Highlights Archives
New Book Celebrates the Hmong in Wisconsin
Since the late 1970s more 130,000 Hmong have been resettled to the United States. Hmong first resettled in Wisconsin in 1975 and 1976. The state now ranks third in the nation for Hmong population, with more than 45,000 Hmong currently living in Wisconsin today.
Many Hmong refugees who settled in the United States are veterans who fought for the United States against the communists during the Vietnam War. After the war ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao gained control of Laos and persecuted and imprisoned many Hmong allies of the United States. From 1975 to the early 1990s, about 100,000 Hmong fled to this country seeking freedom.
Many Hmong people believe that the word Hmong means "free" or "free people." Throughout their history, the Hmong have struggled to be free, often risking their lives in the process. Yet they have survived, largely due to their strong family ties, a sense of connection that binds them together as one family, born of one mother, as ancient Hmong stories teach.
The Wisconsin Historical Society Press has documented the personal story of one Hmong girl, Mai Ya Xiong and her family in a new book called Mai Ya's Long Journey. Their journey from the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Madison, Wisconsin, is extraordinary. Yet it is typical of the stories of the 200,000 Hmong people who now live in the United States and who struggle to adjust to American society while maintaining their own culture as a free people.
Author and former ESL teacher Shelia Cohen talks about the importance of telling Mai Ya's story. "When the first Hmong students began to appear in our classrooms twenty-five years ago, little was known about their culture or why they had immigrated to the United States. At that time, there was no literature for young people to help them understand their new Hmong classmates. As important, the Hmong students had no place to turn to find their experiences in print. Fortunately, today there are more books about the Hmong for young readers but most of them are based on folktales or are fictional stories. The actual Hmong experiences of secretly aiding the United States military during the Vietnam War; of having to escape their hillside homes in Laos in order to save their lives; and of needing to resettle in a totally unfamiliar society, are rarely touched upon. It is important to tell the story. It is my hope that Mai Ya's Long Journey will enlighten Hmong children and instill a sense of pride in who they are while enabling all young readers to develop a better understanding of their Hmong classmates and neighbors."
Mai Ya's Long Journey is the first book in the Press's new Badger Biographies Series, designed to help upper elementary and middle-school readers explore the stories of Wisconsin people.
Visit the Wisconsin Historical Museum Shop for copies of Mai Ya and other publications by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
:: Posted September 26, 2005
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