minnesota politicians attend the ground-breaking ceremony of a St. Paul memorial to Hmong veterans of the Secret War.
The following article is shared with the Move-MN organization’s permission. This article follows a hate crime where the Minnesota Hmong Culture Center storefront was defaced.
photo credit: pexel.com
Anti-Asian violence needs to stop
Move Minnesota recently posted this persasive message on Asian Violence in Minnesota
Over the past year and past month especially, the cumulative effects of rising anti-Asian violence and discrimination have taken a toll on our Twin Cities community and on communities around the country.
Hateful speech against Asians and people of Asian descent has been insidious since the start of the pandemic. According to Pew Research, four in ten U.S. adults say there has been an increase in people expressing racist views toward Asians since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Since the beginning of 2021, there’s been an increase in physical assaults on Asian elderly community members in public spaces, and national outcry came to a head when a white man with a gun walked into 3 Asian-owned businesses outside of Atlanta, Georgia and killed 8 people, 6 of them Asian women.
Our thoughts go out to the 8 people whose lives were cut short in the Atlanta shooting: Delaina Ashley Yuan Gonzalez, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Sun Cha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, and Paul Andre Michels.
Of course, it’s not just Georgia. From California to New York and Ohio to Minnesota, people’s experiences of anti-Asian violence and discrimination have piled up in overwhelming numbers. As CNN recently reported, nearly 3,800 hate incidents targeting Asian Americans were reported to Stop AAPI Hate in the past year alone. Women reported hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. It’s an issue in all 50 states and in DC. Many of these reported incidents have occurred in businesses and in public spaces including parks, sidewalks, and transit. And, unfortunately, it’s likely there are even more of these incidents that go unreported.
This discrimination hits close to home. Here in the Twin Cities area, Hmong grandfather Tsong Tong Vang recently reported being targeted with anti-Asian hate speech as he walked his 5-year-old grandson to the school bus, and a number of other Asian American residents have faced similarly racist comments in other parts of the metro over the past year.
In response to this discrimination and racism, Asian and Asian American neighbors have expressed fear, outrage, and solidarity at local and national protests. These members of our community are hurting.
Anti-racism is central to Move Minnesota’s values. In service of these values, our team has worked in partnership over many years in the Frogtown and East Side neighborhoods of Saint Paul, which include some of the largest Asian populations in our state. Through this work we have partnered with local families who have biked with us, celebrated their neighborhood with us, welcomed us into their community spaces for important conversations about transportation needs and barriers, and pulled together to get critical light rail stops or a safe street crossing.
In the face of racism and trauma, we certainly don’t have all the answers or solutions. But we know that our Asian neighbors, friends, and colleagues belong. Cities, streets, and public spaces that are more equitable, accessible, and serve the needs of community must include everyone. All spaces, and especially public spaces, should be free from racial discrimination and harassment. Anti-Asian violence must stop.
What can people do?
Acknowledge that anti-Asian hate didn’t happen overnight. This type of hate toward Asian Americans has resulted in some of America’s most shameful racial discrimination policies, including the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and World War II internment.
Intervene and report when you notice racist and xenophobic discrimination against Asian people. Look into bystander training so you’re more ready when it happens. Check out some resources here and here.
Videos and Resources on Hmong-Americans Life in Minnesota
This short KARE 11 Video welcomes Gia Vang to her new position. This video shares a profile of Hmong Culture in Minnesota and is a great starting place to learn more.
Hmong New Year Celebrated in Rural Tracy, Minnesota
Pioneer PBS created a beautiful video explaining the Hmong New Year, which also explores the growth of Hmong individuals living in Minnesota.
On November 20, the Hmong community in southwest Minnesota hosted a Hmong New Year celebration in the Tracy High School gym. The day consisted of a ribbon cutting ceremony, a talent and fashion show, and traditional Hmong food. The event also celebrated the 30th anniversary of Hmong people moving to southwest Minnesota. Compass features current topics relevant to communities in Pioneer PBS’s viewing area. Stories are digital-first, meaning they’re available on Compass’ Facebook page, Pioneer PBS’s YouTube page and Compass’ website before being compiled into monthly broadcasts, which air the second Thursday of the month at 9 p.m. (YouTube Description)
Coming to Minnesota: To Change Everything in your Life
“The Hmong refugee experience (like all refugee experiences) is nothing short of dramatized surreal moments. Ya Yang, one of the first Hmong to arrive in Minnesota talks about the unclear future, the loneliness, and the motivation to help his fellow Hmong refugees in the early years of Hmong’s immigration. These digital stories are short snippets of a Hmong elder’s life. It is not more than three to five minutes but gives us an intimate look at into their personal histories that tell us so much about the Hmong immigrant experience” (Youtube Description).
TPT Originals – Hmong Artist Sieng Lee on “Becoming American”
MN Hmong Artists & The MN Hmong Museum
Origins of the Hmong 18 Clan, Folks Story
“Hmong Museum partners with spoken word artist Tou Saiko Lee to create a unique performance reviving traditional oral storytelling. This is the first of four “Hmong Chronicles” series in 2016 and 2017. In this video Russ Ly choreographs a modern dance to the story and performs it with Kao Nou Moua. The story is narrated by Long Lee and Chy Lee” (YouTube Description).
Tou Saiko Lee
“Hmong Museum partnered with Tou Saiko Lee, a Minnesota spoken word artist, to create a unique performance and experience to revive traditional oral storytelling. This is the first of four “Hmong Chronicles” series 2016. Hmong Museum is a new start-up 501(c)3 cultural organization in the Twin Cities established in 2013. It began as a passion project to bring Hmong history to life and preserve all things Hmong for future generations. As a museum without walls, the organization focuses on bringing rich cultural programming to community spaces. By 2020 the Hmong Museum plans to have a space and begin collecting Hmong art and objects” (Youtube Description).
Project Paj Ntaub with Suzanne Thao
“Hmong Museum’s longest-running program, Project Paj Ntaub, is a space for intergenerational communities to gather together and learn the art of paj ntaub. This film highlights Suzanne Thao, the project leader, who has worked with over 100 students teaching each of them the traditions her mother and grandmother taught her” (Youtube Description).
Greetings and Do’s and Don’ts
Learn Basic Greetings
You’ve decided to start learning the Hmong language, so let’s build up your vocabulary! In this video, you’ll learn some of the most important phrases in the Hmong language used every single day. If you want to start learning Hmong, this video is made for you. In this lesson, you will learn Hmong Greetings phrases. With this video you will learn to speak Hmong instantly. You will learn important Hmong phrases that is used all the time by all native Hmong speakers. You will do this by listening, repeating, and memorizing practical and useful phrases that will come in handy in many contexts. This video will help you progress in your Hmong language study. Please note, these lessons teaches the White Hmong language, which is the dominant language spoken in the Hmong diaspora in the USA (youtube description). Visit this channel for a full series of Hmong phrases and useful tutorials.
While most folks would expect to see a Hmong individual share “Greetings, Phrases and Taboos,” this video is praised for its accuracy and creativity. How does the speaker’s appearance impact your perceptions? Were you expecting to see someone who identifies as Hmong?
Training Videos
Hmong 101
“Hmong 101” presentation on Hmong culture by Txong Pao Lee and Mark E. Pfeifer, Ph.D., from the Hmong Cultural Center in Saint Paul, MN.
Kou Thao, Minnesotan Equity and Inclusion Trainer, has over 15 years of experience working with diverse communities, including immigrants/ refugees, people of color, and LGBTQ.
Chef Yia Vang, you can visit his restaurants and find numerous articles, blogs, news features, and more about his quest to share his culture’s food. He always pays tribute to his mother’s and father’s cooking and hard work.
4 reasons why the Paj Ntaub is such an important piece to being Hmong. Elephant Hustle. (2018, October 17). Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://elephanthustle.com/4-reasons-why-the-paj-ntaub-is-such-an-important-piece-to-being-hmong/
Abrams, Z. (2019, December 1). Countering stereotypes about Asian Americans. Monitor on Psychology. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/12/countering-stereotypes
Budiman, A. (2021, June 16). Hmong: Data on Asian Americans. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-hmong-in-the-u-s/
Budiman, A., & Ruiz, N. G. (2021, September 9). Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population. Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/
Carlton College. (n.d.). Hmong religiosity. Omeka RSS. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://religionsmn.carleton.edu/hmong_religiosity
Cognitive dissonance theory. Communication Studies. (2012, April 2). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from http://www.communicationstudies.com/communication-theories/cognitive-dissonance-theory
Fridman, A. (2017, September 20). What are cultural markers and how do you maintain them throughout change? Inc.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/what-are-cultural-markers-how-do-you-maintain-them-throughout-change.html#:~:text=Culture%20markers%20are%20the%20aspects,or%20even%20a%20corporate%20culture.
HAFA. (n.d.). Home. Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.hmongfarmers.com/hafa-farm.
Hmong culture & strengths. HAPA Academy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.myhapa.org/academics-2/general-info/hmong-culture-strengths/
Hmong. International Institute of Minnesota. (2017, January 17). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://iimn.org/publication/finding-common-ground/minnesotas-refugees/asia/hmong/
Hmong immigrants. Minnesota Compass. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.mncompass.org/topics/demographics/immigration/hmong-immigrants.
“Hmong Story Cloths.” Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner, et al., Gale, 2006, pp. 313-315. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2688400125/OVIC?u=mnaucrgodd&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=e90f9ed4. Accessed 18 Dec. 2021.
Hoh, A. (2020, July 23). Asia, texts, and textiles at the Library of Congress, part II: Hmong story cloths. Asia, Texts, and Textiles at the Library of Congress, Part II: Hmong Story Cloths | 4 Corners of the World: International Collections and Studies at the Library of Congress. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2020/07/asia-texts-and-textiles-at-the-library-of-congress-part-ii-hmong-story-cloths/
Jackson, R. L. (2010). Encyclopedia of identity. Sage.
Jaochico, S. (n.d.). Where to find Hmong culture & cuisine in the Twin Cities. Explore Minnesota. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.exploreminnesota.com/list/where-to-find-hmong-culture-cuisine-twin-cities
Jilani, Z. (2019, August 28). How to beat stereotypes by seeing people as individuals. Greater Good. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_beat_stereotypes_by_seeing_people_as_individuals
Lee, M. N. M. (2021, December 7). Hmong and Hmong Americans in Minnesota. MNopedia. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.mnopedia.org/hmong-and-hmong-americans-minnesota
Lee, S., Xiong, C., Pheng, L. M., & Vang, M. N. (2017). The Model Minority Maze: Hmong Americans working within and around racial discourses. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.7771/2153-8999.1153
Move Minnesota. (2021, May 15). Move minnesota statement of support and solidarity with the Asian American Community. Move Minnesota. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.movemn.org/move-minnesota-statement-of-support-and-solidarity-with-the-asian-american-community/
Natividad, I. (2021, May 14). I’m a Berkeleyan: Julie Thao is finding ways to heal trauma in her Hmong community. Berkeley News. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/05/14/im-a-berkeleyan-julie-thao-is-finding-ways-to-heal-trauma-in-her-hmong-community/.
Norton, J. (2021, May 3). Taste Minnesota’s Hmong culture. Travel. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/partner-content-minnesota-hmong-cuisine
Re-Imagining Migration. (2020, February 29). What are the predominant stereotypes about immigrants today? -Re-imagining migration. Re. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://reimaginingmigration.org/what-are-the-predominant-stereotypes-about-immigrants-today/
TEDxTalks. (2019, December 16). The impossible happens every day in the life of the refugee | Kao Kalia Yang | TEDxMinneapolis. YouTube. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuYepsQ0fwM
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Yam, K. (2021, July 31). Hmong Americans are often obscured by model minority myth. why Suni Lee’s win means so much. NBCNews.com. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/hmong-americans-are-often-obscured-model-minority-myth-why-suni-n1275567
[Author removed at request of original publisher]. (2016, September 29). University of MN. Communication in the Real World. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/front-matter/publisher-information/
Attributions
Carlton College. (n.d.). Hmong religiosity. Omeka RSS. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from https://religionsmn.carleton.edu/hmong_religiosity
“Exploring Intercultural Communication (Grothe)” by Tom Grothe, LibreTexts is licensed under CC BY .
[Author removed at request of original publisher]. (2016, September 29). The University of MN. Communication in the Real World. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/front-matter/publisher-information/
Suggested Activity: Cindy is a student who gave a video-based speech on her Hmong culture. She explains that her family came from Laos after the Secret War and eventually resettled in Minnesota. 
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. First published: January 27, 2016 | Last modified: December 7, 2021
