By Katrya Ly
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Like the practice of making paj ntaub, Hmong people as a diasporic community are woven together by cultural and creative threads. No matter where they may live in the world, Hmong people share a global and interwoven history. While much of Hmong American and Hmong Lao history is grounded by the U.S. Secret War in Laos, the Hmong generations of today continue to redefine themselves and push for an understanding of their roots beyond the violence and sorrow of the war.
This article explores Hmong pioneers who have redefined what it means to be Hmong in the contemporary. Through an examination of academia, politics, and art, we will explore the different ways that Hmong people have documented their culture and heritage within America. By exploring these fields, we can dream and anticipate what Hmong joy and creativity looks like for future Hmong generations.
Hmong in Academia
The first wave of Hmong refugees to arrive in America was in late 1975. However, prior to their arrival, a few Hmong people had already been studying in the United States. Pre-1975, scholar and historian Kou Yang documents that Tou Fue Vang and Shur Vang had already graduated college in America and returned to Laos. Additionally, Bruce T. Bliatout was a doctoral student at Tulane University in New Orleans and shared a list of nine Hmong high school students in America at that time. Some of these students later supported early Hmong refugees to adapt to their new way of life in America. For example, students such as Bruce Bliatout and Anthony K. Vang used their education to co-found the Hmong National Development Inc., a national advocacy organization for the Hmong American community.
Hmong people have continued this legacy of pursuing higher education and utilizing academia as one way to document Hmong history and knowledge. As of the 2017-2019 American Community Survey (IPUMS), Pew Research Center reported that 17% of the Hmong population ages 25 and older in the United States has a bachelor’s degree, while 6% have a postgrad degree. Furthermore, the Hmong Studies Journal, a peer-reviewed academic publication established in 1996, is “devoted to the scholarly discussion of Hmong history, Hmong culture, Hmong people, and other facets of the Hmong experience in the U.S., Asia and around the world.” The publication devotes itself to academic studies that highlight the Hmong diaspora, culture, and history. The following section highlights a few Hmong scholars that have paved the way for Hmong studies in academia.
Dr. Yang Dao
Dr. Yang Dao is the first Hmong person to receive his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Yang received his PhD in Social Science from the Sorbonne, University of Paris in 1972. Despite being offered a university job in France, Yang decided to return to war-torn Laos to be with his family and to support the Hmong community. Returning to Laos, Yang worked as the Director of the Human Resources Department in the Ministry of Planning of the Royal Lao Government. He later went on to serve as a member of the National Political Council in Laos and supported negotiating the flight of Hmong from refugee camps to the U.S. in 1975.
Yang has spent time living in Laos, France, and the United States. In 1983, he was hired as a Southeast Asia specialist at the University of Minnesota. Through this job, Yang learned English, his sixth language. As a scholar, Yang has traveled across America giving speeches to Hmong communities and urging students to pursue their education.
Dr. Dia Cha
Dr. Dia Cha is considered the first Hmong woman to receive her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Born in Laos, Cha resettled in the U.S. with her family members in 1979. Cha began her formal education during ninth grade and graduated high school in 1983. As a new refugee, Cha recalled facing racism from her white peers and not understanding the curriculum that was taught in all English. Despite these challenges, Cha graduated high school ranking 30th out of 251 students.
She later went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Anthropology from Metropolitan State College in 1989, a Master of Arts (MA) in Applied Anthropology from Northern Arizona University in 1992, and her PhD in Medical Anthropology from University of Colorado at Boulder in 2000. Cha is a former professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud University (SCSU) in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She is best known for her award-winning books, Hmong American Concepts of Health, Healing, and Conventional Medicine (2003) and Dia’s Story Cloth: The Hmong People’s Journey to Freedom (1996).
Dr. Kou Yang
Dr. Kou Yang was a Professor Emeritus of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. During his time as an Ethnic Studies professor from 1998 to 2013, Yang created one of the first Hmong studies classes. Created in 2001, “The Hmong Cultural Experience in the United States” continues to be offered on campus and renamed as “The Hmong American Experience.”
Born in Laos, Yang came to America in 1976, speaking a few words of English and French. He received an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in 1982 from Long Beach City College, a BA in 1987 from CSU Fresno, a Master of Social Work (MSW) in 1991 from CSU Fresno, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from the Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at CSU Fresno and University of California, Davis in 1995.
As a scholar, Yang wrote extensively on Hmong diaspora, history, and culture. He also served as an advisor to the Hmong Student Association at CSU Stanislaus and mentored many students to pursue teaching, social work, community leadership, and graduate school.
Hmong in Politics
Shaped by the global politics of the Secret War, Hmong American politicians have often discussed their personal and/or family histories as motivation for their pursuit of political careers. Serving as a representative voice for the Hmong community, Hmong American politicians have demonstrated political power and community support. The following section highlights a few Hmong Americans that have shaped Hmong history in the United States.
Yang See
Frustrated by the few refugees being evacuated by the CIA during the Secret War in Laos, Yang See played a pivotal role in helping non-military Hmong refugee families make their way to the United States. During the Secret War, he was known as the radio code “Glass Man,” and worked as principal assistant to the liaison between the CIA and the Lao Royal Army. See was an important asset to the CIA and a key player in supporting Hmong refugees. Using his own money, See paid for hundreds of refugees to escape Laos and cross the Mekong River to reach the safety of refugee camps in Thailand. However, even after families had made it to the Thai refugee camps, the American government deemed that Hmong refugees were not suitable for resettlement in the United States.
In November of 1975, See and Dr. Yang Dao traveled to the U.S. in hopes of persuading the U.S. government to allow more refugees to be resettled. As Dr. Yang Dao recalled, See told State Department officials that he spoke English, French, and Lao; and that other Hmong people would also be able to speak English like him. A month after his visit, See would receive a phone call from the Secretary of State’s office, notifying him that the U.S. began accepting refugees from Laos in their resettlement program. Despite being a quiet and humble man, See leaves behind an enormous legacy. His selfless efforts are the reason why many Hmong families were able to resettle in the United States.
Mee Moua
Mee Moua is a Hmong American politician who served three terms in the Minnesota Senate from 2002 to 2010. She is the first Hmong American to be elected to a state legislature in the United States and the first Asian woman to serve in the Minnesota Legislature. Born in Xieng Khouang, Laos during the Secret War, Moua and her family fled Laos for Thailand. They lived in a refugee camp for four years before relocating to Rhode Island, U.S. when she was nine years old. Moua and her family later settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. Moua received a BA in 1992 from Brown University and later studied law at the University of Minnesota in 1997.
During her time in the state senate, Moua is best known for funding the Phalen Corridor and Metropolitan State University Library, increasing the ability to build affordable housing, improving tax policies for low-income Minnesotans, and fighting for civil rights. Her election was especially important to the Hmong community, as Minnestota housed the most Hmong people in the United States. After leaving the Minnesota Senate, Moua became the Vice President of Strategic Impact Initiatives for the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum. She also served as the President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Sheng Thao
Sheng Thao is the first Hmong American to be a mayor of a major city in the United States. Thao is the 51st mayor of Oakland, California, winning her election in 2022 and serving a little over 433,000 constituents. Thao was born and raised in Stockton, California. Coming from a Hmong refugee family, Thao grew up in poverty. As a child, she and her family used social services and lived in public housing. In her early 20s, she found herself in an abusive relationship, isolated from her family, and pregnant. Escaping the relationship, Thao worked at a local community college and began taking classes. She became the class valedictorian and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she received a BA in Legal Studies. In 2018, Thao was the first Hmong American council member in California history, winning City Council District 4.
Hmong in Art
Contemporary Hmong art blends and borrows techniques and aesthetics of traditional Hmong art with modern mediums and meanings. As a form of story, documentation, and commentary, Hmong art has expanded beyond traditional mediums, such as paj ntaub or oral stories and folklore. As Gary Yia Lee, PhD and Nicholas Tapp, PhD write in Culture and Customs of the Hmong (2010), two major literary organizations nurture artists in Hmong literature and playwriting. The organizations, both housed in Saint Paul, Minnesota are the Hmong American Institute of Learning (HAIL) [in 2007 the organization later changed its mission statement and name to Hmong Arts Connection (HArC)] and the Center for Hmong Arts and Talents (CHAT).
HAIL published Paj Ntaub Voice, a literary journal established in 1994 that was devoted to Hmong art and culture. The journal was intended to be a space of community for Hmong artists and contains original literary and visual artwork. Paj Ntaub Voice’s goals included “Building a body of Hmong writers and artists, promoting writing by Hmong writers as well as writing about the Hmong, and creating a community forum to engage in discussions on issues that affect the Hmong, and to celebrate and affirm Hmong writers in public readings.”
While no longer active, archived works contain the literary works of Hmong and non-Hmong artists, capturing a time in the mid-1990s where Hmong families began sending their children to college. From the archived works, readers can hear from young Lao and Hmong artists who began to share their stories and poetry about growing up in America.
Apart from journals, with the rise of social media, Hmong artists can find more accessible avenues to share their work. Like young Hmong artists in the 1990s, contemporary Hmong artists utilize their mediums to share what it means to be Hmong in this new generation. New avenues, such as Hmong American Ink & Stories (HAIS), a literary journal that started at Fresno State in 2019, or online communities, such as HManganime, a Facebook group started in 2015, are intended to support Hmong artists and foster community.
To learn more about Hmong artists that have collaborated with Hmong Museum, please see here.
Conclusion
Hmong people continue to shape the fabric of America and the larger global Hmong community every day. Readers are encouraged to explore other avenues that Hmong continue redefining and pushing their creativity. The current and future generations of Hmong people continue to weave the paj ntaub of Hmong people, culture, and history.
References
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Budiman, A. (2021, April 29). Hmong | Data on Asian Americans. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-hmong-in-the-u-s/#educational-attainment-of-hmong-population-in-the-u-s-2019
Bui, Tiffany. (2019, October 25). The ‘Glass Man’: How a former CIA worker helped bring the Hmong to America. MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/10/25/how-a-former-cia-worker-helped-bring-the-hmong-to-america
City of Oakland. (n.d.). Mayor Sheng Thao. City of Oakland. https://www.oaklandca.gov/officials/sheng-thao
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The Hmong Institute. (n.d.). Dia Cha, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Hmong Institute. https://thehmonginstitute.org/hmi_people/dia-cha/
Minnesota Legislature. (n.d.). Moua, Mee. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10744
Stucky, M. (2017, June 2). Dia Cha, Former Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, St. Cloud State University, Minnesota – Crossing East Archive. Crossing East. http://www.crossingeast.org/crossingeastarchive/2017/06/02/dia-cha-fullinterview/
Vang, S. A. (2021, February 7). Kou Yang, Hmong Pioneer and Scholar 1954-2021. Hmong American Experience. https://hmongamerican.org/kou-yang-hmong-pioneer-and-scholar-1954-2021/
Wolfson, R. (2023, May 30). Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Lao Literature in Diaspora at 50 | 4 Corners of the World. Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2023/05/looking-back-looking-ahead-lao-literature-in-diaspora-at-50/
Women in Wisconsin. (n.d.). Mee Moua – Wisconsin Women Making History. Wisconsin Women Making History. https://womeninwisconsin.org/profile/mee-moua/
Yang, D. (2014). Welcoming remarks by Dr. Yang Dao at the Hmong Across Borders Conference. Hmong Studies Journal, 15(2), 1-4.
Yang, D. (Director). (2015). Interview with Dr. Yang Dao [Film]. Center for Hmong Studies. https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll548:1152
Contributing Editor: Yia Vue
Illustrator: Alex Yang