The Hmong Among Us By NaoHoua Tony Yang HISTORY The Hmong history is dated back as far as 5,000 years ago in Mainland China. According to scholars, the Hmong may have lived in Southern China years before the Chinese occupied China. At the beginning, the Hmong lived peacefully and lived in isolation from the Chinese and other ethnic groups. However, their isolation didn’t last long due to the Chinese government’s consolidation of China in the late 1700s. Because of this, there were major conflicts and problems between the Hmong and the Chinese. War broke out, and they fought each other for years. The Hmong lost the war because they were farmers and didn’t have sufficient military advancements as the Chinese. The Hmong didn’t just loss the war, but they lost everything, including lives and their homeland, to the Chinese. In the early 1800s, those that survived the war moved southward and made their homes in the countries of Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. The majority of Hmong escaped and settled in Northern Laos and called Laos home. In Northern Laos, the Hmong were rice and vegetable farmers who did their farming on the hillsides by, using “slash –n- burn”, cutting and burning forests. CULTURE The word Hmong, in English, is pronounced with a silent “H” , Mong . The Hmong is a clan based and family oriented people. The Hmong has a total of 18 clan names. Their last name is their clan name. The clan name is very important to them. It gives them a sense of identity, it tells others who they are, and which family they belong to. The clan system also helps families deal with major crisis or challenges that can’t be resolved within the families. The Hmong always live very close to their family, extended families, and relatives. Many Hmong families have multiple generations living together such as grand parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and etc. The Hmong also has two very distinctive dialects when speaking. The most commonly used dialect is the White Hmong dialect and the other is the Green Hmong dialect. RELIGION The majority of Hmong today are shamanist. They also practice what is called “ancestors worship.” The Hmong believe that spirits reside in all things. They believe that homes, ponds, rivers, hills, valleys, bluffs, mountains, and even the deaths have individual spirits. For centuries, the Hmong have bought into the concept that there are “good” and “bad” spirits. The good spirits are house and ancestors spirits. These good spirits will help and protect you. The bad spirits are spirits of the wild such as rivers, bluffs, mountains, and etc. These bad spirits populate the uninhabited areas and they are more likely to curse or cause harm to the individual if one is not careful. HMONG HOLIDAYS The only known holiday for the Hmong people is the Hmong New Year. The Hmong New Year is the longest and most popular celebration in the Hmong community. When it is celebrate, the festival lasts, two days in the U.S., two weeks in Laos. Traditionally, the festival is usually celebrated in late November toward early December. However, due to the winter season, some Hmong communities in Wisconsin and Minnesota will celebrate between June and early October in order to host the festival out door. The Hmong ball tossing game is one of the most colorful New Year activities. It is played by older boys and girls. The boys and girls line up in two rows facing each other. The lines were from 20 to 30 feet apart. The players throw a soft ball back and forth to each other. The festival is a time for boys and girls to show case their family’s wealth by wearing silver coins and their expensive decorated clothes. The New Year is also an opportunity for many Hmong to show case their traditional singing and music talents. Today, the festival also includes a variety of booth vendors that offer traditional foods tastings to crafts and gifts along with multiple sports entertainments for everyone’s enjoyment. All Hmong New Year Festivals in the United States are opened to everyone including our non-Hmong friends and neighbors. WHY ARE THE HMONG HERE IN AMERICA? During the Vietnam War, the Hmong was recruited by the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) to help the United States fight against the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. The main reason the Hmong decided to serve with the U.S. was because they too didn’t want communism to spread into, their homeland, Laos. In 1962, General Vang Pao, a Hmong leader, and the United States’ CIA signed an agreement to support one another. The Hmong’s jobs were to guard and attack the Ho Chin Minh’s Trial, rescue down American pilots, fight enemies on the ground, and gather information about enemy troops. The U.S. government’s job was to help the Hmong with military supplies, foods, shelters, and to fight the enemy from the sky. The Hmong were good fighters, but just like any war, thousands of lives were lost. About 45,000 Hmong soldiers and their family members including women and children died. In 1975, the communist won the war. The United States pulled out of Laos and the American soldiers returned home. Thousands of Hmong had no home to return to. The communists sought revenge against the Hmong for sided with the U.S. Many Hmong leaders were captured, tortured, and killed. Hmong villages and farms were destroyed. The Hmong had no choice but to escape to other countries, hide in the jungles, or surrender and be killed by the communists. LIFE FOR THE HMONG IN THE UNITED STATES Many Hmong refugees were farmers and had never attend any form of schooling before they came to this country. Most Hmong came here without any money or the right skills to get a good job. The majority of Hmong came to this country did not even know how to read and write in their native language. Once they arrived in the Unites States, many had to learn how to drive, use the stove, turn on a light switch, flush the toilet, operate the telephone, and speak English so they could live a normal life in this country. Right now, there are more than 250,000 Hmong refugees who are living all over the Unites States. Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, North Carolina are the four states that have the greatest number of Hmong refugees. The Hmong are trying very hard to live a life like their American neighbors. Many of them try very hard and some try harder than other people can ever know. Most American have had many years to get to where they are now. The Hmong have just been in this country for a very short period of time, so they still have a long way to go. HMONG IN LA CROSSE Many Hmong people have been living in the La Crosse area since 1980. Right now, La Crosse County has about 2,800 Hmong. Of the 18 Hmong clans, there are 11 clans in the La Crosse area. They are the Chang, Hang, Her, Lee, Lo, Moua, Thao, Vang, Vue, Xiong, and Yang. So, one might asks, why do many Hmong families choose to live in La Crosse? Well, the beautiful city, the schools, and the people of La Crosse who have made the Hmong feel welcome. Also, the rivers, the bluffs, and the recreational opportunities La Crosse offers are very similar to that of their home country Laos. These are a few of the reasons why Hmong families have picked to make their home in La Crosse. The Hmong feel that La Crosse is their home now, they are here to stay, and they want to help make this community a good place for everyone to live. .