Hmong and education Understanding the Hmong, their experiences with education, and imagining equal opportunities for growth and upward mobilization.

Who are the hmong Asian ethnic group from mountainous regions of Southeast Asia: Laos, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia Strong ethnic group striving for: Political autonomy - stay in mountains away from other ethnic groups and strict government regulations, French colonizers gave Hmong autonomy after revolt in 1919 Economically self-sufficient - practice slash & burn, raise animals, hunt, pick wild plants, cultivate and sell opium for cash crops (pay taxes), make and sell/trade textile art (paj ntaub) for tools and other materials Cultural preservation – language, culture, religion/spiritual beliefs, tradition, rituals

The Hmong always had a close relationship to nature – because of it, the Lao saw them as PRIMITIVE. The Hmong lacked access to schools because the schools were built so far away – built near Lao population. When Hmong children took the long trip to school, they were poorly treated – DISCRIMINATION, PREJUDICE, INEQUALITY. Education in laos

The Secret war 1960-1975 1st Indochina War 1946-1954 http://youtu.be/ye2rzEKbz8I 1st Indochina War 1946-1954 2nd Indochina War AKA the Vietnam War The Secret War inside the Vietnam War US operation in Laos backed by the CIA CIA recruited the Hmong to fight alongside them against Communists in 1960 Hmong found themselves geographically in the middle of the war; mountainous regions key factor in “winning” war US out of Vietnam in 1972 Hmong originally did not qualify for US asylum because they were viewed as “too primitive” First Wave of refugees (1975-1977) – General Vang Pao and his soldiers (mainly chief officers) Second Wave of refugees (1978-1982) – Refugee Act of 1980 allowed for sponsorship of family members Laos became the poorest country in the world 1979 exodus Third Wave of refugees (1982-1986) – life hiding in the jungle, make life in refugee camps, famine, prejudice and discrimination

Hmong in the us According to the 2010 Census Hmong Populations of U.S. Metro and Micro Areas, the Twin Cities hold the largest Hmong population in the United States: 64,422 http://mn.gov/capm/pdf/2012aptownhall.pdf Page 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, (25), 26

A non-literate oral society in poverty English-language difficulties How do you succeed, do well, get by, or pass in school without proficient English skills? After puberty, more difficult to learn Lau vs Nichols (1974): establishing bilingual education as a student right: Chinese-Americans denied equal opportunities based on their ethnicity  language-based discrimination functioning as nation/ethnic origin discrimination? If US does not have an official language, why aren’t there more resources for non-English speakers, and established in institutions? Does it help claiming diversity? VS difference How does the dominant culture effect other groups that do not share similar experiences or struggles? The Hmong are amongst the poorest ethnic groups in the U.S. Major disparities in educational attainment for the Hmong.

Sociological lens of john duffy Literacy was introduced to the Hmong through the context of churches. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, Christians were among the first to greet Hmong refugees coming into the U.S. These sponsors helped them find housing, employment, donated food, and served as their main resource for assimilating and surviving in an unknown land. “In rhetoric of Christian sponsorship, literacy practice was a solicitation, an invitation to Hmong readers to identify with Christian values and embrace the rites and rituals observed by the congregations that had welcomed the refugees. (131)” Church sponsors offered the Hmong a “Christian identity and a conception of the world. (136)”

Sociological lens of john duffy Literacy was introduced to the Hmong through the context of schools. “Educational ‘reformers’ of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries grasped the potential of schooling and literacy as a means for maintaining social control. In their view, education was a means through which to instill discipline and prepare the working class, including immigrant populations for their places in an increasingly urban, industrial society. Literacy and education were offered not for their own sake, as a means for promoting intellectual and personal growth, but were intended to instill secular moral values and faith in commercial and industrial capitalism. In this way might education, wrote a nineteenth-century New York City school principal, ‘solve every problem of our national life, even that of assimilating our foreign element’. (138)”

“A strong education, for some, can help in that regard as it empowers individuals by giving them cultural, social, and economic capital.” There is a need for increased attention of the Hmong experience in order to offer resources directed specifically for emerging Hmong communities. (Dhringa and Rodriguez 86)

Dhingra, Pawan and Robyn Magalit Rodriguez. Asian America. Malden, 2014. Print. Hein, Jeremy. The Double Diaspora. Duffy, John. Writing from these Roots. FA Shoemaker. “The Most Secret Place On Earth The CIAs Covert War In Laos 2008.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 9 June 2014. Web. 20 February 2015. Kao, Brian, "2012 Asian Pacific Town Hall." Hmong American Partnership, MN. 2012 Feb. 18. Work cited