English essay

This article is an edited chapter on the m ajor historical events and contem porary

characteristics of the Hm ong Am erican com m unity, excerpted from The New Face of

Asian Pacific Am erica: N um bers, D iversity, and Change in the 21st Century , edited

by Eric Lai and Dennis Arguelles in conjunction with AsianW eek M agazine and

published by the UCLA Asian Am erican Studies Center.

A P o p u l a t i o n W i t h o u t a N a t i o n

The Hmong people are an ethnic group whose origins go back about 3,000 years in China. Most

Hmong -- about eight million -- still live in southwestern China. Another four million live in the

Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam, where they immigrated during

the 19th century following centuries of persecution in China. There, they existed mostly as

farmers living in rural areas.

The first Hmong migration of notable size to the United States began with the fall of Saigon and

Laos to Communist forces in 1975. Many Hmong had worked with pro-American anti-Communist

forces during the conflicts in Vietnam and Laos. As a result, they were subject to violence and

retribution in Laos. Many Hmong escaped Laos to Thailand where they were incarcerated in

refugee camps.

From 1981 to 1986, the number

of Hmong refugees slowed to a

few thousand each year, but

admissions picked up again

between 1987 and 1994, when

about 56,000 Hmong refugees

were accepted. After 1994,

Hmong refugee admissions

slowed to a trickle as most of

the Thai camps were by now

empty, with the remaining

Hmong repatriated to Laos.

Also, Hmong immigration based on family reunification remains low, especially compared to other

Southeast Asian ethnic groups.

With the first wave that arrived in the late 1970s and early 1980s, voluntary resettlement agencies

purposely tried to disperse the Hmong around the country, such as Providence (RI), Philadelphia,

Chicago, Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City (KS), Denver, Missoula (MT), Tulsa, and Salt Lake City. This

strategy, however, proved unsuccessful as many Hmong were settled in a poor, predominantly

African American neighborhoods where they encountered much hostility and violence.

Also, many Hmong wished to be reunited with family and clan members. These reasons led to a

massive shift of the Hmong population in the mid-to- late 1980s to central California cities like

Fresno, Stockton, and Merced, and to a lesser extent, to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The 2000

Census counted 186,310 Hmong Americans across the U.S. (single race or part-Hmong),

representing a nearly 90 percent increase in the population from 1990. Many agree, however, that

the figure is probably a significant undercount.

B u i l d i n g a N e w H o m e

During the 1990s, the Hmong moved again: away from the West and towards the Midwest and the

South. This shift was epitomized by the emergence of Minneapolis and St. Paul as the unofficial

capitals of Hmong America, taking over from Fresno. About half of Hmong today live in the

Midwest, mostly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, compared to 41 percent in 1990.

Meanwhile, the proportion of Hmong in the Western states fell to 42 percent in 2000 from 55

percent in 1990. Around 6 percent of the Hmong now live in the South (with most in North and

South Carolina), an impressive increase from just 1.3 percent in 1990. In 2000, the Hmong

population numbered in the Northeastern states remained very small, at just 2 percent.

Why did Minneapolis-St. Paul emerge as the new Hmong American capital? The opportunity to

make a better life seems to be at the heart of things. "The cost of living is cheaper here than in

California," Lee Pao Xiong, president of the Urban Coalition in St. Paul, told the Associated Press.

"The quality of education is better here, and jobs are available here." Xiong said he's recruited 10

families from his own extended family to come here from California in recent years. "They came

here and they found jobs within a month or two and are making ten, eleven, twelve dollars an

hour," he said.

A 2002 community

directory provides

listings of 13 Hmong

community

organizations and 39

Hmong religious

congregations in the

Minneapolis-St. Paul

area. Whereas many

Hmong in

California's Central

Valley have taken up

their old occupations

of farming, those in

Minneapolis have

found jobs working in factories. But there is a substantial emerging class of Hmong small

business owners -- many of them congregated near St. Paul's University Avenue -- and college-

educated Hmong professionals going into fields like law, medicine, and non-profit management.

And the United States' first Hmong politician, a 32-year-old female lawyer named Mee Moua, was

elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 2002.

The Hmong came to America less-prepared for the modern capitalistic society of their new home

than most other immigrant groups. Most had been farmers in their native country, and did not

graduate from high school or the equivalent. As a result, many Hmong families when they first

arrived were forced to go on public assistance. Data from the 2000 Census shows considerable

upward socioeconomic movement, as many Hmong settled into stable or more lucrative jobs.

L o o k i n g t o t h e F u t u r e

Traditionally, the Hmong favor large families with many children. Some of this can be explained by

the Hmong's traditional farming roots. As a result, Hmong households average more than six

persons per house or apartment in Minnesota and Wisconsin, compared to about 2.5 persons

among the entire population. This helps explain the huge Hmong American population growth

between 1990 and 2000, despite the decline in refugee admissions after 1994. These

demographic trends suggest the Hmong population will continue to be among the fastest growing

Asian group in the United States in the coming decades.

The Hmong are a fairly tight-knit group; many community leaders are old clan leaders or

politicians from Laos and are their descendents and relatives. For instance, the Hmong general

Vang Pao, who commanded the Hmong forces fighting against the Communist North Vietnamese,

remains a political leader for many Hmong in America.

Still, there is a new generation of Hmong leaders emerging. They are young, well-educated, and

not necessarily willing to be as beholden to old loyalties based on clan affiliation. Cleaved along

this generational divide, the younger leaders support the reform of some aspects of Hmong

culture that may clash with American customs. For instance, Hmong womens' groups have

campaigned against polygamy, domestic violence, and teenage brides -- not common but not

unheard of among more traditional Hmong.

Other leaders are trying to tackle the increasing number of Hmong youth being lured into gangs.

Others are trying to encourage Hmong entrepreneurship, a traditional route to the middle-class

for immigrants but one less common with the Hmong. Vang Pao, for instance, has established a

program with St. Thomas University in St. Paul to provide technical assistance to Hmong small

businesspeople. While Hmong Americans certainly face a number of challenges, they are moving

forward into a brighter future.

A u t h o r C i t a t i o n

Copyright © 2003 by Mark E. Pfeifer, Eric Lai, Dennis Arguelles, AsianWeek Magazine, and the

UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Reprinted in accordance with Section 107 of the U.S.

Copyright Act of 1976.

Suggested reference: Pfeifer, Mark E. 2003. "Hmong Americans" Asian-Nation: The Landscape

of Asian America. <http://www.asian-nation.org/hmong.shtml> (September 24, 2014).