Hmong people: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
GreenC bot (talk | contribs) Reformat 5 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:USURPURL and JUDI batch #20 |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Ethnic group in southwest China and Southeast Asia}} |
|||
{{Other uses of|Hmong}} |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} |
|||
{{Distinguish|Mon people}} |
|||
{{multiple issues| |
|||
{{refimprove|date=January 2016}} |
|||
{{original research|date=January 2016}} |
|||
{{unreliable sources|date=January 2016}} |
|||
}} |
|||
{{Infobox ethnic group |
{{Infobox ethnic group |
||
| group = Hmong |
| group = Hmong people |
||
| native_name = {{script|Hmng|𖬌𖬣𖬵}} |
|||
| image = [[File:Hmong women at Coc Ly market, Sapa, Vietnam.jpg|200px]] |
|||
| native_name_lang = hmn |
|||
| caption = Flower Hmong in traditional dress at the market in [[Bắc Hà]], [[Vietnam]]. 17 year old Lyne Hmong, positioned in the left. |
|||
| image = [[File:Hmong women at Coc Ly market, Sapa, Vietnam.jpg |200px]] |
|||
| population = 4 to 15 million<ref name=Lemoine2005>{{Cite journal |
|||
| caption = Flower Hmong women in traditional dress at the market in [[Bắc Hà District|Bắc Hà]], [[Vietnam]] |
|||
| last = Lemoine | first = Jacques |
|||
| population = 4–5 million<ref name=Lemoine2005>{{Cite journal |
|||
| year = 112510000000 bc |
|||
|last= Lemoine |
|||
| title = What is the actual number of (H)mong in the world? |
|||
|first= Jacques |
|||
| journal = Hmong Studies Journal |
|||
|year= 2005 |
|||
| volume = 6 |
|||
|title= What is the actual number of (H)mong in the world? |
|||
| url = http://www.hmongstudies.org/LemoineHSJ6.pdf |
|||
|journal= Hmong Studies Journal |
|||
|volume= 6 |
|||
|url= http://www.hmongstudies.org/LemoineHSJ6.pdf |
|||
|access-date= 1 March 2009 |
|||
|archive-date= 21 July 2011 |
|||
|url-status= usurped |
|||
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721021307/http://hmongstudies.org/LemoineHSJ6.pdf |
|||
}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
||
| region1 = {{flag|China}} |
| region1 = {{flag|China}} |
||
| pop1 = 2,777,039 (2000, estimate){{noteTag|1=There is no official [[census]] of the Hmong people in China, as they are classified as a subgroup of the [[Miao people]] there.}} |
|||
| pop1 = |
|||
| ref1 = |
| ref1 = <ref name=Lemoine2005 /> |
||
| region2 = {{flag|Vietnam}} |
| region2 = {{flag|Vietnam}} |
||
| pop2 = 1, |
| pop2 = 1,393,547 (2019) |
||
| ref2 = <ref name="Census2019">{{cite web |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YK6iY-j0AfZTuip28Py2Gmz5P8zw04Rn/view?usp=sharing |title=Report on Results of the 2019 Census |publisher=General Statistics Office of Vietnam |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> |
|||
| ref2 = <ref>{{cite web|title=The 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census: Completed Results |url=http://www.gso.gov.vn/Modules/Doc_Download.aspx?DocID=12724 |publisher=General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee |date=June 2010 |accessdate=26 November 2013 |page=134 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018040824/http://www.gso.gov.vn/Modules/Doc_Download.aspx?DocID=12724 |archivedate=18 October 2013 |df= }}</ref> |
|||
| region3 = {{flag|Laos}} |
| region3 = {{flag|Laos}} |
||
| pop3 = 595,028 (2015) |
| pop3 = 595,028 (2015) |
||
| ref3 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PHC-ENG-FNAL-WEB_0.pdf |title=Results of Population and Housing Census 2015 |publisher=Lao Statistics Bureau |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> |
|||
| ref3 = |
|||
| region4 = {{flag|United States}} |
| region4 = {{flag|United States}} |
||
| pop4 = 368,609 (2021) |
|||
| pop4 = 260,073 (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/ |title=American FactFinder |publisher=Factfinder2.census.gov |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref> |
|||
| ref4 = <ref>{{Cite web|title=B02018 Asian Alone Or in Any Combination by Selected Groups – 2021: 1-year estimates Detailed Tables – United States|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=B02018&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B02018|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> |
|||
| ref4 = |
|||
| region5 |
| region5 = {{flag|Thailand}} |
||
| pop5 = |
| pop5 = 250,070 (2015) |
||
| ref5 |
| ref5 = |
||
| region6 |
| region6 = {{flag|Myanmar}} |
||
| pop6 = |
| pop6 = 2,000–3,000 (2007) |
||
| ref6 = <ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=G.Y. |title=Diaspora and the Predicament of Origins: Interrogating Hmong Postcolonial History and Identity |url=https://www.hmongstudiesjournal.org/uploads/4/5/8/7/4587788/gyleehsj8.pdf |access-date=10 December 2024}}</ref> |
|||
| ref6 = |
|||
| region7 = {{flag| |
| region7 = {{flag|Argentina}} |
||
| ref7 = <ref name="Lemoine" /> |
|||
| pop7 = 2,190 |
|||
| pop7 = 600 (1999) |
|||
|ref7 =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/download?format=xls&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&areacode=0 |title=ABS Census – ethnicity |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref> |
|||
| region8 = {{flag| |
| region8 = {{flag|Australia}} |
||
| pop8 = |
| pop8 = 3,438 (2011) |
||
| ref8 = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/download?format=xls&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&areacode=0 |title=ABS Census – ethnicity |access-date=7 June 2012 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518183126/https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/cowsredirect |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
|||
|ref8 =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3498056.stm |title=Hmong's new lives in Caribbean |date= 2004-03-10 |accessdate=2014-03-11}}</ref> |
|||
| region9 = {{flag| |
| region9 = {{flag|France}} ([[French Guiana]]) |
||
| pop9 = |
| pop9 = 2,000 (2001) |
||
| ref9 = <ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3498056.stm |title=Hmong's new lives in Caribbean |date= 10 March 2004 |access-date=11 March 2014}}</ref> |
|||
| ref9 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1|title=2011 National Household Survey Profile - Province/Territory|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|publisher=}}</ref> |
|||
| region10 = |
| region10 = {{flag|France}} |
||
| pop10 = |
| pop10 = 15,000 |
||
| ref10 = <ref name="Lemoine" /> |
|||
|ref10 = |
|||
| region11 = |
| region11 = {{flag|Canada}} |
||
| pop11 = |
| pop11 = 600 (1999) |
||
| ref11 = <ref name="Lemoine">{{cite news|author1=Jacques Lemoine|publisher=Hmong Studies Journal|url=http://www.hmongstudies.org/LemoineHSJ6.pdf|title=What is the actual number of the (H)mong in the world|year=2005|access-date=1 March 2009|archive-date=21 July 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721021307/http://hmongstudies.org/LemoineHSJ6.pdf}}</ref> |
|||
|ref11 = |
|||
| languages = [[Hmong language|Hmong]] |
| languages = Native: [[Hmong language|Hmong]] <br /> |
||
Regional: [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Thai language|Thai]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], [[Lao language|Lao]], [[French language|French]], [[English language|English]], [[Burmese language|Burmese]] |
|||
| religions = [[Hmong folk religion]], [[Buddhism]], [[Christianity]] |
|||
| religions = [[Shamanism]] • [[Christianity]] • [[Buddhism]] |
|||
| related = |
|||
| related_groups = |
|||
}} |
|||
{{ SpecialChars |
|||
| compact = |
|||
| special = Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong Unicode characters |
|||
| fix = Help:Multilingual_support#Nyiakeng_Puachue_Hmong |
|||
| characters = Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong |
|||
}} |
|||
{{Contains special characters |
|||
| special = Pahawh Hmong [[Unicode]] characters |
|||
| fix = Help:Multilingual support |
|||
| error = [[Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character|question marks, boxes, or other symbols]] |
|||
| characters = the Pahawh Hmong characters |
|||
| image = PAHAWH HMONG VOWEL KEEB.svg |
|||
| link = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character |
|||
| alt = |
|||
| compact = |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
The '''Hmong'''/'''Mong''' ([[Romanized Popular Alphabet|RPA]]: ''Hmoob/Moob'', {{IPA-hmn|m̥ɔ̃ŋ}}) is an ethnic group from the mountainous regions of southern [[China]], [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]], [[Myanmar]] and [[Thailand]]. The Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the [[Miao people|Miao ethnicity]] (苗族) in China. The Hmong began a gradual southward migration in China in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land (Scott, 2010). |
|||
The '''Hmong people''' ([[Romanized Popular Alphabet|RPA]]: {{tlit|hmn|Hmoob}}, [[Chữ Hmông Việt|CHV]]: ''Hmôngz'', [[Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong|Nyiakeng Puachue]]: {{lang|hmn-Hmnp|𞄀𞄩𞄰}}, [[Pahawh Hmong]]: {{lang|hmn-Hmng|𖬌𖬣𖬵}}, {{IPA|hmn|m̥ɔ̃́|IPA}}, {{zh|c=苗族蒙人}}) are an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the [[Miao people]]. The modern Hmong reside mainly in [[Southwestern China]] and [[Mainland Southeast Asia]]n countries such as [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]], [[Thailand]], and [[Myanmar]]. There are also diaspora communities in the [[United States]], [[Australia]], and [[South America]]. |
|||
Thousands of refugees have resettled in Western countries in two separate waves. The first wave resettled in the late 1970s, mostly in the [[United States]].<ref name="HND2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.hndinc.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/dlc/HND-Census-Report-2013.pdf |author=Hmong National Development, Inc. |title="The State of the Hmong American Community 2013" |accessdate=7 July 2016}}</ref> |
|||
== |
==Etymology== |
||
{{see also|Miao people#Nomenclature: Miao or Hmong}} |
|||
Hmong people have their own terms for their subcultural divisions. ''[[Hmong Der]]'' and ''Mong Leng'' are the terms for two of the largest groups in the United States and Southeast Asia. In the [[Romanized Popular Alphabet]], developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written ''Hmoob Dawb'' (White Hmong) and ''Moob Leeg'' (Green/Blue HMong). The final consonants indicate with which of the eight [[Tone (linguistics)|lexical tones]] the word is pronounced.<ref>Tapp, Nicholas. "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: the "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong/Mong." ''Asian Folklore Studies,'' Vol. 61, 2002: 78.</ref> |
|||
The term ''Hmong'' is the English pronunciation of the Hmong's native name. It is a singular and plural noun (e.g., Japanese, French, etc.). Very little is known about the native Hmong name as it is not mentioned in Chinese historical records, since the Han identified the Hmong as Miao. The meaning of it is debatable and no one is sure of its origin, although it can be traced back to several provinces in China. However, Hmong Americans and Hmong Laotians often associate it with "Free" and/or "Hmoov" (Fate); it serves as a reminder to them of their history of fighting oppression.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hmong means free: life in Laos and America |date=1994 |publisher=Temple University Press |editor=Sucheng Chan |isbn=978-1-4399-0139-7 |location=Philadelphia |oclc=318215953}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Being Hmong Means Being Free |publisher=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/wpt-documentaries-being-hmong-means-being-free/ |language=en |access-date=2023-01-28}}</ref> |
|||
White Hmong and Leng Hmong speak mutually intelligible dialects of the [[Hmong language]], with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most characteristic differences is the use of the [[Voiceless bilabial nasal|voiceless /m̥/]] in White Hmong, indicated by a preceding "H" in [[Romanized Popular Alphabet]]. Voiceless nasals are not found in the Leng Hmong dialect. Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of head-dress, or the provinces from which they come.<ref name="ReferenceA">Tapp, Nicholas. "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: the "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong." ''Asian Folklore Studies,'' Vol. 61, 2002: 78.</ref> |
|||
Before the 1970s, the term ''Miao or Meo'' (i.e. barbarians, wild, seedlings, and even "Sons of the Soil") was used in reference to the Hmong.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Constructing an Ethnicity: Miao in the Chinese Narratives during the Qing Era |url=https://irishjournalofasianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ijas-6-she-38-54.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Motti |first=Jean |title=History of the Hmong |publisher=Odeon Store |year=1980 |location=Bangkok Thailand |pages=3 |language=English}}</ref> In the 1970s, Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong American scholar, who at the time was the head of the Human Resource Department of the Ministry of Planning in the Royal Lao Government of Laos, advocated for the term "Hmong" with the support of clan leaders and [[Vang Pao|General Vang Pao]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>Lee 1996</ref><ref>Yang 2009</ref> Yang Dao had insisted that the terms "Meo" and "Miao" were both unacceptable as his people had always called themselves by the name "Hmong," which he defined as "free men".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Dr. Yang Dao (Yaj Daus) |url=http://hmonglessons.com/the-hmong/hmong-leaders/dr-yang-dao-yaj-daus/ |access-date=2022-12-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> Surrounding countries began to use the term "Hmong" after the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] used it during Immigration screening in Thailand's [[Ban Vinai Refugee Camp]].<ref>{{Citation |title="Hmong not Meo" | date=18 August 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KwLK5p3-cA |language=en |access-date=2023-01-27}}</ref> In 1994, [[Vang Pobzeb|Pobzeb Vang]] registered the term "Hmong" with the [[United Nations]], making it the proper term to identify the Hmong people internationally.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-09-22 |title=2005 Senate Joint Resolution 37 |url=http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2005/related/proposals/sjr37.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226231548/http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2005/related/proposals/sjr37.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-26 |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=docs.legis.wisconsin.gov}}</ref> |
|||
===Laos=== |
|||
The Hmong groups in Laos, from the 18th century to the present day, are known as Black Hmong (''Hmoob Dub''), Striped Hmong (''Hmoob Txaij''), White Hmong (''Hmoob Dawb''), Leng Hmong (''Moob Leeg'') and Green Hmong (''Moob Ntsuab''). In other places in Asia, groups are also known as Black Hmong (''Hmoob Dub'' or ''Hmong Dou''), Striped Hmong (''Hmoob Txaij'' or ''Hmoob Quas Npab''), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau, Hmong Xanh (Green Hmong), Hmong Do (Red Hmong), Na Mieo and various other subgroups.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> These include the Flower Hmong or the Variegated Hmong (''Hmong Lenh'' or ''Hmong Hoa''), so named because of the bright colorful embroidery (called ''pa ndau'' or ''paj ntaub'', literally "flower cloth").<ref name="X1">{{cite web|url=http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/cgi-bin/category.cgi?type=store&item=pageZAAAD72&template=fullpage-en&category=fairtrade|title=Flower Hmong: Preserving Traditional Culture in Vietnam|author=|year=2010|work=|publisher=Ten Thousand Villages|accessdate=21 January 2011}}</ref> |
|||
Soon after, there was a political push from Hmong American politicians and activists to replace the term Miao with the term Hmong in China with little to no success. To date, China is the only country that does not recognize the term Hmong. Rather, they are still categorized under the umbrella term Miáo ({{lang|zh|苗}}) along with three other indigenous groups of people. Historically, the term Miao carried strong pejorative connotations in both China and Southeast Asia. In modern times, however, it has lost such negative connotations in China and has since been officially recognized as an ethnicity, which includes the Hmong. The Hmong in China are often happy or proud to be known as Miao while most Hmong outside China find it offensive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee, Tapp |first=Gary Yia, Nicolas |title=Culture and Customs of the Hmong |publisher=Greenwood |year=2010 |page=4 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Who are the Hmong? – Hmong American Center |date=4 October 2018 |url=https://www.hmongamericancenter.org/ufaqs/who-are-the-hmong/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
===Thailand=== |
|||
[[File:Hmong-Ban Phaya Phipak62.JPG|thumb|Hmong living in the mountains of the [[Phi Pan Nam Range]] in [[Thailand]]]] |
|||
{{see also|Wat Tham Krabok}} |
|||
Many Hmong people migrated from Laos to Thailand following the victory of the [[Pathet Lao]] in 1975. While some ended up in refugee camps, others settled in mountainous areas becoming one of the [[ethnic groups in Thailand]] referred to as [[Hill tribe (Thailand)|Hill Tribes]] in that country.<ref name="Baird 2013 120–151">{{cite book|last=Baird|first=Ian G.|title=The monks and the Hmong: The special relationship between the Chao Fa and the Tham Krabok Buddhist Temple in Saraburi Province, Thailand. In Vladimir Tikhonov and Torkel Brekke (eds.), Violent Buddhism – Buddhism and Militarism in Asia in the Twentieth Century.|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=London|pages=120–151}}</ref> |
|||
Little is known about the origin of the Miao term and the people it referenced historically, since the [[Han Chinese|Han]] used it loosely to identify non-Han in Southern China until the [[Tang dynasty|Tang Dynasty]] when evidence of its association with the Hmong became more apparent.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tapp |first=Nicholas |title=Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong |publisher=Nanzan University |year=2002 |pages=77–104}}</ref> Its origin can be dated before the Qin dynasty (221 BCE). Thereafter it was perceived as barbaric, and resurfaced more often in Chinese historical records during the Miao's rebellions against the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 1300s and early 1900s that are still chanted by guides in most Hmong funerals today when guiding the spirits of the deceased individuals to their origins so they can reincarnate.<ref>{{Citation |title=The security poem - Qeej Ntaus Rog |date=18 May 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84ttupvg-IY |access-date=2024-01-15 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=qeej ntaus rog. ep1 |date=6 April 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wKLUEsd43k |access-date=2024-01-15 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Miao Ethnic Minority |date=13 April 2015 |url=https://www.asiaculturaltravel.co.uk/miao-ethnic-minority/}}</ref> The term Miao was more of a stereotype such as uncivilized, uncooperative, uncultivated, harmful, and inhumane than a name of an ethnic group and was used in daily conversations as an expression for ugliness and primitivity.<ref name=":1" /> |
|||
===China=== |
|||
{{main article|Miao people}}{{see also|Languages of China|Ethnic groups in Chinese history}} |
|||
Since 1949, [[Miao people|Miao]] has been an official term for one of the [[list of ethnic groups in China|55 official minority groups]] recognized by the government of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The Miao live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of [[Guizhou]], [[Hunan]], [[Yunnan]], [[Sichuan]], [[Guangxi]], [[Hainan]], [[Guangdong]], and [[Hubei]]. According to the 2000 censuses, the number of 'Miao' in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. The Miao nationality includes Hmong people as well as other culturally and linguistically related ethnic groups who do not call themselves Hmong. These include the Hmu, Kho (Qho) Xiong, and A Hmao. The White Miao (Bai Miao) and Green Miao (Qing Miao) are Hmong groups. |
|||
In Southeast Asia, Hmong people are referred to by other names, including: [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] {{lang|vi|Mèo}}, {{lang|vi|Mông}} or {{lang|vi|H'Mông}}; [[Lao language|Lao]] {{Transliteration|lo|Maew}} ({{Lang|lo|ແມ້ວ}}) or {{Transliteration|lo|Mong}} ({{Lang|lo|ມົ້ງ}}); [[Thai language|Thai]] {{Transliteration|th|Maew}} ({{Lang|th|แม้ว}}) or {{Transliteration|th|Mong}} ({{Lang|th|ม้ง}}); and [[Burmese language|Burmese]] {{Transliteration|my|mun lu-myo}} ({{lang|my|မုံလူမျိုး}}). With a slight change in accent, the word "Meo" in Lao and Thai can be pronounced to mean |
|||
Usage of the term "Miao" in Chinese documents dates back to the ''[[Shi Ji]]'' (1st century BC) and the ''[[Zhan Guo Ce]]'' (late [[Han Dynasty|Western Han Dynasty]]). During this time, it was generally applied to people of the southern regions thought to be descendants of the San Miao kingdom (dated to around the 3rd millennium BC.) The term does not appear again until the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644), by which time it had taken on the connotation of "barbarian." Interchangeable with "man" and "yi," it was used to refer to the indigenous people of the south-western frontier who refused to submit to imperial rule. During this time, references to Unfamiliar(''生 Sheng'') and Familiar(''熟 Shu'') Miao appear, referring to level of assimilation and political cooperation of the two groups. Not until the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1911) do more finely grained distinctions appear in writing. Even then, discerning which ethnic groups are included in various classifications can be problematic.<ref name = "Diamond">Diamond, Norma "Defining the Miao: Ming, Qing, and Contemporary Views" in Cultural Encounters on China's Ethnic Frontiers, ed. Stevan Harrell. Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle, 1995 (99–101).</ref> |
|||
"cat".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hmongstudiesjournal.org/uploads/4/5/8/7/4587788/gyleehsj8.pdf |title=The origins of the Hmong |date= |access-date=2022-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite CiteSeerX |citeseerx=10.1.1.513.2976|title=The Mong American Families}}</ref> The term Maew and Meo derived from the term Miao.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=G. Y. |title=Culture and customs of the Hmong |date=2010 |publisher=Greenwood |others=Nicholas Tapp |isbn=978-0-313-34527-2 |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |oclc=693776855}}</ref> |
|||
==Origins== |
|||
This inconsistent usage of "Miao" makes it difficult to say for sure if Hmong and Mong people are always included in these historical writings. Linguistic evidence, however, places Hmong and Mong people in the same regions of southern China that they inhabit today for at least the past 2,000 years.<ref>Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of environment and subsistence in the Hmong–Mien Proto-Language." in Hmong/Miao in Asia. p: 160.</ref> By the mid-18th century, classifications become specific enough that it is easier to identify references to Hmong and Mong people. |
|||
===Genetic origins=== |
|||
[[File:FlowerHmong Vietnam (pixinn.net).jpg|thumb|300px|A Flower Hmong woman in [[Vietnam]].]] |
|||
[[File:Likely routes of early rice transfer, and possible language family homelands (archaeological sites in China and SE Asia shown).png|thumb|Likely routes of early rice transfer, and possible language family homelands (archaeological sites in China and SE Asia shown)]] |
|||
[[File:HouseBuildingInNorthernVietnam.jpg|thumb|300px|A typical [[rammed earth]] house building technique of flower Hmong in Vietnam.]] |
|||
A DNA study in 2005 in Thailand found that Hmong paternal lineage is quite different from lu Mien and other Southeast Asian tribes. The Hmong-Mien and Sino-Tibetan speaking people are known as hill tribes in Thailand; they were the subject of the first studies to show an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mitochondrial (mt) DNA vs. the male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) variation. |
|||
According to linguist [[Martha Ratliff]], there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for over 8,000 years.<ref name="auto">Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of Environment and Subsistence in Proto-language," p. 160.</ref> Evidence from [[mitochondrial DNA]] in [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]]–speaking populations supports the existence of southern origins of maternal lineages even further back in time, although it has been shown that Hmong-speaking populations had comparatively more contact with northern East Asians than had the Mien.<ref name="auto1">Bo Wen, et al. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20051031083123/http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/3/725 Genetic Structure of Hmong–Mien Speaking Populations in East Asia as Revealed by mtDNA Lineages]." Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(3): 725–34.</ref> |
|||
== |
=== Homeland === |
||
The most likely [[Linguistic homeland|homeland]] of the Hmong–Mien languages is in [[Southern China]] between the [[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] and [[Mekong River|Mekong]] rivers.<ref>[[Roger Blench|Blench, Roger]]. 2004. [http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/China/Geneva%20paper%202004%20submit.pdf ''Stratification in the peopling of China: how far does the linguistic evidence match genetics and archaeology?''] Paper for the Symposium "Human migrations in continental East Asia and Taiwan: genetic, linguistic and archaeological evidence". Geneva June 10–13, 2004. Université de Genève.</ref> |
|||
In Southeast Asia, Hmong people are referred to by other names, including: {{lang-vi|Mèo or H'Mông}}; [[Lao alphabet|Lao]]: ແມ້ວ (Maew) or ມົ້ງ (Mong); [[Thai alphabet|Thai]]: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); {{lang-my|မုံလူမျိုး}} (''mun lu-myo''). The [[xenonym]], "[[Mèo]]", and variants thereof, are considered highly derogatory by many Hmong people and are infrequently used today outside of Southeast Asia.<ref>For example: Dao Yang, Hmong At the Turning Point (Minneapolis: WorldBridge Associates, Ltd., 1993), footnote 1, p. xvi.</ref> |
|||
Migration of people speaking these languages from South China to [[Southeast Asia]] took place ca. 1600–1700 CE. Ancient [[DNA]] evidence suggests that the ancestors of the speakers of the Hmong–Mien languages were a population genetically distinct from that of the Tai–Kadai and Austronesian language populations at a location on the [[Yangtze River]].<ref name="PMID 17657509">{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Hui |last2=Huang |first2=Ying |last3=Mustavich |first3=Laura F. |last4=Zhang |first4=Fan |last5=Tan |first5=Jing-Ze |last6=Wang |first6=Ling-E |last7=Qian |first7=Ji |last8=Gao |first8=Meng-He |last9=Jin |first9=Li |title=Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River |journal=Human Genetics |volume=122 |issue=3–4 |pages=383–8 |year=2007 |pmid=17657509 |doi=10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2|s2cid=2533393 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Recent Y-DNA phylogeny evidence supports the theory that people who speak the Hmong–Mien languages are descended from a population that is distantly related to those who now speak the Mon-Khmer languages.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cai |first1=X |last2=Qin |first2=Z |last3=Wen |first3=B |last4=Xu |first4=S |last5=Wang |first5=Y |last6=Lu |first6=Y |last7=Wei |first7=L |last8=Wang |first8=C |last9=Li |first9=S |last10=Huang |first10=X |last11=Jin |first11=L |last12=Li |first12=H |last13=Genographic |first13=Consortium |year=2011 |title=Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=6 |issue=8 |page=e24282 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0024282 |pmid=21904623 |pmc=3164178|bibcode=2011PLoSO...624282C |doi-access=free }}</ref> |
|||
===Hmong/Mong controversy=== |
|||
When Western authors came in contact with Hmong people, beginning in the 18th century, they referred to them in writing by [[ethnonyms]] assigned by the Chinese (i.e., Miao, or variants).{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence--perhaps cite actual authors who made contact with Hmong in the 18th century|date=September 2010}} This practice continued into the 20th century.<ref name="SongsStories">{{Cite book | last = [[David Crockett Graham|Graham]] | first = David Crockett | title = Songs and Stories of the Ch'uan Miao | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | series = Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections | volume = 123,1 | location = Washington, D.C. | year = 1954 }}</ref> Even [[ethnographer]]s studying the Hmong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Meo, a corruption of Miao applied by Thai and Lao people to the Hmong. Although "Meo" was an official term, it was often used as an insult against Hmong people and it is considered to be highly derogatory.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong |journal=Hmong Studies Journal |year=1998 |first=Mai Na |last=Lee |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages= |id= |url=http://members.aol.com/hmongstudiesjrnl/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.html#Fn5txt |format= |accessdate=10 September 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526123017/http://members.aol.com/hmongstudiesjrnl/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.html |archivedate=26 May 2005 }}</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} |
|||
The time of [[Proto-Hmong-Mien]] has been estimated to be about 2500 BP (500 BCE) by Sagart, Blench, and Sanchez-Mazas using traditional methods employing many lines of evidence, and about 4243 BP by the Automated Similarity Judgment Program (ASJP), an experimental algorithm for automatic generation of phonologically based phylogenies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wwwstaff.eva.mpg.de/~wichmann/AutomatedDatingFinal.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127082301/http://wwwstaff.eva.mpg.de/~wichmann/AutomatedDatingFinal.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-27 }}</ref> |
|||
The issue came to a head during the passage of California State Assembly Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season.<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/kaoly_y/archives/HistoryBill78.html History of the Assembly Bill AB78] by Kao-Ly Yang {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027113906/http://www.geocities.com/kaoly_y/archives/HistoryBill78.html |date=27 October 2009 }}</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} Introduced by Doua Vu and Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, District 31 (Fresno), the bill encouraged changes in secondary education curriculum to include information about the [[Laotian Civil War|Secret War]] and the role of Hmong people in the war. Furthermore, the bill called for the use of oral histories and first hand accounts from Hmong people who had participated in the war and who were caught up in the aftermath. Originally, the language of the bill mentioned only "Hmong" people, intending to include the entire community. A number of Mong Leng activists, led by Dr. Paoze Thao (Professor of Linguistics and Education at [[California State University, Monterey Bay]]), drew attention to the problems associated with omitting "Mong" from the language of the bill. They noted that despite nearly equal numbers of Hmong Der and Mong Leng in the United States, resources are disproportionately directed toward the Hmong Der community. This includes not only scholarly research, but also the translation of materials, potentially including curriculum proposed by the bill.<ref>Romney, Lee. "[http://www.mongfederation.org/articles/latimes.htm Bill spurs bitter debate over Hmong identity]{{dead link|date=June 2012}}." L.A. Times, 24 May 2003.</ref> Despite these arguments, "Mong" was not added to the bill. In the version that passed the assembly, "Hmong" was replaced by "Southeast Asians", a more broadly inclusive term. |
|||
==History== |
|||
Dr. Paoze Thao and some others feel strongly that "Hmong" can refer to only Hmong Der people and does not include "Mong" Leng people. He feels that the usage of "Hmong" in reference to both groups perpetuates the marginalization of Mong Leng language and culture. Thus, he advocates the usage of both "Hmong" and "Mong" when referring to the entire ethnic group.<ref>Thao, Paoze and Chimeng Yang. "[http://www.mong.ws/publications/Mong%20and%20Hmong%20Article%20June%202004.pdf The Mong and the Hmong]". Mong Journal, vol. 1 (June 2004). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204073037/http://www.mong.ws/publications/Mong%20and%20Hmong%20Article%20June%202004.pdf |date=4 February 2016 }}</ref> Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr. [[Gary Yia Lee]] (a Hmong Der person), suggest that "Hmong" has been used for the past 30 years to refer to the entire community and that the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understood.<ref>Lee, Gary and Nicholas Tapp. "[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yeulee/Topical/12point%20statement.html Current Hmong Issues: 12-point Statement]".</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} Some argue that such distinctions create unnecessary divisions within the global community and will only confuse non-Hmong and Mong people trying to learn more about Hmong and Mong history and culture.<ref>Duffy, John, Roger Harmon, Donald A. Ranard, Bo Thao, and Kou Yang. "[http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hpeop.html People]". In The Hmong: An Introduction to their history and culture. The Center for Applied Linguistics, Culture Profile No. 18 (June 2004): 3.</ref> |
|||
===China=== |
|||
[[File:Hmong diaspora.png|thumb|The historical migration of the Hmong according to Hmong tradition]] |
|||
Hmong traditions and legends indicate that they originated near the [[Yellow River]] region of northern [[China]], but this is not substantiated by any scientific evidence.<ref>Bomar, Julie. "Hmong History and Culture." Kinship networks among Hmong-American refugees. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2004. 33–39. Print.</ref> According to linguist [[Martha Ratliff]], there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for over 8,000 years.<ref name="auto"/> Evidence from [[mitochondrial DNA]] in [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]]–speaking populations supports the southern origins of maternal lineages even farther back in time, although it has been shown that Hmong-speaking populations had comparatively more contact with northern East Asians than had the Mien.<ref name="auto1"/> A rare haplogroup, O3d, was found at the [[Daxi culture]] in the middle reaches of the [[Yangtze|Yangtze River]], indicating that the Daxi people might be the ancestors of modern Hmong-Mien populations, which show only small traces of O3d today.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Hui |last2=Huang |first2=Ying |last3=Mustavich |first3=Laura F. |last4=Zhang |first4=Fan |last5=Tan |first5=Jing-Ze |last6=Wang |first6=Ling-E |last7=Qian |first7=Ji |last8=Gao |first8=Meng-He |last9=Jin |first9=Li |date=2007-11-01 |title=Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River |journal=Human Genetics |language=en |volume=122 |issue=3 |pages=383–388 |doi=10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2 |pmid=17657509 |s2cid=2533393 |issn=1432-1203|doi-access=free }}</ref> |
|||
[[Chi You]] is the Hmong ancestral God of War. Today, a statue of Chi You has been erected in the town named [[Zhuolu Town|Zhuolu]].<ref name="indig">De la Cadena, Marisol. Starn, Orin. Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. [2007] (2007). Indigenous experience today. Berg Publishers, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-84520-519-5}}. p. 239.</ref> The author of [[Guoyu (book)|''Guoyu'']], written in the 4th to 5th century, considered Chi You's Jiu Li tribe to be related to the ancient ancestors of the Hmong, the San-Miao people.<ref name="國語•楚語下">{{cite web|url=https://ctext.org/guo-yu/chu-yu-xia|title=國語•楚語下|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> |
|||
As a compromise alternative, the ethnologist Jacques Lemoine has begun to use the term (H)mong when referring to the entirety of the Hmong and Mong community.<ref name="Lemoine2005"/> |
|||
In 2011, Hmong DNA was sampled and found to contain 7.84% [[Haplogroup D-M15|D-M15]] and 6%N(Tat) DNA.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes| first1=Xiaoyun| last1=Cai| first2=Zhendong| last2=Qin| first3=Bo| last3=Wen |first4=Shuhua |last4=Xu |first5=Yi |last5=Wang |first6=Yan |last6=Lu |first7=Lanhai |last7=Wei |first8=Chuanchao |last8=Wang |first9=Shilin |last9=Li |first10=Xingqiu |last10=Huang |first11=Li |last11=Jin |first12=Hui |last12=Li|first13=the Genographic|last13=Consortium|date=31 August 2011|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=6|issue=8|pages=e24282|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0024282|pmid=21904623|pmc=3164178|bibcode=2011PLoSO...624282C|doi-access=free}}</ref> The research found a common ancestry between Hmong-Mien peoples and [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]] groups dating to the [[Last Glacial Maximum]], approximately 15,000 to 18,000 years ago. |
|||
====Hmong, Mong and Miao==== |
|||
[[File:Can Cau market (6223927056).jpg|thumb|300px|Hmong people at the Can Cau market.]] |
|||
Some non-Chinese Hmong advocate that the term Hmong be used not only for designating their dialect group, but also for the other Miao groups living in China. They generally claim that the word "Miao" or "Meo" is a derogatory term, with connotations of barbarism, that probably should not be used at all. The term was later adapted by Tai-speaking groups in Southeast Asia where it took on especially insulting associations for Hmong people despite its official status.<ref>Tapp. Nicholas. "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: the "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong." Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 61, 2002: 97.</ref> |
|||
[[File:The Victorious Battle at Lancaoping.jpg|thumb|A scene depicting the [[Qing dynasty]]'s campaign against the Hmong people at Lancaoping in 1795]] |
|||
In modern China, the term "Miao" does not carry these negative associations and people of the various sub-groups that constitute this officially recognized nationality freely identify themselves as Miao or Chinese, typically reserving more specific ethnonyms for intra-ethnic communication. During the struggle for political recognition after 1949, it was actually members of these ethnic minorities who campaigned for identification under the umbrella term "Miao"—taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression.<ref>Cheung Siu-Woo "Miao Identity in Western Guizhou: Indigenism and the politics of appropriation in the southwest china during the republican period" in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 237–240.</ref> |
|||
Conflict between the Hmong of southern China and newly arrived Han settlers increased during the 18th century under repressive economic and cultural reforms imposed by the [[Qing dynasty]]. This led to [[Miao Rebellions|armed conflict]] and large-scale migrations well into the late 19th century, the period during which many Hmong people emigrated to Southeast Asia. However, the migration process had begun as early as the late 17th century, before the time of major social unrest, when small groups went in search of better agricultural opportunities.<ref>Culas and Michaud, 68–74.</ref> |
|||
Contemporary transnational interactions between Hmong in the West and Miao groups in China, following the 1975 Hmong diaspora, have led to the development of a global Hmong identity that includes linguistically and culturally related minorities in China that previously had no ethnic affiliation.<ref>Schien, Louisa. "Hmong/Miao Transnationality: Identity Beyond Culture." in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 274–5.</ref> Scholarly and commercial exchanges, increasingly communicated via the Internet, have also resulted in an exchange of terminology, including Hmu and A Hmao people identifying as Hmong and, to a lesser extent, Hmong people accepting the designation "Miao," within the context of China. Such realignments of identity, while largely the concern of economically elite community leaders, reflect a trend towards the interchangeability of the terms "Hmong" and "Miao."<ref>Lee, Gary Y. |
|||
The Hmong people were subjected to persecution and genocide by the [[Qing dynasty]] government. Arthur A. Hansen wrote: "In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while the Hmong lived in south-western China, their [[Manchu people|Manchu]] overlords had labeled them '[[Miao people|Miao]]' and targeted them for [[genocide]]."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-MUfXFVMik0C&pg=PA225 Rogers, 2004] p. 225.</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2024}}<!--The author is an expert in Japanese Americans during WW2, not an issue very closely related to the treatment of the Hmong by the Qing Dynasty.--> |
|||
[http://hmongstudies.org/GYLee.pdf Dreaming Across the Oceans: Globalization and Cultural Reinvention in the Hmong Diaspora]. Hmong Studies Journal, 7:1–33.</ref> |
|||
Since 1949, the [[Miao people]] ({{zh|c=苗族|p=miáo zú}}) has been an official term for one of the [[list of ethnic groups in China|56 official minority groups]] recognized by the government of the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. The Miao live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of [[Guizhou]], [[Hunan]], [[Yunnan]], [[Sichuan]], [[Guangxi]], [[Hainan]], [[Guangdong]], and [[Hubei]]. According to the 2000 census, the number of 'Miao' in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. The Miao nationality includes Hmong people as well as other culturally and linguistically related ethnic groups who do not call themselves Hmong. These include the [[Hmu language|Hmu]], Kho (Qho) Xiong, and [[A-Hmao]]. |
|||
==History== |
|||
[[File:Hmong diaspora.png|thumb|250px|The historical migration of the Hmong.]] |
|||
{{wide image|1 xijiang panorama.jpg|600px|Xijiang, a Hmong-majority township in Guizhou, China}} |
|||
The Hmong (Miao) claim an origin in the Yellow River region of China.<ref>Bomar, Julie. "Hmong History and Culture." Kinship networks among Hmong-American refugees. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2004. 33-39. Print.</ref> According to Ratliff, there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for at least the past 2,000 years.<ref>Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of Environment and Subsistence in Proto-language," p. 160.</ref> Evidence from mitochondrial DNA in [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]]–speaking populations supports the southern origins of maternal lineages even further back in time, although Hmong-speaking populations show more contact with Han than Mien populations.<ref>Bo Wen, et al. "[http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/3/725 Genetic Structure of Hmong–Mien Speaking Populations in East Asia as Revealed by mtDNA Lineages]." Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(3):725–734.</ref> Chinese sources describe that area being inhabited by 'Miao' people, a group with whom Hmong people are often identified. |
|||
===Vietnam=== |
|||
The ancient town of [[Zhuolu Town|Zhuolu]], is considered to be the legendary birthplace of the Miao. Today, a statue of Chi You, widely proclaimed as the first Hmong king, has been erected in the town.<ref name="indig">De la Cadena, Marisol. Starn, Orin. Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. [2007] (2007). Indigenous experience today. Berg Publishers, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-84520-519-5}}. pg 239.</ref> The [[Guoyu (book)|Guoyu book]], considers Chi You’s Jui Li tribe to be related to the ancient ancestors of the Hmong, the [[Miao people|San Miao people]]<ref name="國語•楚語下">(國語•楚語下)</ref> |
|||
The Hmong or Miao began to migrate to Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) in 19th century, where they struggled to establish their community on the high mountains. They recognized the Tai-speaking overlords of valleys, who were vassals of the Vietnamese court in Hue. The Hue court of [[Tu Duc]] at the time was facing crisis after crisis, unable to retake control of Tonkin and the border regions. The [[Taiping rebellion]] and other Chinese rebels spilled over into Vietnam and had caused anarchy; the Hmong communities thrived on either sides of the Red River, harmonizing with other ethnic groups, and were largely ignored by all factions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lee|first=Mai Na M.|author-link=Mai Na Lee|year=2015|title=Dreams of the Hmong Kingdom: The Quest for Legitimation in French Indochina, 1850–1960|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-29884-5|pages=78–79}}</ref> |
|||
During the colonization of '[[Tonkin]]' ([[North Vietnam]]) between 1883 and 1954, a number of Hmong decided to join the [[Vietnamese nationalism|Vietnamese Nationalists]] and [[Vietnamese Communist Party|Communists]], while many [[Christianized]] Hmong sided with the French. After the [[Việt Minh|Viet Minh]] victory, numerous pro-French Hmong had to fall back to Laos and [[South Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Michaud |first1=J. |title=The Montagnards and the State in Northern Vietnam from 1802 to 1975: A Historical Overview |journal=Ethnohistory |date=1 April 2000 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=333–68 |id={{ProQuest|209752840}} |doi=10.1215/00141801-47-2-333 |s2cid=162363204 }}</ref> |
|||
In 2011 White Hmong DNA was sampled and found to contain 7.84% D-M15 and 6%N(Tat) DNA.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024282|title=Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes|first1=Xiaoyun|last1=Cai|first2=Zhendong|last2=Qin|first3=Bo|last3=Wen|first4=Shuhua|last4=Xu|first5=Yi|last5=Wang|first6=Yan|last6=Lu|first7=Lanhai|last7=Wei|first8=Chuanchao|last8=Wang|first9=Shilin|last9=Li|first10=Xingqiu|last10=Huang|first11=Li|last11=Jin|first12=Hui|last12=Li|first13=the Genographic|last13=Consortium|date=31 August 2011|publisher=|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=6|issue=8|pages=e24282|via=PLoS Journals|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0024282|pmid=21904623|pmc=3164178}}</ref> The researchers posited a genetic relationship between Hmong-Mien peoples and [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]] people groups dating to the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] approximately 15-18,000 years before present. |
|||
[[File:H'Mong (novembre 2011) (10).JPG|thumb|[[Yao people|Red Dao]] in Vietnam]] |
|||
Although the term 'Miao' is used today by the Chinese government to denote a group of linguistically and culturally related people (including the Hmong, Hmu, Kho Xiong, and A Hmao), it has been used inconsistently in the past. Throughout the [[history of China]], the term was applied to a variety of peoples considered to be marginal to Han society. Christian Culas and Jean Michaud note: "In all these early accounts, then, until roughly the middle of the 19th century, there is perpetual confusion about the exact identity of the population groups designated by the term Miao. We should therefore be cautious with respect to the historical value of any early associations."<ref>Culas, Christian and Jean Michaud. "A Contribution to the Study of Hmong (Miao)." In: Hmong/Miao in Asia. Ed. Nicholas Tapp, et al. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2004: 64.</ref> Nevertheless, the Hmong and Miao of China today believe they are one people with cultural and linguistic affiliations that transcend oceans and national boundaries. The educated elites of the two groups maintain close transnational contacts with one another. |
|||
===Laos=== |
|||
[[File:The Victorious Battle at Lancaoping.jpg|thumb|A scene depicting the [[Qing Dynasty]]'s campaign against the Miao people at Lancaoping in 1795.]] |
|||
After decades of distant relations with the Lao kingdoms, closer relations between the French military and some Hmong on the Xieng Khouang plateau arose after [[World War II]]. There, a rivalry between members of the Lo and Ly clans developed into open enmity, also affecting those connected with them by kinship. Clan leaders took opposite sides; as a consequence, several thousand Hmong participated in the fighting against the [[Lao Communist Party|Pathet Lao Communists]], while almost as many were enrolled in the communist [[Lao People's Revolutionary Army]]. In Laos, numerous Hmong genuinely tried to avoid getting involved in the conflict in spite of the extremely difficult material conditions under which they lived during wartime.<ref>Michaud, J. et al. 2016 The Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 177–80.</ref> |
|||
====The U.S. and the Laotian Civil War==== |
|||
Conflict between the Miao of southern China and newly arrived Han settlers increased during the 18th century under repressive economic and cultural reforms imposed by the [[Qing Dynasty]]. This led to [[Miao Rebellion (1795–1806)|armed conflict]] and large-scale migrations well into the late 19th century, the period during which most Hmong people emigrated to Southeast Asia. The migration process had begun as early as the late-17th century, however, before the time of major social unrest, when small groups went in search of better agricultural opportunities.<ref>Culas and Michaud, 68–74.</ref> |
|||
{{Main|Laotian Civil War}} |
|||
In the early 1960s, partially as a result of the [[North Vietnamese invasion of Laos]], the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) [[Special Activities Division]] began to recruit, train and lead the indigenous Hmong people in Laos to fight against [[North Vietnamese Army]] divisions that were invading Laos during the [[Vietnam War]]. This "Secret Army" was organized into various mobile regiments and divisions, including Special Guerrilla Units, all of whom were led by General [[Vang Pao]]. An estimated sixty-percent (60%) of Hmong men in Laos joined up.<ref>Grant Evans "Laos is getting a bad rap from the world's media" The Bangkok Post 8 July 2003</ref><ref>"Being Hmong Means Being Free" Wisconsin Public Television</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2016}} |
|||
The Hmong people have been subjected to abuse and killing by the Qing Dynasty government. Kim Lacy Rogers wrote: "In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while the Hmong lived in south-western China, their Manchu overlords had labelled them '[[Miao people|Miao]]' ('barbarian' or 'savage') and targeted them for [[genocide]] when they defied being humiliated, oppressed, and enslaved."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-MUfXFVMik0C&pg=PA225 Rogers, 2004] p. 225.</ref> |
|||
While there were Hmong soldiers who fought with the communist Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese, others were recognized for serving in combat against the NVA and the [[Pathet Lao]], helping block Hanoi's [[Ho Chi Minh trail]] inside Laos and rescuing downed American pilots. Though their role was generally kept secret in the early stages of the conflict, they made great sacrifices to help the U.S.<ref>Warner, Roger, ''[[Shooting at the Moon (book)|Shooting at the Moon]]'', (1996), p. 366.</ref> |
|||
===Han Chinese origin Hmong clans=== |
|||
{{Organize section|date=January 2017}} |
|||
{{cleanup rewrite|section|date=May 2017}} |
|||
A great number of Miao/Hmong lineage clans were founded by Chinese men who married Hmong women, these distinct Chinese descended clans practice Chinese burial customs instead of Hmong style burials.<ref name="Feuchtwang2004">{{cite book|author=[[Stephan Feuchtwang]]|title=Making Place: State Projects, Globalisation and Local Responses in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yv2gFa6iOwsC&pg=PA141 |year=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-84472-010-1|pages=141–}}</ref> |
|||
Thousands of [[Economic refugee|economic]] and [[political refugee]]s have resettled in [[Western countries]] in two separate waves. The first wave resettled in the late 1970s, mostly in the [[United States]] after the [[North Vietnamese]] and [[Pathet Lao]] takeovers of the pro-U.S. governments [[Vietnam War|in South Vietnam]] and [[Laotian Civil War|Laos]] respectively.<ref name="HND2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.hndinc.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/dlc/HND-Census-Report-2013.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131002043008/http://hndinc.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/dlc/HND-Census-Report-2013.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2013 |author=Hmong National Development, Inc. |title=The State of the Hmong American Community 2013 |access-date=7 July 2016 }}</ref> The [[Lao Veterans of America]], and Lao Veterans of America Institute, helped to assist in the resettlement of many Laotian and Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in the United States, especially former Hmong veterans and their family members who served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in Laos during the Vietnam War.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/|title=www.laoveteransofamerica.org|archive-date=27 December 2016|website=www.laoveteransofamerica.org}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2016}} |
|||
The Hmong children of Hmong women who married Chinese men was the origin of numerous China and South East Asia based Hmong lineages and clans, these were called "Chinese Hmong" ("Hmong Sua") in [[Sichuan]], the Hmong were instructed in military tactics by fugitive Chinese rebels.<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tapp|title=The Hmong of China: Context, Angency, and the Imaginary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XGiZKGfgv4C&pg=PA204 |year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=0-391-04187-8|pages=204–}}</ref> |
|||
====Hmong Lao resistance==== |
|||
Marriages between Hmong women and Han Chinese men is the origin of a lot of Hmong lineages and clans.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Tao Tao Liu|author2=David Faure|title=Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEbAyJ7aj38C&pg=PA88#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=1996|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-402-4|pages=88–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Tao Tao Liu|author2=David Faure|title=Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW8SBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |date=1 March 1996|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-402-4|pages=88–}}</ref> |
|||
<!--'ChaoFa' redirects here--> |
|||
{{Main|Conflict in Laos involving the Hmong|United League for Democracy in Laos}} |
|||
[[File:hmong wedding.jpg|thumb|Hmong girls meet possible suitors while playing a ball-throwing game in [[Laos]].]] |
|||
For many years, the Neo Hom political movement played a key role in resistance to the [[Vietnam People's Army]] in Laos following the U.S. withdrawal in 1975; [[Vang Pao]] played a significant role in this movement. Additionally, a spiritual leader, [[Zong Zoua Her]], as well as other Hmong leaders, including [[Pa Kao Her]] or Pa Khao Her, rallied some of their followers in a factionalized guerrilla resistance movement called '''ChaoFa'''<!--sic (no space); boldface per WP:R#PLA --> ([[Romanized Popular Alphabet|RPA]]: Cob Fab, [[Pahawh Hmong]]: {{script|Hmng|𖬒𖬯 𖬖𖬜𖬵}} [[File:ChaoFaPahawh.png|35px]]).<ref>Smalley, William Allen, Chia Koua Vang (''Txiaj Kuam Vaj'' [[File:ChiaKouaVangPahawh.png|35x35px]]), and Gnia Yee Yang (''Nyiaj Yig Yaj'' [[File:GniaYeeYangPahawh.png|35x35px]]). ''Mother of Writing: The Origin and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script''. [[University of Chicago Press]], 23 March 1990. 10. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on 23 March 2012 {{ISBN|978-0-226-76286-9}}.</ref><ref>Not to be confused with the Thai royal title [[Chao Fa]].</ref> These events led to the [[yellow rain]] controversy when the [[United States]] accused the [[Soviet Union]] of supplying and using chemical weapons in this conflict.<ref name=Tucker>{{Cite journal| author = Jonathan Tucker| title = The Yellow Rain Controversy: Lessons for Arms Control Compliance| journal = The Nonproliferation Review| date =Spring 2001| url = http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/81tucker.pdf}}</ref> |
|||
Hmong women married Han Chinese men to found new Hmong lineages which use Chinese names.<ref name="Tapp2010">{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tapp|title=The Impossibility of Self: An Essay on the Hmong Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ib1G-iVWi3AC&pg=PA100 |year=2010|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3-643-10258-4|pages=100–}}</ref> |
|||
Small groups of Hmong people, many second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries.<ref>{{Cite news|first=David |last=Kinchen |title=438 former 'Cob Fab' removed by helicopter after they came out of hiding |date=17 November 2006 |url=http://www.hmongtoday.com/displaynews.asp?ID=2384 |work=Hmong Today |access-date=22 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222133658/http://www.hmongtoday.com/displaynews.asp?ID=2384 |archive-date=22 February 2007 }}</ref> Hmong in Laos, in particular, developed a stronger and deeper [[anti-Vietnamese sentiment]] than their Vietnamese Hmong cousins, due to historic persecution perpetrated by the Vietnamese against them. |
|||
Chinese men who married into Hmong clans have established more Hmong clans than the ritual twelve, Chinese "surname groups" are comparable to the Hmong clans which are patrilineal, and practice exogamy.<ref name="BishtBankoti2004">{{cite book |author1=Narendra Singh Bisht |author2=T. S. Bankoti |title=Encyclopaedia of the South East Asian Ethnography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rp5cCMHFxQC&pg=PA243 |date=1 March 2004 |publisher=Global Vision Publishing House |pages=243– |isbn=978-81-87746-96-6}}</ref><ref name="Levinson1993">{{cite book|author=David Levinson|title=Encyclopedia of world cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1XwYAAAAIAAJ&q=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&dq=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1kKb5vqfJAhUC2T4KHTwDBlAQ6AEIITAB|year=1993|publisher=G.K. Hall|isbn=978-0-8168-8840-5|page=93}}</ref><ref name="O'Leary1991">{{cite book|author=Timothy J. O'Leary|title=Encyclopedia of world cultures: North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tM0ZAQAAIAAJ&q=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&dq=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1kKb5vqfJAhUC2T4KHTwDBlAQ6AEIJjAC|year=1991|publisher=Hall|isbn=978-0-8168-8840-5|page=93}}</ref><ref name="EmberEmber1999">{{cite book|author1=Melvin Ember|author2=Carol R. Ember|title=Cultures of the world: selections from the ten-volume encyclopedia of world cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMlaAAAAYAAJ&q=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&dq=hmong+founded+by+in+marrying+chinese+males.+within+the+clans+the+lineage+is+the+basis+of+hmong+social&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1kKb5vqfJAhUC2T4KHTwDBlAQ6AEIKjAD|year=1999|publisher=Macmillan Library Reference|page=252}}</ref> |
|||
====Controversy over repatriation==== |
|||
Hmong women married Han Chinese men who pacified Ah rebels who were fighting against the Ming dynasty, and founded the Wang clan among the Hmong in Gongxian county, of Sichuan's Yibin district.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Tao Tao Liu|author2=David Faure|title=Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW8SBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=1 March 1996|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-402-4|pages=86–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Tao Tao Liu|author2=David Faure|title=Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEbAyJ7aj38C&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=1996|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-402-4|pages=86–}}</ref> |
|||
{{Main|Human rights in Laos#Hmong refugees and forced repatriation}} |
|||
{{Globalize|section|date=February 2018}} |
|||
In June 1991, after talks with the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]] and the Thai government, Laos agreed to the repatriation of over 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including tens of thousands of Hmong people. Very few of the Lao refugees, however, were willing to return voluntarily.<ref>{{cite news|title=Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand|agency=U.P.I.|date=5 June 1991}}</ref> Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, coercive measures and forced repatriation was used to send thousands of Hmong back to the places they had fled.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lao Refugees Return Home Under European Union Repatriation Program|agency=Associated Press Worldstream|date=22 Nov 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Karen J.|title=House Panel Hears Concerns About Hmong|agency=[[States News Service]]|date= 26 April 1994}}</ref> Of the Hmong who did return to Laos, some quickly escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamilton-Merritt|first=Jane|title=Tragic Mountains|pages=xix–xxi}}</ref> |
|||
Hmong women who married Chinese men founded a new Xem clan in a Hmong village (among Northern Thailand's Hmong), fifty years later in Chiangmai two of their Hmong boy descendants were Catholics.<ref name="Tapp1989">{{cite book |author=Nicholas Tapp |title=Sovereignty and Rebellion: The White Hmong of Northern Thailand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vRuAAAAMAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=169 |isbn=978-0-19-588912-3}}</ref> A Hmong woman and a Chinese man married and founded the Lauj clan in Northern Thailand.<ref name="Tapp1989" /> |
|||
In the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, [[The Center for Public Policy Analysis]], a non-governmental public policy research organization, and its executive director, Philip Smith, played a key role in raising awareness in the U.S. Congress and policy-making circles in Washington, D.C. about the plight of the Hmong and Laotian refugees in Thailand and Laos. The CPPA, backed by a bipartisan coalition of members of the [[U.S. Congress]] and human rights organizations, conducted numerous research missions to the Hmong and Laotian refugee camps along the [[Mekong River]] in Thailand, as well as the Buddhist temple of [[Wat Tham Krabok]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org/|title=centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org|date=6 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406154059/http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org/|archive-date=6 April 2008}}</ref> |
|||
A marriage between a Hmong woman and a Chinese man resulted in northern Thailand's Lau2 clan being founded, another Han Chinese with the family name Deng founded another Hmong clan, Han Chinese men's marriages with Hmong women has led some ethnographers to conclude that Hmong clans in the modern era have possible all or partly have been founded in this matter.<ref>{{cite book|title=Asian Folklore Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QrffAAAAMAAJ&q=about+remoter+founding+ancestors,+like+the+Lau2+of+north+Thailand+who+traces+its+ancestry+to+a+Chinese+man+who+had+married+a+Hmong+...+the+first+generation+of+their+lineage+their+line+had+been+founded+not+by+a+Hmong+but+by+a+Han+Chinese,+surnamed+Deng,+whose+ears+...+It+could+be+that+all+or+parts+of+all+present-day+Hmong+clans+have+been+formed+in+this+way,+through+intermarriage+with+Han+Chinese+males+(who+...&dq=about+remoter+founding+ancestors,+like+the+Lau2+of+north+Thailand+who+traces+its+ancestry+to+a+Chinese+man+who+had+married+a+Hmong+...+the+first+generation+of+their+lineage+their+line+had+been+founded+not+by+a+Hmong+but+by+a+Han+Chinese,+surnamed+Deng,+whose+ears+...+It+could+be+that+all+or+parts+of+all+present-day+Hmong+clans+have+been+formed+in+this+way,+through+intermarriage+with+Han+Chinese+males+(who+...&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WH7gU9vPDc3lsATGkYLgAg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA|year=2002|publisher=Nanzan University Institute of Anthropology|page=93}}</ref> |
|||
[[Amnesty International]], the [[Lao Veterans of America]], Inc., the [[United League for Democracy in Laos]], Inc., [[Lao Human Rights Council]], Inc. (led by Dr. Pobzeb Vang [[Vang Pobzeb]], and later Vaughn Vang) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights organizations joined the opposition to forced repatriation.<ref name="auto2"/> |
|||
[[Jiangxi]] Han Chinese are claimed as the forefathers of the southeast [[Guizhou]] Miao, and Miao children were born to the many Miao women married Han Chinese soldiers in [[Taijiang County|Taijiang]] in Guizhou before the second half of the 19th century.<ref name="Bender2006">{{cite book|author=Mark Bender|title=Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guizhou, China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HLERRaLvOXEC&pg=PR17#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=10 March 2006|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=1-60384-335-3|pages=xvii–}}</ref> |
|||
Although some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb909nb5j8&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text |title=Reports on results of investigations of allegations concerning the welfare of Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand and Laos|agency=Refugee and Migration Affairs Unit|publisher=United States Embassy (Thailand)|date=1992|access-date=27 July 2007}}</ref> thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996, as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, under mounting political pressure, the U.S. agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a new screening process.<ref>{{cite news|first=Steve |last=Gunderson|title=State Department Outlines Resettlement Guidelines for Hmong Refugees|publisher= Congressional Press Releases|date=18 May 1996}}</ref> Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at [[Wat Tham Krabok]], a [[Buddhist monastery]] in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees were already living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, but the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the [[illegal drug trade]] and were of non-Lao origin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Laos refuses to take back Thai-based Hmong refugees|work=Deutsche Presse-Agentur|date=20 August 1998}}</ref> |
|||
Imperially commissioned Han Chinese chieftaincies "gon native", with the Miao and were the ancestors of a part of the Miao population in Guizhou.<ref name="Elvin2008">{{cite book|author=Mark Elvin|title=The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9SuWzp7_BkAC&pg=PA216#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=1 October 2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-13353-0|pages=216–}}</ref> |
|||
In 2003, following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the U.S., in a significant victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees.<ref>{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, 16 January 2004, archived 17 January 2009 from [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2004/28212.htm the original]</ref> Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the U.S., fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021133910/http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html |date=21 October 2008 |title=History of the Hmong Resettlement Task Force }} Hmong Resettlement Task Force, archived 21 October 2008 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20040818025236/http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html the original]</ref> In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of [[Phetchabun Province|Phetchabun]].<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4724199.stm | work=BBC News | title=Hmong refugees pleading to stay | date=28 July 2005 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> |
|||
The Hmong Tian clan in Sizhou began in the seventh century as a migrant Han Chinese clan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Spreading the Dao, Managing Mastership, and Performing Salvation: The Life and Alchemical Teachings of Chen Zhixu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwN_tBvRfQUC&pg=PA70#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2008|publisher=ProQuest|isbn=978-0-549-44283-7|pages=70–}}</ref> |
|||
The [[European Union]],<ref name="EU@UN">[http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_6732_en.htm Thailand: EU Presidency Declaration on the situation of Hmong refugees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312015347/http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_6732_en.htm |date=12 March 2010 }} EU@UN, 1 February 2007</ref> [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|UNHCHR]], and international groups have since spoken out about the forced repatriation.<ref name="EU@UN"/><ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013140444/http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2007/Hmong |date=13 October 2007 |title=Hmong refugees facing removal from Thailand }} The Wire – Amnesty International's monthly magazine, March 2007, archived 13 October 2007 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313222829/http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2007/Hmong the original]</ref><ref>[http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=812 Deportation of Hmong Lao refugees stopped in last minute] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224030721/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=812 |date=24 February 2012 }} Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, 30 January 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.unpo.org/article/6250 Hmong: UNHCR Protests Refugee Deportation] Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, 5 February 2007</ref> |
|||
Non-han women such as Miao women became wives of Han Chinese male soldiers who fought against the Miao rebellions during the Qing and Ming dynasties since Han women were not available.<ref name="Schein2000">{{cite book|author=Louisa Schein|title=Minority Rules: The Miao and the Feminine in China's Cultural Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GomyOthrHjUC&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2000|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=0-8223-2444-X|pages=61–}}</ref><ref name="BrownellWasserstrom2002">{{cite book|author1=Susan Brownell|author2=Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom|title=Chinese Femininities, Chinese Masculinities: A Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0WLLugOABZsC&pg=PA392#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=1 January 2002|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21103-2|pages=392–}}</ref><ref name="Williams2013">{{cite book|author=Brackette Williams|title=Women Out of Place: The Gender of Agency and the Race of Nationality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XZEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT106#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=2 December 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-23476-8|pages=98–}}</ref> |
|||
====Alleged plot to overthrow the government of Laos==== |
|||
The Ming dynasty [[Hongwu Emperor]] sent troops to Guizhou whose descendants became the Tunbao.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=27 February 2005 |title=Tunbao people spring preformance [sic]|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200502/27/eng20050227_174877.html |newspaper=English--People's Daily Online |location= |accessdate= }}</ref> The origin of the Tunbao people traces back to when the Ming dynasty sent 300,000 Han Chinese male soldiers in 1381 to conquer Yunnan and the men married Yao and Miao women.<ref name="Olson1998">{{cite book|author=James Stuart Olson|title=An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOM8qF34s4YC&pg=PA340#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=1 January 1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-28853-1|pages=340–}}</ref> |
|||
{{Main|2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation}} |
|||
On 4 June 2007, as part of an investigation labeled [[2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation|Operation Tarnished Eagle]], U.S. federal courts ordered warrants issued for the arrest of [[Vang Pao]] and nine others for plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of federal [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Acts]] and for multiple weapons charges.<ref>Walsh, Denny. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427063714/http://www.sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html |date=27 April 2008 |title=Ten accused of conspiring to oust government of Laos }} The ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', 5 June 2007, archived 27 April 2008 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013143724/http://sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html the original]</ref> The federal charges alleged that members of the group inspected weapons, including [[AK-47]]s, [[smoke grenade]]s, and [[Stinger missile]]s, in order to buy and smuggle into Thailand in June 2007, where they were intended to be used by Hmong resistance forces in Laos. Out of the 9 arrested, one was an American, Harrison Jack, a 1968 [[West Point]] graduate and retired Army infantry officer who allegedly attempted to recruit [[Special Operations]] veterans to act as [[mercenaries]]. |
|||
To obtain the weapons, Jack allegedly met unknowingly with undercover U.S. federal agents posing as weapons dealers, prompting the warrants, part of a long-running investigation into the activities of the U.S.-based Hmong leadership and its supporters. |
|||
The presence of women presiding over weddings was a feature noted in "Southeast Asian" marriages, such as in 1667 when a Miao woman in Yunnan married a Chinese official.<ref name="Andaya2006">{{cite book|author=Barbara Watson Andaya|title=The Flaming Womb: Repositioning Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tClCMl7hswQC&pg=PA205#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2006|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2955-1|pages=205–}}</ref> Some Sinicization occurred, in Yunnan a Miao chief's daughter married a scholar in the 1600s who wrote that she could read, write, and listen in Chinese and read Chinese classics.<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara Watson Andaya|title=The Flaming Womb: Repositioning Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tClCMl7hswQC&pg=PA20#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2006|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2955-1|pages=20–}}</ref> |
|||
On 15 June, the defendants were indicted by a [[grand jury]]; a [[arrest warrant|warrant]] was also issued for the arrest of an 11th man allegedly involved in the plot. Simultaneous raids of the defendants' homes and work locations, involving over 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials, were conducted in approximately 15 U.S. cities in [[Central California|Central]] and [[Southern California]]. |
|||
The [[Sichuan]] Hmong village of Wangwu was visited by Nicholas Tapp who wrote that the "clan ancestral origin legend" of the Wang Hmong clan, had said that several times they were married into be a Han Chinese and possibly one of these was their ancestor Wang Wu, there were two types of Hmong, "cooked" who sided with Chinese and "raw" who rebelled against the Chinese, the Chinese were supported by the Wang Hmong clan.<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tapp|title=The Hmong of China: Context, Angency, and the Imaginary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XGiZKGfgv4C&pg=PA333#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=0-391-04187-8|pages=333–}}</ref> A Hmong woman was married by the non-Hmong Wang Wu according to ''The Story of the Ha Kings'' in Wangwu village.<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tapp|title=The Hmong of China: Context, Angency, and the Imaginary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XGiZKGfgv4C&pg=PA327#v=onepage&q&f=false|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=0-391-04187-8|pages=327–}}</ref> |
|||
Multiple protest rallies in support of the suspects, designed to raise awareness of the treatment of Hmong peoples in the jungles of Laos, took place in [[California]], [[Minnesota]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Alaska]]. Several of [[Vang Pao]]'s high-level supporters in the U.S. criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang was a historically important American ally and a valued leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. Calls to Californian [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and President [[George W. Bush]] to pardon the defendants went unanswered pending a conclusion to the large, ongoing federal investigation.<ref>Magagnini, Stephen and Walsh, Denny. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213074347/http://www.sacbee.com/291/story/229794.html |date=13 December 2007 |title=Hmong Rally for 'The General' }} The Sacramento Bee, 19 June 2007, archived 13 December 2007 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20070621195814/http://www.sacbee.com/291/story/229794.html the original]</ref> |
|||
==Geography== |
|||
Roughly 95% of the Hmong live in Asia. Linguistic data show that the Hmong of the Peninsula stem from the Miao of southern China as one among a set of ethnic groups belonging to the [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]] language family.<ref>Ratliff and Niederer, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia, Silkworm Press, 2004</ref> Linguistically and culturally speaking, the Hmong and the other sub-groups of the Miao have little in common.<ref>Tapp, N. 2001, Hmong in China. Brill</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2016}} |
|||
On 18 September 2009, the U.S. federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19general.html U.S. Drops Case Against Exiled Hmong Leader] ''The New York Times'', 18 September 2009</ref> On 10 January 2011, after Vang Pao's death, the federal government dropped all charges against the remaining defendants saying, "Based on the totality of the circumstances in the case, the government believes, as a discretionary matter, that continued prosecution of defendants is no longer warranted."<ref>{{cite news | title=Charges dropped against 12 Hmong men accused in plot to overthrow Laotian government | url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/charges-dropped-against-12-hmong-men-accused-in-plot-to-overthrow-laotian-government.html | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=10 January 2011 | access-date=15 January 2011 }}</ref> |
|||
Vietnam, where their presence is attested from the late 18th century onwards, is likely to be the first Indochinese country into which the Hmong migrated.<ref>Culas and Michaud, 2004, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia. SIlkworm.</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} During the colonization of 'Tonkin' (north Vietnam) between 1883 and 1954, a number of Hmong decided to join the Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists, while many Christianized Hmong sided with the French. After the Viet Minh victory, numerous pro-French Hmong had to fall back to Laos and South Vietnam.<ref>Michaud J. 2000 The Montagnards and the State in Northern Vietnam from 1802 to 1975: A Historical Overview. Ethnohistory 47(2): 333-68</ref> |
|||
===Thailand=== |
|||
[[File:H'Mong (novembre 2011) (10).JPG|thumb|300px|Red Dao in Vietnam.]] |
|||
The presence of Hmong settlements in Thailand is documented from the end of the 19th century on. Initially, the [[Siamese people|Siamese]] paid little attention to them. But in the early 1950s, the state suddenly took a number of initiatives aimed at establishing links. Decolonization and nationalism were gaining momentum in the peninsula and wars of independence were raging. Armed opposition to the state in northern Thailand, triggered by outside influence, started in 1967 while again many Hmong refused to take sides in the conflict. Communist [[guerrilla warfare]] stopped by 1982 as a result of an international concurrence of events that rendered it pointless. Priority has since been given by the Thai state to sedentarizing the mountain population, introducing commercially viable agricultural techniques and national education, with the aim of integrating these non-Tai animists within the national identity.<ref>Tapp, Nicholas, 1989 ''Sovereignty and Rebellion''. Oxford.{{page needed|date=January 2016}}</ref><ref>Cooper, Robert G. 1984 ''Resource scarcity and the Hmong response''. Singapore University Press, Singapore.{{page needed|date=January 2016}}</ref> |
|||
At the 2009 national census, there were 1,068,189 Hmong living in Vietnam, the vast majority of them in the north of the country. The traditional trade in coffin wood with China and the cultivation of the opium poppy – both prohibited only in 1993 in Vietnam – long guaranteed a regular cash income. Today, converting to cash cropping is the main economic activity. As in China and Laos, there is a certain degree of participation of Hmong in the local and regional administration.<ref>Bonnin, Christine 2011, Markets in the Mountains: Exploring Geographies of Market Exchange, Trade Practices and Trader Livelihoods in Upland Northern Vietnam. PhD dissertation, McGill University.</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} In the late 1990s, several thousands of Hmong have started moving to the Central Highlands and some have crossed the border into Cambodia, constituting the first attested presence of Hmong settlers in that country. |
|||
===In the United States=== |
|||
In 2005, the Hmong in Laos numbered 460,000. Hmong settlement there is nearly as ancient as in Vietnam. After decades of distant relations with the Lao kingdoms, closer relations between the French military and some Hmong on the Xieng Khouang plateau were set up after World War II. There, a particular rivalry between members of the Lo and Ly clans developed into open enmity, also affecting those connected with them by kinship. Clan leaders took opposite sides and as a consequence, several thousand Hmong participated in the fighting against the Pathet Lao Communists, while perhaps as many were enrolled in the People's Liberation Army. As in Vietnam, numerous Hmong in Laos also genuinely tried to avoid getting involved in the conflict in spite of the extremely difficult material conditions under which they lived during wartime.<ref>Michaud, J. 2009 The A to Z of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press.</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2016}} |
|||
{{Main|Hmong American}}{{see also|List of Hmong Americans|History of the Hmong in Merced, California|Hmong archives|Lao Veterans of America|Laos Memorial|The Center for Public Policy Analysis}} |
|||
Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the [[Vietnam War]]. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at that time under the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act|Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975]]. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had emigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General [[Vang Pao]]'s secret army. It was not until the passage of the [[Refugee Act of 1980]] that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families were scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington State and Oregon. Smaller, but still sizeable communities also formed in Massachusetts ([[Lowell, Massachusetts|Lowell]]), Michigan ([[Detroit]]), Montana ([[Missoula]]) and Alaska ([[Anchorage]]). |
|||
==Culture== |
|||
After the 1975 Communist victory, thousands of Hmong from Laos had to seek refuge abroad (see Laos below). Approximately 30 percent of the Hmong left, although the only concrete figure we have is that of 116,000 Hmong from Laos and Vietnam together seeking refuge in Thailand up to 1990.<ref>Culas and Michaud 2004</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} |
|||
[[File:Hmong Earrings.jpg|thumb|A pair of traditional Hmong fine silver earrings]]Hmong people have their own terms for their cultural divisions. ''[[Hmong Der]]'' (Hmoob Dawb), and ''Hmong Leng'' (Hmoob Leeg) are the terms for two of the largest groups in the [[United States]] and Southeast Asia. These subgroups are also known as the White Hmong, and Blue or Green Hmong, respectively. These names originate from the color and designs of women's dresses in each respective group, with the White Hmong distinguished by the white dresses women wear on special occasions, and the Blue/Green Hmong by the blue [[batik]]ed dresses.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Commercialized Crafts of Thailand |last=Cohen |first=Eric |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-8248-2297-8 |page=54}}</ref> The name and pronunciation "Hmong" is exclusively used by the White Hmong to refer to themselves, and many dictionaries use only the White Hmong dialect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travisgore.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hmong-Language-by-Xee-Vang.pdf |title=The Hmong Language |last=Vang |first=Xee |access-date=30 November 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225131312/http://www.travisgore.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Hmong-Language-by-Xee-Vang.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
|||
In the [[Romanized Popular Alphabet]], developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written ''Hmoob Dawb'' (White Hmong) and ''Hmoob Leeg'' (Green Hmong). The final consonants indicate with which of the eight [[Tone (linguistics)|lexical tones]] the word is pronounced.<ref name="Tapp 2002 p78">{{Cite journal |last=Tapp |first=Nicholas |date=2002 |title=Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong |url=https://asianethnology.org/downloads/ae/pdf/a1413.pdf |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=61 |issue=1 |page=78 |doi=10.2307/1178678 |jstor=1178678}}</ref> |
|||
In 2002 the Hmong in Thailand numbered 151,080. The presence of Hmong settlements there is documented from the end of the 19th century. Initially, the Siamese paid little attention to them. But in the early 1950s, the state suddenly took a number of initiatives aimed at establishing links. Decolonization and nationalism were gaining momentum in the Peninsula and wars of independence were raging. Armed opposition to the state in northern Thailand, triggered by outside influence, started in 1967 while here again, many Hmong refused to take sides in the conflict. Communist guerrilla warfare stopped by 1982 as a result of an international concurrence of events that rendered it pointless. Priority is since given by the Thai state to sedentarizing the mountain population, introducing commercially viable agricultural techniques and national education, with the aim of integrating these non-Tai animists within the national identity.<ref>Tapp, Nicholas, 1989 ''Sovereignty and Rebellion''. Oxford.</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2016}}<ref>Cooper, Robert G. 1984 ''Resource scarcity and the Hmong response''. Singapore University Press, Singapore.</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2016}} |
|||
White Hmong and Green Hmong speak mutually intelligible dialects of the [[Hmong language]], with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most characteristic differences is the use of the [[Voiceless bilabial nasal|voiceless /m̥/]] in White Hmong, indicated by a preceding "H" in [[Romanized Popular Alphabet]]. Voiceless nasals are not found in the Green Hmong dialect. Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of [[head-dress]], or the provinces from which they come.<ref name="Tapp 2002 p78" /> |
|||
Burma most likely includes a modest number of Hmong (perhaps around 2,500) but no reliable census has been conducted there recently.<ref>Michaud 2009 The A to Z.</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} |
|||
===Vietnam and Laos=== |
|||
As result of refugee movements in the wake of the Indochina Wars (1946–1975), in particular in Laos, the largest Hmong community to settle outside Asia went to the United States where approximately 100,000 individuals had already arrived by 1990. California became home to half this group, while the remainder went to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, Pennsylvania, Montana, and North Carolina. By the same date, 10,000 Hmong had migrated to France, including 1,400 in French Guyana. Canada admitted 900 individuals, while another 360 went to Australia, 260 to China, and 250 to Argentina. Over the following years and until the definitive closure of the last refugee camps in Thailand in 1998, additional numbers of Hmong have left Asia, but the definitive figures are still to be produced.<ref>Culas and Michaud 2004.</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} |
|||
The Hmong groups in Vietnam and Laos, from the 18th century to the present day, are known as Black Hmong (''Hmoob Dub''), Striped Hmong (''Hmoob Txaij''), White Hmong (''Hmoob Dawb''), Hmong Leng (''Hmoob Leeg'') and Green Hmong (''Hmoob Ntsuab''). In other places in Asia, groups are also known as Black Hmong (''Hmoob Dub'' or ''Hmong Dou''), Striped Hmong (''Hmoob Txaij'' or ''Hmoob Quas Npab''), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau, Hmong Xanh (Green Hmong), Hmong Do (Red Hmong), Na Mieo and various other subgroups.<ref name="Tapp 2002 p78" /> These include the Flower Hmong or the Variegated Hmong (''Hmong Lenh'' or ''Hmong Hoa''), so named because of their bright, colorful embroidery work (called ''pa ndau'' or ''paj ntaub'', literally "flower cloth").<ref name="X1">{{cite web|url=http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/cgi-bin/category.cgi?type=store&item=pageZAAAD72&template=fullpage-en&category=fairtrade|title=Flower Hmong: Preserving Traditional Culture in Vietnam|year=2010|publisher=Ten Thousand Villages|access-date=21 January 2011|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721154504/http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/cgi-bin/category.cgi?type=store&item=pageZAAAD72&template=fullpage-en&category=fairtrade}}</ref> |
|||
{{main|Miao people}} |
|||
Outside of Asia, where about 5% of the world Hmong population now lives, the United States is home to the largest Hmong population. The 2008 Census counted 171,316 persons of Hmong Alone Population, and 221,948 persons of Hmong Alone Population or in Any Combination.<ref>2008 Southeast Asian American Data from the American Community Survey (Released Fall 2009)</ref> Other countries with significant populations include:<ref>Lemoine. "What is the number of the (H)mong in the world."</ref> |
|||
[[File:Wietnam, Sapa, Strój ludowy trzech kobiet.jpg|thumb|Hmong folk costume in [[Sa Pa]], Vietnam]] |
|||
*[[France]]: 15,000 |
|||
{{see also|Languages of China|Ethnic groups in Chinese history}} |
|||
*[[Australia]]: 2,000 |
|||
*[[French Guiana]]: 1,500 |
|||
*[[Canada]]: 835 |
|||
*[[Argentina]]: 600 |
|||
[[File:FlowerHmong Vietnam (pixinn.net).jpg|thumb|A Flower Hmong woman in [[Vietnam]]]] |
|||
[[Hmong Americans|The Hmong population within the United States]] is centered in the [[Upper Midwest]] ([[Wisconsin]], [[Minnesota]]) and [[California]].<ref>Pfeifer, Mark (compiler). University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire{{cite web|url=http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/Research/Hmong/HPopulation.htm |title=Hmong Population Research Project - Population |accessdate=2011-08-07 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725181757/http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/Research/Hmong/HPopulation.htm |archivedate=2008-07-25 |df= }} archived July 25, 2008 from [http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/research/hmong/HPopulation.htm the original] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822123712/http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/research/hmong/HPopulation.htm |date=August 22, 2009 }}</ref> |
|||
[[File:HouseBuildingInNorthernVietnam.jpg|thumb|A typical [[rammed earth]] house –building technique of Flower Hmong in Vietnam]] |
|||
=== |
===Hmong/Mong controversy=== |
||
{{globalize|section|date=February 2018}} |
|||
When Western authors first came in contact with Hmong people in the 18th century, they referred to them by writing [[ethnonyms]] which were previously assigned to them by the Chinese (i.e., Miao, or variants).{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence{{snd}}perhaps cite actual authors who made contact with Hmong in the 18th century|date=September 2010}} This practice continued into the 20th century.<ref name="SongsStories">{{Cite book | last = [[David Crockett Graham|Graham]] | first = David Crockett | title = Songs and Stories of the Ch'uan Miao | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | series = Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections | volume = 123,1 | location = Washington, D.C. | year = 1954 }}</ref> Even [[ethnographer]]s studying the Hmong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Meo, a corruption of Miao applied by Thai and Lao people to the Hmong. Although "Meo" was an official term, it was often used as an insult against the Hmong people, and it is considered to be derogatory.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong |journal=Hmong Studies Journal |year=1998 |first=Mai Na |last=Lee |volume=2 |issue=2 |url=http://members.aol.com/hmongstudiesjrnl/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.html#Fn5txt |access-date=10 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526123017/http://members.aol.com/hmongstudiesjrnl/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.html |archive-date=26 May 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{e25|mww|Hmong Daw}}</ref> |
|||
The issue came to a head during the passage of [[California State Assembly]] Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season.<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/kaoly_y/archives/HistoryBill78.html History of the Assembly Bill AB78] by Kao-Ly Yang {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027113906/http://www.geocities.com/kaoly_y/archives/HistoryBill78.html |date=27 October 2009 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2016}} Introduced by Doua Vu and Assembly Member [[Sarah Reyes]], District 31 (Fresno), the bill encouraged changes in secondary education curriculum to include information about the [[Laotian Civil War|Secret War]] and the role of Hmong people in the war. Furthermore, the bill called for the use of oral histories and first-hand accounts by Hmong people who had participated in the war and were caught up in its aftermath. Originally, the language of the bill mentioned only "Hmong" people, intending to include the entire community. Several Mong Leng activists, led by Dr. [[Paoze Thao]] (Professor of Linguistics and Education at [[California State University, Monterey Bay]]), drew attention to the problems associated with omitting "Mong" from the language of the bill. They noted that despite nearly equal numbers of Hmong Der and Mong Leng in the United States, resources are disproportionately allocated to the Hmong Der community. This not only includes scholarly research, but also the translation of materials, including the curriculum proposed by the bill.<ref>Romney, Lee. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20210323215459/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-24-me-hmong24-story.html Bill spurs bitter debate over Hmong identity]." L.A. Times, 24 May 2003.</ref> Despite these arguments, "Mong" was not added to the bill. In the version of the bill that was passed by the assembly, "Hmong" was replaced by "Southeast Asians," a broader and more inclusive term. |
|||
====U.S. and Laotian Civil War==== |
|||
{{Main article|Laotian Civil War}} |
|||
Dr. Paoze Thao and some others strongly feel that "Hmong" can only be used in reference to Hmong Der people because it does not include "Mong" Leng people. He feels that the use of "Hmong" in reference to both groups perpetuates the marginalization of the Mong Leng language and culture. Thus, he advocates the use of "Hmong" and "Mong" in reference to the entire ethnic group.<ref>Thao, Paoze and Chimeng Yang. "[http://www.mong.ws/publications/Mong%20and%20Hmong%20Article%20June%202004.pdf The Mong and the Hmong]". Mong Journal, vol. 1 (June 2004). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204073037/http://www.mong.ws/publications/Mong%20and%20Hmong%20Article%20June%202004.pdf |date=4 February 2016 }}</ref> Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr. [[Gary Yia Lee]] (a Hmong Der person), suggests that for the past 30 years, "Hmong" has been used in reference to the entire community and as a result, the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understandable.<ref>Lee, Gary and Nicholas Tapp. "[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yeulee/Topical/12point%20statement.html Current Hmong Issues: 12-point Statement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321221201/http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yeulee/Topical/12point%20statement.html |date=21 March 2007 }}".</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2016}} Some argue that such distinctions create unnecessary divisions within the global community, arguing that the use of these distinctions will only confuse non-Hmong and Mong people who are both trying to learn more about Hmong and Mong history and culture.<ref>Duffy, John, Roger Harmon, Donald A. Ranard, Bo Thao, and Kou Yang. "[http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hpeop.html People] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916061602/http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hpeop.html |date=2012-09-16 }}". In The Hmong: An Introduction to their history and culture. The Center for Applied Linguistics, Culture Profile No. 18 (June 2004): 3.</ref> |
|||
In the early 1960s, partially as a result of the [[North Vietnamese invasion of Laos]] the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s (CIA) [[Special Activities Division]] began to recruit, train and lead the indigenous Hmong people in Laos to fight against [[North Vietnamese Army]] divisions invading Laos during the [[Vietnam War]]. This "Secret Army" was organized into various mobile regiments and divisions, including various Special Guerrilla Units, all of who were led by General [[Vang Pao]]. An estimated sixty-percent (60%) of Hmong men in Laos were assisted by the CIA with support in order to join fighting in the "Secret Army" during the [[Laotian Civil War|"Secret War"]] in Laos.<ref>Grant Evans "Laos is getting a bad rap from the world's media" The Bangkok Post 08 July 2003</ref><ref>"Being Hmong Means Being Free" Wisconsin Public Television</ref>{{better source|date=January 2016}} CIA case officers and a limited field operatives helped advise and organize key Hmong military divisions, regiments, battalions and units, including Special Guerrilla Units, as the counterattack to the [[Vietnam People's Army]] invasion of the [[Kingdom of Laos]] and to seek to interdict the [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]], the main military supply route from the [[North Vietnam]] to the [[Republic of South Vietnam]]. |
|||
As a compromise alternative, multiple iterations of "Hmong" have been proposed. A Hmong theologian, Rev. Dr. Paul Joseph T. Khamdy Yang has proposed the use of the term "'''HMong'''" in reference to the ''Hmong'' and the ''Mong'' communities by capitalizing the '''H''' and the '''M'''. The ethnologist Jacques Lemoine has also begun to use the term (H)mong in reference to the entirety of the Hmong and Mong communities.<ref name="Lemoine2005"/> |
|||
While Hmong soldiers were known to assist the North Vietnamese in many situations, a fair number of Hmong soldiers were recognized for serving in combat against the NVA and the [[Pathet Lao]], helping block Hanoi's [[Ho Chi Minh trail]] inside Laos and rescuing downed American pilots. While numbers of participating Hmong soldiers are largely exaggerated within Hmong communities due to tendencies of oral history, Hmongs have received a great deal of credit for their assistance in the United States, more so than the families of South Vietnamese soldiers recruited by the United States military for combat inside of Vietnam. Though their role was generally kept secret in the early stages of the conflict, they made monumental sacrifices to help the U.S.<ref>Warner, Roger, ''[[Shooting at the Moon (book)|Shooting at the Moon]]'', (1996), pp366.</ref> |
|||
===Hmong and Miao=== |
|||
General Vang Pao led the Region II (MR2) defense against [[Vietnam People's Army]] (NVA) incursion from his headquarters in [[Long Cheng]], also known as Lima Site 20 Alternate (LS 20A).<ref>{{Cite book| last = Hamilton-Merritt | first = Jane | title = Tragic Mountains | publisher = Indiana University Press | location = Bloomington | year = 1993 | pages = 130–139 | isbn = 0-253-32731-8 }}</ref> At the height of its activity, Long Cheng became the second largest city in Laos. Long Cheng was a micro-nation operational site with its own bank, airport, school system, officials, and many other facilities and services in addition to its military units. Before the end of the Secret War, Long Cheng would occasionally, sometimes, fall in and out of General Vang Pao's and the Laotian and Hmong "Secret Army's" control. |
|||
[[File:Can Cau market (6223927056).jpg|thumb|Hmong people at the Can Cau market, [[Si Ma Cai]], Vietnam]] |
|||
Some non-Chinese Hmong advocate for the term 'Hmong' to be used not only to designate their dialect group {{citation needed span|date=April 2021|but also other Miao groups living in China.}} They generally claim that the word "Miao" or "Meo" is a derogatory term, with connotations of barbarism, that probably should not be used at all. The term was later adopted by [[Tai languages|Tai]]-speaking groups in Southeast Asia where it took on especially insulting associations for Hmong people despite its official status.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Tapp |first=Nicholas |year=2002 |title=Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong |url=https://asianethnology.org/downloads/ae/pdf/a1413.pdf |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=77–104 |doi=10.2307/1178678 |jstor=1178678 |id={{ProQuest|224529908}}}}</ref> |
|||
In the United States and Southeast Asia, the [[Lao Veterans of America]], and Lao Veterans of America Institute, helped to assist in the resettlement of many Laotian and Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in the United States, especially former Hmong veterans and their family members who served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in Laos during the Vietnam War.<ref>Lao Veterans of America, Inc., (LVA) Washington, D.C., http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/ |date=2016-12-27 }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2016}} |
|||
In modern China, the term "Miao" does not carry these negative associations, and people of the various sub-groups that constitute this officially recognized nationality freely identify themselves as Miao or Chinese, typically reserving more specific [[ethnonym]]s for intra-ethnic communication. During the struggle for political recognition after 1949, it was members of these ethnic minorities who campaigned for identification under the umbrella term "Miao"{{snd}}taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression.<ref>Cheung Siu-Woo "Miao Identity in Western Guizhou: Indigenism and the politics of appropriation in the southwest china during the republican period" in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 237–40.</ref> |
|||
====Hmong Lao resistance==== |
|||
{{Main article|Conflict in Laos involving the Hmong|United League for Democracy in Laos}} |
|||
[[File:hmong wedding.jpg|thumb|Hmong girls meet possible suitors while playing a ball-throwing game in [[Laos]].]] |
|||
Contemporary transnational interactions between Hmong in the West and Miao groups in China, following the 1975 Hmong emigration, led to the development of a global Hmong identity that includes linguistically and culturally related minorities in China with no previous ethnic affiliation.<ref>Schien, Louisa. "Hmong/Miao Transnationality: Identity Beyond Culture." in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 274–75.</ref> Scholarly and commercial exchanges, increasingly made over the internet, have also resulted in an exchange of terminology, including some Hmong people accepting the designation "Miao" after visiting China and some nationalist non-Hmong Miao peoples identifying as Hmong.<ref name=":0" /> Such realignments of identity, while largely the concern of economically elite community leaders reflects a trend towards the interchangeability of the terms "Hmong" and "Miao".<ref>Lee, Gary Y. |
|||
For many years, the Neo Hom resistance and political movement played a key role in resistance to the [[Vietnam People's Army]] in Laos following the U.S. withdrawal in 1975. [[Vang Pao]] played a significant role in this movement. Additionally, a spiritual leader [[Zong Zoua Her]], as well as other Hmong leaders, including Pa Kao Her, (or Pa Khao Her, rallied some of their followers in an additional factionalized guerrilla resistance movement called [[Chao Fa (Hmong movement)|Chao Fa]] ([[Romanized Popular Alphabet|RPA]]: Caub Fab, [[Pahawh Hmong]]: [[File:ChaoFaPahawh.png|35px]]<ref>Smalley, William Allen, Chia Koua Vang (''Txiaj Kuam Vaj'' [[File:ChiaKouaVangPahawh.png|35px]]), and Gnia Yee Yang (''Nyiaj Yig Yaj'' [[File:GniaYeeYangPahawh.png|35px]]). ''Mother of Writing: The Origin and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script''. [[University of Chicago Press]], March 23, 1990. 10. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on March 23, 2012. {{ISBN|0-226-76286-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-226-76286-9}}.</ref>). These events led to the [[yellow rain]] controversy, when the [[United States]] accused the [[Soviet Union]] of supplying and using chemical weapons in this conflict.<ref name=Tucker>{{Cite journal |
|||
| author = Jonathan Tucker |
|||
| title = The Yellow Rain Controversy: Lessons for Arms Control Compliance |
|||
| journal = The Nonproliferation Review |
|||
| date = Spring 2001 |
|||
| url = http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/81tucker.pdf |
|||
| doi = |
|||
}}</ref> |
|||
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070307015436/http://hmongstudies.org/GYLee.pdf Dreaming Across the Oceans: Globalization and Cultural Reinvention in the Hmong Diaspora]}}. Hmong Studies Journal, 7:1–33.</ref> |
|||
Small groups of Hmong people, many of them second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries.<ref>{{Cite news|first=David |last=Kinchen |title=438 former "Cob Fab" removed by helicopter after they came out of hiding |date=2006-11-17 |publisher= |url=http://www.hmongtoday.com/displaynews.asp?ID=2384 |work=Hmong Today |pages= |accessdate=2007-03-22 |language= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222133658/http://www.hmongtoday.com/displaynews.asp?ID=2384 |archivedate=2007-02-22 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref> |
|||
==Diaspora== |
|||
====Controversy over repatriation==== |
|||
{{Further|Integration of Hmong people into urban society}} |
|||
After talks with the UNHCR and the Thai government, Laos agreed to the repatriation of over 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including tens of thousands of Hmong people. Very few of the Lao refugees, however, were willing to return voluntarily.<ref>"Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand," U.P.I., June 5, 1991.</ref> Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, coercive measures and forced repatriation was used to send thousands of Hmong back to the communist regime in Laos that they fled.<ref>"Lao Refugees Return Home Under European Union Repatriation Program," Associated Press Worldstream, 22 11, 1994. Karen J, "HOUSE PANEL HEARS CONCERNS ABOUT HMONG," States News Service, April 26, 1994.</ref> Of those Hmong who did return to Laos, some quickly escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.<ref>Hamilton-Merritt, Jane. Tragic Mountains. p. xix–xxi.</ref> |
|||
Linguistic data shows that the Hmong of the peninsula stem from the Miao of southern China as one among a set of ethnic groups belonging to the [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]] language family.<ref>Ratliff and Niederer, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia, Silkworm Press, 2004</ref> Linguistically and culturally speaking, the Hmong and the other sub-groups of the Miao have little in common.<ref>Tapp, N. 2001, Hmong in China. Brill{{page needed|date=January 2016}}</ref> |
|||
Following the Vue Mai incident, debate over the Hmong's planned repatriation to Laos intensified greatly, especially in the U.S., where it drew strong opposition from [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], and Republican [[Conservatism in the United States|American conservatives]] and some [[human rights]] advocates. In an article published on October 23, 1995 in the ''[[National Review]]'', [[Michael Johns (policy analyst)|Michael Johns]], the former [[The Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]] foreign policy expert and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[White House]] aide, labeled the Hmong's repatriation a [[Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] "betrayal," describing the Hmong as a people "who have spilled their blood in defense of American geopolitical interests."<ref name="johns1995">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20070705214752/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=July 5, 2007 |title=Acts of Betrayal: Persecution of Hmong|first=Michael|last=Johns|publisher=National Review|date=October 23, 1995 |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref> Debate on the issue escalated quickly. In an effort to halt the planned repatriation, the Republican-led [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] and [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] both appropriated funds for the remaining Thailand-based Hmong to be immediately resettled in the U.S.; Clinton, however, responded by promising a veto of the legislation. |
|||
[[File:Flower hmong bac ha 1999.jpg|thumb|In the 1990s, many Flower Hmong switched from their traditional colourful dress to western clothing.]] |
|||
In their opposition of the repatriation plans, Democrats and Republicans also challenged the Clinton administration's position that the Laotian government was not systematically violating Hmong human rights. U.S. Representative [[Steve Gunderson (politician)|Steve Gunderson]] (R-WI), for instance, told a Hmong gathering: "I do not enjoy standing up and saying to my government that you are not telling the truth, but if that is necessary to defend truth and justice, I will do that."<ref name="johns1995"/> Democrats and Republicans also called several Congressional hearings on alleged persecution of the Hmong in Laos in an apparent attempt to generate further support for their opposition to the Hmong's repatriation to Laos. In bipartisan fashion, key Democratic and Republican Members of Congress opposed forced repatriation and human rights violations in [[communist]] Laos and Thailand directed against the Hmong and Laotian people including U.S. Congressman [[Bruce Vento]], Senator [[Paul Wellstone]], Congressman [[Dana Rohrabacher]] and others. |
|||
[[Vietnam]], where their presence is attested from the late 18th century onwards and characterized with both assimilation, cooperation and hostility, is likely to be the first [[Southeast Asia|Southeastern Eurasian]] country into which the Hmong migrated.<ref>Culas and Michaud, 2004, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia. SIlkworm.</ref> At the 2019 national census, there were 1,393,547 Hmong living in Vietnam, the vast majority of them in the north of the country. The traditional trade in [[Taiwania|coffin wood]] with China and cultivation of the [[opium poppy]] – not prohibited in Vietnam until 1993 – long guaranteed a regular cash income. Today, [[cash crop]]ping is the main economic activity. As in China and Laos, Hmong participate to a certain degree in local and regional administration.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Bonnin |first1=Christine |title=Markets in the mountains: upland trade-scapes, trader livelihoods, and state development agendas in northern Vietnam |url=https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/s4655m46k }}</ref> In the late 1990s, several thousands of Hmong started moving to the [[Central Highlands, Vietnam|Central Highlands]] and some crossed the border into [[Cambodia]], constituting the first attested presence of Hmong settlers in that country.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} |
|||
In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, [[The Center for Public Policy Analysis]], a non-governmental public policy research organization, and its Executive Director, Philip Smith, played a key role in raising awareness in the U.S. Congress and policy making circles in Washington, D.C. about the plight of the Hmong and Laotian refugees in Thailand and Laos. The CPPA, backed by a bipartisan coalition of Members of the U.S. Congress as well as human rights organizations, conducted numerous research missions to the Hmong and Laotian refugee camps along the [[Mekong River]] in Thailand, as well as the Buddhist temple of [[Wat Tham Krabok]], to gather first hand information about human rights violations in [[Marxist]] Laos and the forced repatriation of Hmong refugees from Thailand back to the [[communist]] regime in Laos that they fled.<ref>Smith, Philip, |
|||
Centre for Public Policy Analysis, CPPA, Washington, D.C. http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
|||
In 2015, the Hmong in Laos numbered 595,028.<ref name="Census2015">{{cite web|url=https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PHC-ENG-FNAL-WEB_0.pdf|title=Results of Population and Housing Census 2015 |publisher=Lao Statistics Bureau |access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> Hmong settlement there is nearly as ancient as in Vietnam. |
|||
In addition to the CPPA and Members of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., [[Amnesty International]], the [[Lao Veterans of America]], Inc., the [[United League for Democracy in Laos]], Inc., [[Lao Human Rights Council]], Inc. (led by Dr. Pobzeb Vang [[Vang Pobzeb]], and later Vaughn Vang) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights organizations opposed the forced repatriation of Hmong and Laotian political refugees and asylum seekers from Thailand back to the government in Laos that they fled.<ref>Lao Veterans of America, Inc., (LVA), Washington, D.C., http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/ |date=2016-12-27 }}</ref> |
|||
After the 1975 Communist victory, thousands of Hmong from [[Laos]] had to seek refuge abroad (see Laos below). Approximately 30 percent of the Hmong have left, although the only concrete figure we have is that of 116,000 Hmong from Laos and Vietnam together seeking refuge in Thailand up to 1990.<ref>Culas and Michaud 2004</ref> |
|||
Although some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,<ref>[http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb909nb5j8&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text Reports on results of investigations of allegations concerning the welfare of Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand and Laos] Refugee and Migration Affairs Unit, United States Embassy (Thailand), 1992, Retrieved 2007-07-27</ref> thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996, as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, and under mounting political pressure, the U.S. agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a new screening process.<ref>STEVE GUNDERSON, "STATE DEPARTMENT OUTLINES RESETTLEMENT GUIDELINES FOR HMONG REFUGEES," Congressional Press Releases, May 18, 1996.</ref> Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at [[Wat Tham Krabok]], a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees were already living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, but the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the [[illegal drug trade]] and were of non-Lao origin.<ref>"Laos refuses to take back Thai-based Hmong refugees," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, August 20, 1998.</ref> |
|||
In 2002 the Hmong in Thailand numbered 151,080. |
|||
In 2003, following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the U.S., in a significant victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees.<ref>{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, January 16, 2004, archived January 17, 2009 from [https://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2004/28212.htm the original] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117073258/http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2004/28212.htm |date=January 17, 2009 }}</ref> Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the U.S., fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021133910/http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html |date=October 21, 2008 |title=History of the Hmong Resettlement Task Force }} Hmong Resettlement Task Force, archived October 21, 2008 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20040818025236/http://www.centralcallegal.org/hrtf/history/index.html the original]</ref> |
|||
[[Myanmar]] most likely includes a modest number of Hmong (perhaps around 2,500) but no reliable census has been conducted there recently.<ref>Michaud et al. 2016</ref> |
|||
In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of [[Phetchabun Province|Phetchabun]].<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4724199.stm | work=BBC News | title=Hmong refugees pleading to stay | date=July 28, 2005 | accessdate=May 4, 2010}}</ref> |
|||
As result of [[refugee]] movements in the wake of the Indochina Wars (1946–1975), in particular, in Laos, the largest Hmong community to settle outside Asia went to the United States where approximately 100,000 individuals had already arrived by 1990. By the same date, 10,000 Hmong had migrated to France, including 1,400 in [[French Guiana]]; [[Canada]] admitted 900 individuals, while another 360 went to [[Australia]], 260 to [[China]], and 250 to [[Argentina]]. Over the following years and until the definitive closure of the last refugee camps in Thailand in 1998, additional numbers of Hmong have left Asia, but the definitive figures are still to be produced.<ref>Culas and Michaud 2004.</ref> |
|||
Lending further support to earlier claims that the government of Laos was persecuting the Hmong, filmmaker [[Rebecca Sommer]] documented first-hand accounts in her documentary, ''Hunted Like Animals'',<ref>[http://www.sommerfilms.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php Hunted like animals] Rebecca Sommer Film Clips</ref> and in a comprehensive report which includes summaries of claims made by the refugees and was submitted to the U.N. in May 2006.<ref>[http://www.earthpeoples.org/new/report-download/REPORT-Hmong-Rebecca_Sommer.pdf REPORT on the situation in the Xaysomboun Special Zone and 1100 Hmong-Lao refugees who escaped to Petchabun, Thailand during 2004-2005] Rebecca Sommer, May 2006</ref> |
|||
[[File:Hmong Girl in PhoCao HaGiang 2005.JPG|thumb|Hmong girl (aged 15) preparing wedding dress, Phố Cáo commune, Hà Giang province, Vietnam]] |
|||
The European Union,<ref name="EU@UN">[http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_6732_en.htm Thailand: EU Presidency Declaration on the situation of Hmong refugees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312015347/http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_6732_en.htm |date=2010-03-12 }} EU@UN, February 1, 2007</ref> UNHCHR, and international groups have since spoken out about the forced repatriation.<ref name="EU@UN"/><ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013140444/http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2007/Hmong |date=October 13, 2007 |title=Hmong refugees facing removal from Thailand }} The Wire - Amnesty International's monthly magazine, March 2007, archived October 13, 2007 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313222829/http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2007/Hmong the original]</ref><ref>[http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=812 Deportation of Hmong Lao refugees stopped in last minute] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224030721/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=812 |date=February 24, 2012 }} Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, January 30, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.unpo.org/article/6250 Hmong: UNHCR Protests Refugee Deportation] Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, February 5, 2007</ref> At the time, after an international outcry by NGOs, humanitarian aid organizations, and Members of the [[U |
|||
Approximately 5% of the Hmong population currently lives outside of Asia, with the United States home to the largest Hmong diaspora community. The 2008 census counted 171,316 people solely of Hmong ancestry, and 221,948 persons of at least partial Hmong ancestry.<ref>2008 Southeast Asian American Data from the American Community Survey (Released Fall 2009)</ref> Other countries with significant populations include:<ref>Lemoine. "What is the number of the (H)mong in the world."</ref> |
|||
S Congress]] and others, the Thai foreign ministry claimed it would halt deportation of Hmong refugees held in Detention Centers in [[Nong Khai]], while talks are underway to resettle them in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], the [[Netherlands]] and the United States.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6314463.stm | work=BBC News | title=Thailand halts Hmong repatriation | date=January 30, 2007 | accessdate=May 4, 2010}}</ref> However, the Thai government backpedalled on this promise and renewed its forced repatriation policy against Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in Nong Khai and Ban Huay Nam Khao.<ref>Smith, Philip, Centre For Public Policy Analysis, Washington, D.C. (10 September 2009)http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
|||
* [[France]]: 15,000 |
|||
* [[Australia]]: 2,000 |
|||
* [[French Guiana]]: 1,500 |
|||
* [[Canada]]: 835 |
|||
* [[Argentina]]: 600 |
|||
[[Hmong Americans|The Hmong population within the United States]] is centered in the [[Upper Midwest]] ([[Wisconsin]], [[Minnesota]]) and [[California]].<ref>Pfeifer, Mark (compiler). University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire{{cite web|url=http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/Research/Hmong/HPopulation.htm |title=Hmong Population Research Project – Population |access-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725181757/http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/Research/Hmong/HPopulation.htm |archive-date=25 July 2008 }} archived 25 July 2008 from [http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/research/hmong/HPopulation.htm the original] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822123712/http://www.uwec.edu/Econ/research/hmong/HPopulation.htm |date=22 August 2009 }}</ref> |
|||
At the time, during the Nong Khai and Huay Nam Khao refugee crisis of 2006-2009, third countries willing to resettle the refugees were hindered to proceed with immigration and settlement procedures because the Thai administration would not grant them access to the refugees.<ref>Smith, Philip, Centre For Public Policy Analysis, Washington, D.C. (22 September 2009)http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
|||
===Vietnam=== |
|||
On 27 December 2009, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the Thai military was preparing to forcibly return 4,000 Hmong asylum seekers to Laos by the end of the year:<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/asia/28hmong.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes | work=The New York Times | title=Thailand Begins Repatriation of Hmong to Laos | first=Seth | last=Mydans | date=December 28, 2009 | accessdate=May 4, 2010}}</ref> the BBC later reported that repatriations had started.<ref name="2009thailand"/> Both United States and United Nations officials have protested this action. Outside government representatives have not been allowed to interview this group over the last three years. [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] has refused to assist the Hmong refugees because of what they have called "increasingly restrictive measures" taken by the Thai military.<ref>[http://www.tragicmountains.org/id100.html BURNING ISSUE: Don't Just Voice Concerns, Offer Solutions] The Nation, December 23, 2009</ref> The Thai military jammed all cellular phone reception and disallowed any foreign journalists from the Hmong camps.<ref name="2009thailand">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8432094.stm |title=Thailand starts deporting Hmong refugees back to Laos |publisher=BBC |date=2009-12-28 |accessdate=2009-12-28}}</ref> |
|||
Hmong people in [[Vietnam]] have been perceived differently by various modern political organizations and in different historical periods. Since the Hmong are an ethnic minority in Vietnam, their loyalty toward the Vietnamese state has been frequently questioned by the state. However, many Hmong in Vietnam are fiercely loyal, regardless of the current ideologies of the government;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/the-history-of-vietnams-hmong-community/|title=The History of Vietnam's Hmong Community|last=Pike|first=Matthew|website=Culture Trip|date=29 April 2018|access-date=20 January 2020}}</ref> the Hmong in [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]] are the most supportive of active resistance. These tend to be Hmong Christians that have been targeted by all three Vietnamese governments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucanews.com/news/hmong-catholics-keep-faith-in-vietnam-despite-hardship/83137|title=Hmong Catholics keep faith in Vietnam despite hardship - UCA News|website=ucanews.com}}</ref> The Hmong in Vietnam also receive cultural and political incentives from the government,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vietnamroyaltourism.com/Hmong-People-in-Vietnam.html|title=Hmong People in Vietnam|website=vietnamroyaltourism.com}}</ref> which led to the Vietnamese Hmong further diverging from the Laotian Hmong, since the latter are strongly anti-Vietnamese due to the Secret War and Communism. |
|||
====Alleged plot to overthrow the government of Laos==== |
|||
{{Main article|2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation}} |
|||
On 4 June 2007, as part of an investigation labeled "[[Operation Tarnished Eagle]]," warrants were issued by U.S. federal courts ordering the arrest of [[Vang Pao]] and nine others for plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of the federal [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Acts]] and for multiple weapons charges.<ref>Walsh, Denny. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427063714/http://www.sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html |date=April 27, 2008 |title=Ten accused of conspiring to oust government of Laos }} The ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', June 5, 2007, archived April 27, 2008 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013143724/http://sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html the original]</ref> The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including [[AK-47]]s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand in June 2007 where they were intended to be used by Hmong resistance forces in Laos. The one non-Hmong person of the nine arrested, [[Harrison Jack]], a 1968 [[West Point]] graduate and retired Army infantry officer, allegedly attempted to recruit [[Special Operations]] veterans to act as [[mercenaries]]. |
|||
===Laos=== |
|||
In an effort to obtain the weapons, Jack allegedly met unknowingly with undercover U.S. federal agents posing as weapons dealers, which prompted the issuance of the warrants as part of a long-running investigation into the activities of the U.S.-based Hmong leadership and its supporters. |
|||
There are 595,028 Hmong people in Laos. They mainly live in northern regions. |
|||
On 15 June, the defendants were indicted by a [[grand jury]] and a [[arrest warrant|warrant]] was also issued for the arrest of an 11th man, allegedly involved in the plot. Simultaneous raids of the defendants homes and work locations, involving over 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials, were conducted in approximately 15 cities in [[Central California|Central]] and [[Southern California]] in the US. |
|||
===Thailand=== |
|||
The defendants faced possible life prison terms for violation of the [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Acts]] and various weapons charges. They initially were denied bail, with a federal court ruling that they were likely flight risks, given their extensive connections, access to private aircraft, and resources. |
|||
[[File:Hmong-Ban Phaya Phipak62.JPG|thumb|Hmong girls in [[Thoeng District]], [[Thailand]]]] |
|||
{{see also|Wat Tham Krabok}} |
|||
The Hmong presence in Thailand dates back to the turn of the 20th century when families migrated from China through Laos and Burma, according to most authors. A relatively small population, they still formed dozens of villages and hamlets throughout the northern provinces. The Hmong were registered by the state as the Meo hill tribe. Then, more Hmong migrated from Laos to Thailand following the victory of the [[Pathet Lao]] in 1975. While some ended up in refugee camps, others settled in mountainous areas among more ancient [[Hill tribe (Thailand)|Hill Tribes]].<ref name="Baird 2013 120–151">{{cite book|last=Baird|first=Ian G.|title=The monks and the Hmong: The special relationship between the Chao Fa and the Tham Krabok Buddhist Temple in Saraburi Province, Thailand. In Vladimir Tikhonov and Torkel Brekke (eds.), Violent Buddhism – Buddhism and Militarism in Asia in the Twentieth Century|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=London|pages=120–151}}</ref> |
|||
===Americas=== |
|||
Multiple protest rallies in support of the suspects, designed to raise awareness of the treatment of Hmong peoples in the jungles of Laos, took place in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alaska, and several of [[Vang Pao]]'s high-level supporters in the U.S. criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang is a historically important American ally and a valued leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. However, calls for then Californian [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and former President [[George W. Bush]] to pardon the defendants were not answered, presumably pending a conclusion of the large and then still-ongoing federal investigation.<ref>Magagnini, Stephen and Walsh, Denny. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213074347/http://www.sacbee.com/291/story/229794.html |date=December 13, 2007 |title=Hmong Rally for 'The General' }} The Sacramento Bee, June 19, 2007, archived December 13, 2007 from [https://web.archive.org/web/20070621195814/http://www.sacbee.com/291/story/229794.html the original]</ref> |
|||
{{Main|Hmong Americans}}{{see also|List of Hmong Americans|History of the Hmong in Merced, California|Hmong archives|Lao Veterans of America|Laos Memorial|The Center for Public Policy Analysis}} |
|||
Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the [[Vietnam War]]. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum under the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act|Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975]]. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had emigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the [[Refugee Act of 1980]] that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, 260,073 Hmong people reside in the United States,<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/en.html|title=Census.gov|website=Census.gov}}</ref> the majority of whom live in California (91,224), then Minnesota (66,181), and Wisconsin (49,240), an increase from 186,310 in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |title=Census Bureau Homepage |publisher=Census.gov |date=25 May 2012 |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> 247,595 or 95.2% are Hmong alone, and the remaining 12,478 are mixed Hmong with some other ethnicity. The vast majority of part-Hmong are under 10 years old. |
|||
In terms of cities and towns, the largest Hmong-American community is in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] (29,662), followed by [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] (24,328), [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] (16,676), [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]] (10,245), and [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]] (7,512).<ref name="wwwcensusgov" /> |
|||
On 18 September 2009, the US federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19general.html U.S. Drops Case Against Exiled Hmong Leader] The New York Times, September 18, 2009</ref> On 10 January 2011, after Vang Pao's death, the federal government dropped all charges against the remaining defendants saying, "Based on the totality of the circumstances in the case, the government believes, as a discretionary matter, that continued prosecution of defendants is no longer warranted," according to court documents.<ref>{{cite news | title=Charges dropped against 12 Hmong men accused in plot to overthrow Laotian government | url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/charges-dropped-against-12-hmong-men-accused-in-plot-to-overthrow-laotian-government.html | publisher=Los Angeles Times | date=January 10, 2011 | accessdate=2011-01-15 }}</ref> |
|||
There are smaller Hmong communities scattered across the United States, including those in Minnesota ([[Rochester, Minnesota|Rochester]], [[Mankato]], [[Duluth]]); Michigan ([[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] and [[Warren, Michigan|Warren]]); [[Anchorage, Alaska]]; [[Denver, Colorado]]; [[Portland, Oregon]]; Washington; North Carolina ([[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[Morganton, North Carolina|Morganton]]); South Carolina ([[Spartanburg]]); Georgia ([[Auburn, Georgia|Auburn]], [[Duluth, Georgia|Duluth]], [[Monroe, Georgia|Monroe]], [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], and [[Winder, Georgia|Winder]]); Florida ([[Tampa Bay]]); California ([[Merced, California|Merced]]); Wisconsin ([[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]], [[Appleton, Wisconsin|Appleton]], [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]], [[Milwaukee]], [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin|Oshkosh]], [[La Crosse, Wisconsin|La Crosse]], [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin|Sheboygan]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], and [[Wausau, Wisconsin|Wausau]]); [[Aurora, Illinois]]; [[Kansas City, Kansas]]; [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]; [[Missoula, Montana]]; [[Des Moines, Iowa]]; [[Springfield, Missouri]]; [[Arkansas]], [[Fitchburg, Massachusetts]],<ref name="wwwcensusgov" /> and [[Providence, Rhode Island]].<ref name="ProJoHmong">{{cite news|title=Rhode Island's Hmong-Lao community to mark 40 years of resettlement|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160508/rhode-islands-hmong-lao-community-to-mark-40-years-of-resettlement|access-date=19 September 2017|newspaper=The Providence Journal|date=8 May 2016}}</ref> |
|||
===Americas=== |
|||
{{Main article|Hmong American}}{{see also|List of Hmong Americans|History of the Hmong in Merced, California|Hmong archives|Lao Veterans of America|Laos Memorial|The Centre for Public Policy Analysis}} |
|||
Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the [[Vietnam War]]. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at that time under the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act|Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975]]. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had immigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the [[Refugee Act of 1980]] that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California and Minnesota. Today, 260,073 Hmong people reside in the United States<ref name="factfinder2">http://www.factfinder2.census.gov {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911234518/http://factfinder2.census.gov/ |date=2013-09-11 }}</ref> the majority of whom live in California (91,224), Minnesota (66,181), and Wisconsin (49,240), an increase from 186,310 in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov |title=Census Bureau Homepage |publisher=Census.gov |date=2012-05-25 |accessdate=2012-06-08}}</ref> Of them, 247,595 or 95.2% are Hmong alone, and the remaining 12,478 are mixed Hmong with some other ethnicity or race. The vast majority of part-Hmong are under 10 years old. |
|||
[[Sunisa Lee|Sunisa "Suni" Lee]] of [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]] is a notable Hmong-American; she is a three time Olympic medalist in artistic gymnastics. In the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], Lee won silver in the women's artistic team all-around, followed by gold in the women's artistic individual all-around and bronze in the women's uneven bars. With these results, Sunisa made history as both the first Hmong-American to compete in the Olympics in any sport and the first Hmong-American to win an Olympic medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wpr.org/hmong-community-rejoices-sunisa-lee-becomes-first-hmong-american-gold-medalist|title=Hmong Community Rejoices As Sunisa Lee Becomes First Hmong American Gold Medalist|website=Wisconsin Public Radio|date=29 July 2021|author=Rob Mentzer}}</ref> |
|||
In terms of cities and towns, the largest Hmong-American community is in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] (29,662), followed by [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] (24,328), [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] (16,676), [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]] (10,245), and [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]] (7,512).<ref name="factfinder2" /> |
|||
Canada's small Hmong population is mostly concentrated within the province of [[Ontario]]. [[Kitchener, Ontario]] has 515 residents of Hmong descent, and has a Hmong church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3530013&Data=Count&SearchText=kitchener&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1|title=2011 National Household Survey Profile – Census subdivision|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|date=8 May 2013}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=IX8kipA3v6gC&dq=kitchener+ontario+hmong&pg=PA95 The Hmong, 1987–1995: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography], ''Diane Publishing''</ref> |
|||
There are smaller Hmong communities scattered across the United States, including those in Michigan ([[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] and [[Warren, Michigan|Warren]]); [[Anchorage, Alaska]]; [[Denver, Colorado]]; [[Portland, Oregon]]; Washington ; North Carolina ([[Charlotte]], [[Morganton, North Carolina|Morganton]]); Georgia ([[Auburn, Georgia|Auburn]], [[Duluth, Georgia|Duluth]], [[Monroe, Georgia|Monroe]], [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], and [[Winder, Georgia|Winder]]); Florida (Tampa Bay); Wisconsin ([[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]], [[Appleton, Wisconsin|Appleton]], [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]], [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin|Oshkosh]], [[La Crosse, Wisconsin|La Crosse]], [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin|Sheboygan]], [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]], and [[Wausau, Wisconsin|Wausau]]); [[Aurora, Illinois]]; [[Kansas City, Kansas]]; [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]; [[Missoula, Montana]]; Des Moines, Iowa; Southwest Missouri; and Arkansas.<ref name="factfinder2" /> |
|||
There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to [[French Guiana]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmongcenter.org/hmoninfrengu.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901225550/http://www.hmongcenter.org/hmoninfrengu.html |archive-date=1 September 2007 |title=Info about the Hmong in French Guyana – KaYing Yang, Hmong Cultural Center, 1994 |date=1 September 2007 |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> that can be mainly found in the Hmong villages of [[Javouhey]] (1200 individuals) and [[Cacao, French Guiana|Cacao]] (950 individuals). |
|||
Canada's small Hmong population is mostly concentrated within the province of [[Ontario]]. [[Kitchener, Ontario]] has 515 residents of Hmong descent, and has a Hmong church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3530013&Data=Count&SearchText=kitchener&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1|title=2011 National Household Survey Profile - Census subdivision|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|publisher=}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=IX8kipA3v6gC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=kitchener+ontario+hmong&source=bl&ots=sNWOEN494E&sig=nC0N1hBOlbQVtmlAqV65uwgqYis&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vIt_U6nALs_goASuhoKoAw&ved=0CHoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=kitchener%20ontario%20hmong&f=false The Hmong, 1987-1995: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography], ''DIANE Publishing''</ref> |
|||
The Hmong immigrant population of [[Detroit]] is a central focus of the 2008 film [[Gran Torino]], though that city does not have a significant Hmong population. |
|||
There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to [[French Guiana]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmongcenter.org/hmoninfrengu.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901225550/http://www.hmongcenter.org/hmoninfrengu.html |archivedate=2007-09-01 |title=Info about the Hmong in French Guyana - KaYing Yang, Hmong Cultural Center, 1994 |publisher=Web.archive.org |date=2007-09-01 |accessdate=2012-06-08}}</ref> that can be mainly found in the Hmong villages of [[Javouhey]] (1200 individuals) and [[Cacao, French Guiana|Cacao]] (950 individuals). |
|||
==Religious persecution== |
==Religious persecution== |
||
Hmong [[Catholic]]s, [[Protestant]]s, and [[Animism|animist]]s have been subjected to military attacks, police arrest, imprisonment, [[forced disappearance]]s, [[extrajudicial killing]]s, and [[torture]] in [[Laos]] and [[Vietnam]] on [[Marxist–Leninist atheism|anti-religious]] grounds.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1104/S00423/laos-vietnam-troops-execute-4-hmong-christians.htm|title=Laos, Vietnam Troops Execute 4 Hmong Christians|via=Scoop News|date=16 April 2011|publisher=Center for Public Policy Analysis|quote=Laotian and Hmong minority Christian and Animist believers continue to be hunted, brutally tortured, and killed by the Lao military in significant numbers in key provinces in Laos.}}</ref> |
|||
A significant example was the deportation of Zoua Yang and her 27 children from Thailand on 19 December 2005, after the group was arrested attending a church in Ban Kho Noi, [[Phetchabun province|Phetchabun Province]], [[Thailand]]. Ms. Yang and her children were detained upon their return to Laos, after which the whereabouts of much of the family is unknown.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hres992/text|title=H.Res. 992 (115th): Condemning the actions taken by the Lao People's Democratic Republic against the Hmong ChaoFa Indigenous people, and for other purposes|via=GovTrack}}</ref> |
|||
Significant numbers of Lao- and Viet-Hmong [[Animists]] and [[Christians]], including [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] believers, have been subjected in the 21st century to military attacks, police arrest, imprisonment, [[extrajudicial killings]], and [[torture]] for seeking to worship independently from the [[Marxist]] government of the [[Lao People's Democratic Republic]] and the [[Communist]] [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]] .<ref>''Politics & Government Week'' (21 March 2013) "Laos: Attacks Intensify against Lao, Hmong People" http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-324465595.html</ref><ref>''Scoop Independent News,'' Auckland, New Zealand (16 April 2011) "Laos, Vietnam Troops Execute 4 Hmong Christians" http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1104/S00423/laos-vietnam-troops-execute-4-hmong-christians.htm</ref><ref>''Politics and Government Week'' (31 March 2011), "Laos, Hmong Crisis: Rights Groups Make International Appeal."http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-253125241.html</ref> |
|||
In 2011, [[Vietnam People's Army]] troops were used to crush a peaceful demonstration by Hmong Catholic, Protestant and [[Evangelical Christian]]s who gathered in [[Điện Biên province|Dien Bien Province]] and the [[Dien Bien Phu]] area of northwestern Vietnam, according to Philip Smith of [[the Center for Public Policy Analysis]], independent journalists and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Vietnam+troops+%27use+force%27+at+rare+Hmong+protest-a01612457562|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141202154541/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Vietnam+troops+'use+force'+at+rare+Hmong+protest-a01612457562|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2014|title=Agence France Press (AFP), (6 May 2011) "Vietnam troops 'use force' at rare Hmong protest"}}</ref> In 2013, [[Vam Ngaij Vaj]], a Christian pastor of Hmong ancestry, was beaten to death by Vietnamese police and security forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://morningstarnews.org/2013/03/hmong-christian-leader-in-vietnam-beaten-to-death-in-police-custody-sources-say/|title=Hmong Christian Leader in Vietnam Beaten to Death in Police Custody, Sources Say|first=Our Vietnam|last=Correspondent|date=28 March 2013|website=Morningstar News}}</ref> In [[Hanoi]], Vietnamese government officials refused to allow medical treatment for a Hmong Christian leader, Duong Van Minh, who was suffering from a serious [[kidney]] illness, in February 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/duong-van-minh-02142014180616.html|title=Hanoi Hospitals Refuse Treatment to Ailing Hmong Christian Leader|website=Radio Free Asia}}</ref> |
|||
The [[U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]] has documented official and ongoing religious persecution, religious |
The [[U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]] has documented official and ongoing religious persecution, religious-freedom violations against the Laotian and Hmong people in both Laos and Vietnam by the governments. In April 2011, [[the Center for Public Policy Analysis]] also researched and documented cases of Hmong Christians being attacked and summarily executed, including four Lao Hmong Christians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laos,+Vietnam+troops+kill+four+Hmong+Christians%3A+NGO-a01612449350|title=''Agence France Press'' (AFP), (15 April 2011) "Laos, Vietnam troops kill four Hmong Christians: NGO"|access-date=11 December 2014|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213030820/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laos%2c+Vietnam+troops+kill+four+Hmong+Christians%3a+NGO-a01612449350|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
{{Portal|Asia}} |
{{Portal|Asia}} |
||
{{ |
{{div col|colwidth=22em}} |
||
* [[Chi You]] a noted ancestor of the |
* [[Chi You]], (Huab Tais Txiv Yawg) a noted ancestor of the Hmong People |
||
* [[Hmong churches]] |
|||
* [[Hmong cuisine]] |
* [[Hmong cuisine]] |
||
* [[Hmong customs and culture]] |
* [[Hmong customs and culture]] |
||
* |
|||
* [[Hmong funeral]] |
* [[Hmong funeral]] |
||
* [[Hmong music]] |
* [[Hmong music]] |
||
* [[Hmong textile art]] |
* [[Hmong textile art]] |
||
* [[Indochina refugee crisis]] |
* [[Indochina refugee crisis]] |
||
* [[Ban Phou Pheung Noi]] |
|||
* [[Wangyee Vang]] |
* [[Wangyee Vang]] |
||
* [[Vang Pobzeb]] |
* [[Vang Pobzeb]] |
||
Line 288: | Line 308: | ||
* [[Long Tieng]] |
* [[Long Tieng]] |
||
* [[Sheboygan Hmong Memorial]] |
* [[Sheboygan Hmong Memorial]] |
||
* ''[[The Art of Not Being Governed]]'' |
|||
{{colend}} |
|||
* [[Bhutanese people]] |
|||
* [[Khmu people]] |
|||
* [[Nepalis]] |
|||
* [[Nyaw people]] |
|||
* [[Tai Dam people]] |
|||
* [[Tibetans]] |
|||
* [[Burmese people]] |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
== |
== Notes == |
||
{{NoteFoot}} |
|||
== |
== References == |
||
{{ |
{{reflist}} |
||
=== |
=== Sources === |
||
{{refbegin}} |
{{refbegin}} |
||
* {{ |
* {{cite book |last=Fadiman |first=Anne |title=[[The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down]]: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |year=1997 |isbn=0-374-26781-2}} |
||
* Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, 'Chiang Mai's Hill Peoples' in: ''Ancient Chiang Mai'' Volume 3. Chiang Mai |
* Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, 'Chiang Mai's Hill Peoples' in: ''Ancient Chiang Mai'' Volume 3. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books, 2012. {{ASIN|B006IN1RNW}}. |
||
* Hillmer, Paul. ''A |
* Hillmer, Paul. ''A People's History of the Hmong'' (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2010). 327 pages. {{ISBN|978-0-87351-726-3}}. |
||
* [TYPN 1992] The section on nomenclature draws heavily on ''Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter'', Number 17, June 1992, Department of Anthropology, [[Australian National University]]. |
* [TYPN 1992] The section on nomenclature draws heavily on ''Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter'', Number 17, June 1992, Department of Anthropology, [[Australian National University]]. Material from that newsletter may be freely reproduced with due acknowledgment. |
||
* W.R. Geddes. Migrants of the Mountains: The Cultural Ecology of the Blue Miao (Hmong Njua) of Thailand. Oxford: [[The Clarendon Press]], 1976. |
* W.R. Geddes. ''Migrants of the Mountains: The Cultural Ecology of the Blue Miao (Hmong Njua) of Thailand''. Oxford, England: [[The Clarendon Press]], 1976. |
||
* Tapp, N., J.Michaud, C. |
* Tapp, N., J.Michaud, C.Culasc, G.Y.Lee (Eds.) (2004). ''Hmong/Miao in Asia''. Chiang Mai (Thailand): Silkworm. 500 pages. |
||
* |
* [[Chia Youyee Vang]]. ''Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora'' ([[University of Illinois]] Press; 2011) 200 pages; Combines scholarly and personal perspectives in an ethnographic history of the Hmong refugee experience in the United States. |
||
* "[https://www.mnhs.org/hmong Hmong in Minnesota]". [[Minnesota Historical Society]], Explore Minnesota. |
|||
{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
||
==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
||
{{refbegin}} |
{{refbegin}} |
||
* Edkins, ''The Miau-tsi Tribes''. |
* Edkins, ''The Miau-tsi Tribes''. Foochow: 1870. |
||
* Henry, ''Lingnam''. |
* Henry, ''Lingnam''. London: 1886. |
||
* Bourne, ''Journey in Southwest China''. |
* Bourne, ''Journey in Southwest China''. London: 1888. |
||
* A. H. Keaw, ''Man: Past and Present''. |
* A. H. Keaw, ''Man: Past and Present''. Cambridge: 1900. |
||
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Miaotsze}} |
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Miaotsze}} |
||
* Johnson, Charles. ''Dab Neeg Hmoob: Myths, Legends and Folk Tales from the Hmong of Laos''. [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]: [[Macalester College]], 1983. |
* Johnson, Charles. ''Dab Neeg Hmoob: Myths, Legends and Folk Tales from the Hmong of Laos''. [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]: [[Macalester College]], 1983. – bilingual oral literature anthology, includes introduction and explanatory notes from a language professor who had sponsored the first Hmong family to arrive in Minnesota<!--Fadiman 294--> |
||
* Lee, Mai Na M. "[http://www.hmongstudies.com/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.pdf The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong]." ([ |
* [[Mai Na Lee|Lee, Mai Na M]]. "[http://www.hmongstudies.com/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.pdf The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120207020038/http://hmongstudies.com/HSJ-v2n1_Lee.pdf Archive]) ''[[Hmong Studies Journal]]''. v2n2. Northern hemisphere Spring 1998. |
||
* Meneses, Rashaan. "[http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=12590 Hmong: An Endangered People]." UCLA International Institute. |
* Meneses, Rashaan. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20151016100033/http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=12590 Hmong: An Endangered People]." UCLA International Institute. |
||
* Merritt, ''Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992''. Indiana: 1999. |
* Merritt, ''Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992''. Indiana: 1999. |
||
* Mottin, Father Jean. |
* Mottin, Father Jean. ''History of the Hmong''. [[Bangkok]]: Odeon Store, 1980. written in Khek Noi, a Hmong village in northern Thailand, Translated into English by an Irish nun, printed in Bangkok. |
||
* Quincy, Keith. ''[[Hmong: History of a People]]''. [[Cheney, Wash.]]: [[Eastern Washington University Press]], 1988. |
* Quincy, Keith. ''[[Hmong: History of a People]]''. [[Cheney, Wash.]]: [[Eastern Washington University Press]], 1988. |
||
* Savina, F.M. ''Histoire des Miao''. 2nd Edition. [[Hong Kong]]: Impremerie de la Société des Missions-Etrangères de Paris, 1930. Written by a French missionary who worked in [[Laos]] and [[Tonkin]].<!--Fadiman p. 294--> |
* Savina, F.M. ''Histoire des Miao''. 2nd Edition. [[Hong Kong]]: Impremerie de la Société des Missions-Etrangères de Paris, 1930. Written by a French missionary who worked in [[Laos]] and [[Tonkin]].<!--Fadiman p. 294--> |
||
* George, William Lloyd. "[http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2005706,00.html Hmong Refugees Live in Fear in Laos and Thailand]." ''[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]''. Saturday July |
* George, William Lloyd. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100727120022/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2005706,00.html Hmong Refugees Live in Fear in Laos and Thailand]." ''[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]''. Saturday 24 July 2010. |
||
* Hookaway, James. "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB126195650007706809?mod=slideshow_overlay_mod Thai Army Forces Out Refugees]." ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. |
* Hookaway, James. "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB126195650007706809?mod=slideshow_overlay_mod Thai Army Forces Out Refugees]." ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. 28 December 2009. |
||
{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
{{Sister project links|c=Category:Hmong}} |
{{Sister project links|c=Category:Hmong}} |
||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/ |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/ Laotian and Hmong veterans and refugee families of the Lao Veterans of America, Inc.] |
||
*[http://www.cppa-dc.org |
* [http://www.cppa-dc.org Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Washington, D.C. Hmong human rights, religious persecution/ religious freedom violations and refugee issues] |
||
*[http://www.hmongnet.org/ |
* [http://www.hmongnet.org/ Hmong-related web sites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417174405/http://www.hmongnet.org/ |date=17 April 2012 }} edited by Mark Pfeifer of the Hmong Cultural Center. |
||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080406154059/http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org/ |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080406154059/http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org/ Laos & Hmong Refugee Crisis & human rights violations against Hmong people in Southeast Asia, Centre for Public Policy Analysis, Washington, D.C.] |
||
*[http://www.hmongnet.org/publications |
* [http://www.hmongnet.org/publications Publications list] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527160023/http://www.hmongnet.org/publications/ |date=27 May 2012 }} |
||
*[http://www.hmongstudies.org/ Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center] |
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130518122119/http://www.hmongstudies.org/HmongStudiesJournal Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center]}} |
||
*[http://www.hmongstudies.org/LearnaboutHmongwebsite.html Hmong culture studies] multimedia educational content |
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120319025845/http://www.hmongstudies.org/LearnaboutHmongwebsite.html Hmong culture studies]}} multimedia educational content |
||
*[http://garyyialee.com/ |
* [http://garyyialee.com/ Hmong history and culture] articles by Hmong Australian anthropologist, Dr. Gary Yia Lee |
||
*[http://www.hmongcontemporaryissues.com/ Hmong Contemporary Issues] by Hmong French anthropologist and linguist, Dr. Kao-Ly Yang (English, French, and Hmong languages) |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200746/http://www.hmongcontemporaryissues.com/ Hmong Contemporary Issues] by Hmong French anthropologist and linguist, Dr. Kao-Ly Yang (English, French, and Hmong languages) |
||
*[http://video.wpt.org/video/1726513324/ ''Being Hmong Means Being Free''] [[Wisconsin Public Television]] |
* [http://video.wpt.org/video/1726513324/ ''Being Hmong Means Being Free''] [[Wisconsin Public Television]] |
||
* [http://hmongculture.net/hmong-people Learn about Hmong People & Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628213621/http://www.hmongculture.net/hmong-people |date=28 June 2023 }} |
|||
*Hmong-American cast in 2008 US drama film Gran Torino set in Detroit by Clint Eastwood (his 2nd top) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino] |
|||
*[https://hmongsarecool.weebly.com/ Hmong Culture] |
|||
{{Ethnic groups in China}} |
{{Ethnic groups in China}} |
||
Line 349: | Line 379: | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hmong People}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hmong People}} |
||
[[Category:Hmong people| ]] |
|||
[[Category:Hmong diaspora]] |
[[Category:Hmong diaspora]] |
||
[[Category:Hmong| ]] |
[[Category:Hmong| ]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Ethnic groups in China]] |
||
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Laos]] |
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Laos]] |
||
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Thailand]] |
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Thailand]] |
Latest revision as of 01:28, 21 December 2024
𖬌𖬣𖬵 | |
---|---|
Total population | |
4–5 million[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
China | 2,777,039 (2000, estimate)[note 1][1] |
Vietnam | 1,393,547 (2019)[2] |
Laos | 595,028 (2015)[3] |
United States | 368,609 (2021)[4] |
Thailand | 250,070 (2015) |
Myanmar | 2,000–3,000 (2007)[5] |
Argentina | 600 (1999)[6] |
Australia | 3,438 (2011)[7] |
France (French Guiana) | 2,000 (2001)[8] |
France | 15,000[6] |
Canada | 600 (1999)[6] |
Languages | |
Native: Hmong Regional: Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Lao, French, English, Burmese | |
Religion | |
Shamanism • Christianity • Buddhism |
The Hmong people (RPA: Hmoob, CHV: Hmôngz, Nyiakeng Puachue: 𞄀𞄩𞄰, Pahawh Hmong: 𖬌𖬣𖬵, IPA: [m̥ɔ̃́], Chinese: 苗族蒙人) are an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwestern China and Mainland Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There are also diaspora communities in the United States, Australia, and South America.
Etymology
[edit]The term Hmong is the English pronunciation of the Hmong's native name. It is a singular and plural noun (e.g., Japanese, French, etc.). Very little is known about the native Hmong name as it is not mentioned in Chinese historical records, since the Han identified the Hmong as Miao. The meaning of it is debatable and no one is sure of its origin, although it can be traced back to several provinces in China. However, Hmong Americans and Hmong Laotians often associate it with "Free" and/or "Hmoov" (Fate); it serves as a reminder to them of their history of fighting oppression.[9][10]
Before the 1970s, the term Miao or Meo (i.e. barbarians, wild, seedlings, and even "Sons of the Soil") was used in reference to the Hmong.[11][12] In the 1970s, Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong American scholar, who at the time was the head of the Human Resource Department of the Ministry of Planning in the Royal Lao Government of Laos, advocated for the term "Hmong" with the support of clan leaders and General Vang Pao.[13][14][15] Yang Dao had insisted that the terms "Meo" and "Miao" were both unacceptable as his people had always called themselves by the name "Hmong," which he defined as "free men".[13] Surrounding countries began to use the term "Hmong" after the U.S. Department of State used it during Immigration screening in Thailand's Ban Vinai Refugee Camp.[16] In 1994, Pobzeb Vang registered the term "Hmong" with the United Nations, making it the proper term to identify the Hmong people internationally.[17]
Soon after, there was a political push from Hmong American politicians and activists to replace the term Miao with the term Hmong in China with little to no success. To date, China is the only country that does not recognize the term Hmong. Rather, they are still categorized under the umbrella term Miáo (苗) along with three other indigenous groups of people. Historically, the term Miao carried strong pejorative connotations in both China and Southeast Asia. In modern times, however, it has lost such negative connotations in China and has since been officially recognized as an ethnicity, which includes the Hmong. The Hmong in China are often happy or proud to be known as Miao while most Hmong outside China find it offensive.[18][19]
Little is known about the origin of the Miao term and the people it referenced historically, since the Han used it loosely to identify non-Han in Southern China until the Tang Dynasty when evidence of its association with the Hmong became more apparent.[11][20] Its origin can be dated before the Qin dynasty (221 BCE). Thereafter it was perceived as barbaric, and resurfaced more often in Chinese historical records during the Miao's rebellions against the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 1300s and early 1900s that are still chanted by guides in most Hmong funerals today when guiding the spirits of the deceased individuals to their origins so they can reincarnate.[21][22][23] The term Miao was more of a stereotype such as uncivilized, uncooperative, uncultivated, harmful, and inhumane than a name of an ethnic group and was used in daily conversations as an expression for ugliness and primitivity.[11]
In Southeast Asia, Hmong people are referred to by other names, including: Vietnamese Mèo, Mông or H'Mông; Lao Maew (ແມ້ວ) or Mong (ມົ້ງ); Thai Maew (แม้ว) or Mong (ม้ง); and Burmese mun lu-myo (မုံလူမျိုး). With a slight change in accent, the word "Meo" in Lao and Thai can be pronounced to mean "cat".[24][25] The term Maew and Meo derived from the term Miao.[26]
Origins
[edit]Genetic origins
[edit]A DNA study in 2005 in Thailand found that Hmong paternal lineage is quite different from lu Mien and other Southeast Asian tribes. The Hmong-Mien and Sino-Tibetan speaking people are known as hill tribes in Thailand; they were the subject of the first studies to show an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mitochondrial (mt) DNA vs. the male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) variation. According to linguist Martha Ratliff, there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for over 8,000 years.[27] Evidence from mitochondrial DNA in Hmong–Mien–speaking populations supports the existence of southern origins of maternal lineages even further back in time, although it has been shown that Hmong-speaking populations had comparatively more contact with northern East Asians than had the Mien.[28]
Homeland
[edit]The most likely homeland of the Hmong–Mien languages is in Southern China between the Yangtze and Mekong rivers.[29]
Migration of people speaking these languages from South China to Southeast Asia took place ca. 1600–1700 CE. Ancient DNA evidence suggests that the ancestors of the speakers of the Hmong–Mien languages were a population genetically distinct from that of the Tai–Kadai and Austronesian language populations at a location on the Yangtze River.[30] Recent Y-DNA phylogeny evidence supports the theory that people who speak the Hmong–Mien languages are descended from a population that is distantly related to those who now speak the Mon-Khmer languages.[31]
The time of Proto-Hmong-Mien has been estimated to be about 2500 BP (500 BCE) by Sagart, Blench, and Sanchez-Mazas using traditional methods employing many lines of evidence, and about 4243 BP by the Automated Similarity Judgment Program (ASJP), an experimental algorithm for automatic generation of phonologically based phylogenies.[32]
History
[edit]China
[edit]Hmong traditions and legends indicate that they originated near the Yellow River region of northern China, but this is not substantiated by any scientific evidence.[33] According to linguist Martha Ratliff, there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for over 8,000 years.[27] Evidence from mitochondrial DNA in Hmong–Mien–speaking populations supports the southern origins of maternal lineages even farther back in time, although it has been shown that Hmong-speaking populations had comparatively more contact with northern East Asians than had the Mien.[28] A rare haplogroup, O3d, was found at the Daxi culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, indicating that the Daxi people might be the ancestors of modern Hmong-Mien populations, which show only small traces of O3d today.[34]
Chi You is the Hmong ancestral God of War. Today, a statue of Chi You has been erected in the town named Zhuolu.[35] The author of Guoyu, written in the 4th to 5th century, considered Chi You's Jiu Li tribe to be related to the ancient ancestors of the Hmong, the San-Miao people.[36]
In 2011, Hmong DNA was sampled and found to contain 7.84% D-M15 and 6%N(Tat) DNA.[37] The research found a common ancestry between Hmong-Mien peoples and Mon-Khmer groups dating to the Last Glacial Maximum, approximately 15,000 to 18,000 years ago.
Conflict between the Hmong of southern China and newly arrived Han settlers increased during the 18th century under repressive economic and cultural reforms imposed by the Qing dynasty. This led to armed conflict and large-scale migrations well into the late 19th century, the period during which many Hmong people emigrated to Southeast Asia. However, the migration process had begun as early as the late 17th century, before the time of major social unrest, when small groups went in search of better agricultural opportunities.[38]
The Hmong people were subjected to persecution and genocide by the Qing dynasty government. Arthur A. Hansen wrote: "In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while the Hmong lived in south-western China, their Manchu overlords had labeled them 'Miao' and targeted them for genocide."[39][better source needed]
Since 1949, the Miao people (Chinese: 苗族; pinyin: miáo zú) has been an official term for one of the 56 official minority groups recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. The Miao live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei. According to the 2000 census, the number of 'Miao' in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. The Miao nationality includes Hmong people as well as other culturally and linguistically related ethnic groups who do not call themselves Hmong. These include the Hmu, Kho (Qho) Xiong, and A-Hmao.
Vietnam
[edit]The Hmong or Miao began to migrate to Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) in 19th century, where they struggled to establish their community on the high mountains. They recognized the Tai-speaking overlords of valleys, who were vassals of the Vietnamese court in Hue. The Hue court of Tu Duc at the time was facing crisis after crisis, unable to retake control of Tonkin and the border regions. The Taiping rebellion and other Chinese rebels spilled over into Vietnam and had caused anarchy; the Hmong communities thrived on either sides of the Red River, harmonizing with other ethnic groups, and were largely ignored by all factions.[40]
During the colonization of 'Tonkin' (North Vietnam) between 1883 and 1954, a number of Hmong decided to join the Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists, while many Christianized Hmong sided with the French. After the Viet Minh victory, numerous pro-French Hmong had to fall back to Laos and South Vietnam.[41]
Laos
[edit]After decades of distant relations with the Lao kingdoms, closer relations between the French military and some Hmong on the Xieng Khouang plateau arose after World War II. There, a rivalry between members of the Lo and Ly clans developed into open enmity, also affecting those connected with them by kinship. Clan leaders took opposite sides; as a consequence, several thousand Hmong participated in the fighting against the Pathet Lao Communists, while almost as many were enrolled in the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Army. In Laos, numerous Hmong genuinely tried to avoid getting involved in the conflict in spite of the extremely difficult material conditions under which they lived during wartime.[42]
The U.S. and the Laotian Civil War
[edit]In the early 1960s, partially as a result of the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division began to recruit, train and lead the indigenous Hmong people in Laos to fight against North Vietnamese Army divisions that were invading Laos during the Vietnam War. This "Secret Army" was organized into various mobile regiments and divisions, including Special Guerrilla Units, all of whom were led by General Vang Pao. An estimated sixty-percent (60%) of Hmong men in Laos joined up.[43][44][better source needed]
While there were Hmong soldiers who fought with the communist Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese, others were recognized for serving in combat against the NVA and the Pathet Lao, helping block Hanoi's Ho Chi Minh trail inside Laos and rescuing downed American pilots. Though their role was generally kept secret in the early stages of the conflict, they made great sacrifices to help the U.S.[45]
Thousands of economic and political refugees have resettled in Western countries in two separate waves. The first wave resettled in the late 1970s, mostly in the United States after the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao takeovers of the pro-U.S. governments in South Vietnam and Laos respectively.[46] The Lao Veterans of America, and Lao Veterans of America Institute, helped to assist in the resettlement of many Laotian and Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in the United States, especially former Hmong veterans and their family members who served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in Laos during the Vietnam War.[47][failed verification]
Hmong Lao resistance
[edit]For many years, the Neo Hom political movement played a key role in resistance to the Vietnam People's Army in Laos following the U.S. withdrawal in 1975; Vang Pao played a significant role in this movement. Additionally, a spiritual leader, Zong Zoua Her, as well as other Hmong leaders, including Pa Kao Her or Pa Khao Her, rallied some of their followers in a factionalized guerrilla resistance movement called ChaoFa (RPA: Cob Fab, Pahawh Hmong: 𖬒𖬯 𖬖𖬜𖬵 ).[48][49] These events led to the yellow rain controversy when the United States accused the Soviet Union of supplying and using chemical weapons in this conflict.[50]
Small groups of Hmong people, many second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries.[51] Hmong in Laos, in particular, developed a stronger and deeper anti-Vietnamese sentiment than their Vietnamese Hmong cousins, due to historic persecution perpetrated by the Vietnamese against them.
Controversy over repatriation
[edit]The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2018) |
In June 1991, after talks with the UNHCR and the Thai government, Laos agreed to the repatriation of over 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including tens of thousands of Hmong people. Very few of the Lao refugees, however, were willing to return voluntarily.[52] Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, coercive measures and forced repatriation was used to send thousands of Hmong back to the places they had fled.[53][54] Of the Hmong who did return to Laos, some quickly escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.[55]
In the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, The Center for Public Policy Analysis, a non-governmental public policy research organization, and its executive director, Philip Smith, played a key role in raising awareness in the U.S. Congress and policy-making circles in Washington, D.C. about the plight of the Hmong and Laotian refugees in Thailand and Laos. The CPPA, backed by a bipartisan coalition of members of the U.S. Congress and human rights organizations, conducted numerous research missions to the Hmong and Laotian refugee camps along the Mekong River in Thailand, as well as the Buddhist temple of Wat Tham Krabok.[56]
Amnesty International, the Lao Veterans of America, Inc., the United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc., Lao Human Rights Council, Inc. (led by Dr. Pobzeb Vang Vang Pobzeb, and later Vaughn Vang) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights organizations joined the opposition to forced repatriation.[47]
Although some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,[57] thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996, as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, under mounting political pressure, the U.S. agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a new screening process.[58] Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees were already living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, but the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the illegal drug trade and were of non-Lao origin.[59]
In 2003, following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the U.S., in a significant victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees.[60] Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the U.S., fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.[61] In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun.[62]
The European Union,[63] UNHCHR, and international groups have since spoken out about the forced repatriation.[63][64][65][66]
Alleged plot to overthrow the government of Laos
[edit]On 4 June 2007, as part of an investigation labeled Operation Tarnished Eagle, U.S. federal courts ordered warrants issued for the arrest of Vang Pao and nine others for plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of federal Neutrality Acts and for multiple weapons charges.[67] The federal charges alleged that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, in order to buy and smuggle into Thailand in June 2007, where they were intended to be used by Hmong resistance forces in Laos. Out of the 9 arrested, one was an American, Harrison Jack, a 1968 West Point graduate and retired Army infantry officer who allegedly attempted to recruit Special Operations veterans to act as mercenaries.
To obtain the weapons, Jack allegedly met unknowingly with undercover U.S. federal agents posing as weapons dealers, prompting the warrants, part of a long-running investigation into the activities of the U.S.-based Hmong leadership and its supporters.
On 15 June, the defendants were indicted by a grand jury; a warrant was also issued for the arrest of an 11th man allegedly involved in the plot. Simultaneous raids of the defendants' homes and work locations, involving over 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials, were conducted in approximately 15 U.S. cities in Central and Southern California.
Multiple protest rallies in support of the suspects, designed to raise awareness of the treatment of Hmong peoples in the jungles of Laos, took place in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alaska. Several of Vang Pao's high-level supporters in the U.S. criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang was a historically important American ally and a valued leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. Calls to Californian Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush to pardon the defendants went unanswered pending a conclusion to the large, ongoing federal investigation.[68]
On 18 September 2009, the U.S. federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted".[69] On 10 January 2011, after Vang Pao's death, the federal government dropped all charges against the remaining defendants saying, "Based on the totality of the circumstances in the case, the government believes, as a discretionary matter, that continued prosecution of defendants is no longer warranted."[70]
Thailand
[edit]The presence of Hmong settlements in Thailand is documented from the end of the 19th century on. Initially, the Siamese paid little attention to them. But in the early 1950s, the state suddenly took a number of initiatives aimed at establishing links. Decolonization and nationalism were gaining momentum in the peninsula and wars of independence were raging. Armed opposition to the state in northern Thailand, triggered by outside influence, started in 1967 while again many Hmong refused to take sides in the conflict. Communist guerrilla warfare stopped by 1982 as a result of an international concurrence of events that rendered it pointless. Priority has since been given by the Thai state to sedentarizing the mountain population, introducing commercially viable agricultural techniques and national education, with the aim of integrating these non-Tai animists within the national identity.[71][72]
In the United States
[edit]Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at that time under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had emigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families were scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington State and Oregon. Smaller, but still sizeable communities also formed in Massachusetts (Lowell), Michigan (Detroit), Montana (Missoula) and Alaska (Anchorage).
Culture
[edit]Hmong people have their own terms for their cultural divisions. Hmong Der (Hmoob Dawb), and Hmong Leng (Hmoob Leeg) are the terms for two of the largest groups in the United States and Southeast Asia. These subgroups are also known as the White Hmong, and Blue or Green Hmong, respectively. These names originate from the color and designs of women's dresses in each respective group, with the White Hmong distinguished by the white dresses women wear on special occasions, and the Blue/Green Hmong by the blue batiked dresses.[73] The name and pronunciation "Hmong" is exclusively used by the White Hmong to refer to themselves, and many dictionaries use only the White Hmong dialect.[74]
In the Romanized Popular Alphabet, developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written Hmoob Dawb (White Hmong) and Hmoob Leeg (Green Hmong). The final consonants indicate with which of the eight lexical tones the word is pronounced.[75]
White Hmong and Green Hmong speak mutually intelligible dialects of the Hmong language, with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most characteristic differences is the use of the voiceless /m̥/ in White Hmong, indicated by a preceding "H" in Romanized Popular Alphabet. Voiceless nasals are not found in the Green Hmong dialect. Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of head-dress, or the provinces from which they come.[75]
Vietnam and Laos
[edit]The Hmong groups in Vietnam and Laos, from the 18th century to the present day, are known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij), White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb), Hmong Leng (Hmoob Leeg) and Green Hmong (Hmoob Ntsuab). In other places in Asia, groups are also known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub or Hmong Dou), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij or Hmoob Quas Npab), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau, Hmong Xanh (Green Hmong), Hmong Do (Red Hmong), Na Mieo and various other subgroups.[75] These include the Flower Hmong or the Variegated Hmong (Hmong Lenh or Hmong Hoa), so named because of their bright, colorful embroidery work (called pa ndau or paj ntaub, literally "flower cloth").[76]
Hmong/Mong controversy
[edit]The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2018) |
When Western authors first came in contact with Hmong people in the 18th century, they referred to them by writing ethnonyms which were previously assigned to them by the Chinese (i.e., Miao, or variants).[citation needed] This practice continued into the 20th century.[77] Even ethnographers studying the Hmong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Meo, a corruption of Miao applied by Thai and Lao people to the Hmong. Although "Meo" was an official term, it was often used as an insult against the Hmong people, and it is considered to be derogatory.[78][79]
The issue came to a head during the passage of California State Assembly Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season.[80][better source needed] Introduced by Doua Vu and Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, District 31 (Fresno), the bill encouraged changes in secondary education curriculum to include information about the Secret War and the role of Hmong people in the war. Furthermore, the bill called for the use of oral histories and first-hand accounts by Hmong people who had participated in the war and were caught up in its aftermath. Originally, the language of the bill mentioned only "Hmong" people, intending to include the entire community. Several Mong Leng activists, led by Dr. Paoze Thao (Professor of Linguistics and Education at California State University, Monterey Bay), drew attention to the problems associated with omitting "Mong" from the language of the bill. They noted that despite nearly equal numbers of Hmong Der and Mong Leng in the United States, resources are disproportionately allocated to the Hmong Der community. This not only includes scholarly research, but also the translation of materials, including the curriculum proposed by the bill.[81] Despite these arguments, "Mong" was not added to the bill. In the version of the bill that was passed by the assembly, "Hmong" was replaced by "Southeast Asians," a broader and more inclusive term.
Dr. Paoze Thao and some others strongly feel that "Hmong" can only be used in reference to Hmong Der people because it does not include "Mong" Leng people. He feels that the use of "Hmong" in reference to both groups perpetuates the marginalization of the Mong Leng language and culture. Thus, he advocates the use of "Hmong" and "Mong" in reference to the entire ethnic group.[82] Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr. Gary Yia Lee (a Hmong Der person), suggests that for the past 30 years, "Hmong" has been used in reference to the entire community and as a result, the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understandable.[83][better source needed] Some argue that such distinctions create unnecessary divisions within the global community, arguing that the use of these distinctions will only confuse non-Hmong and Mong people who are both trying to learn more about Hmong and Mong history and culture.[84]
As a compromise alternative, multiple iterations of "Hmong" have been proposed. A Hmong theologian, Rev. Dr. Paul Joseph T. Khamdy Yang has proposed the use of the term "HMong" in reference to the Hmong and the Mong communities by capitalizing the H and the M. The ethnologist Jacques Lemoine has also begun to use the term (H)mong in reference to the entirety of the Hmong and Mong communities.[1]
Hmong and Miao
[edit]Some non-Chinese Hmong advocate for the term 'Hmong' to be used not only to designate their dialect group but also other Miao groups living in China.[citation needed] They generally claim that the word "Miao" or "Meo" is a derogatory term, with connotations of barbarism, that probably should not be used at all. The term was later adopted by Tai-speaking groups in Southeast Asia where it took on especially insulting associations for Hmong people despite its official status.[85]
In modern China, the term "Miao" does not carry these negative associations, and people of the various sub-groups that constitute this officially recognized nationality freely identify themselves as Miao or Chinese, typically reserving more specific ethnonyms for intra-ethnic communication. During the struggle for political recognition after 1949, it was members of these ethnic minorities who campaigned for identification under the umbrella term "Miao" – taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression.[86]
Contemporary transnational interactions between Hmong in the West and Miao groups in China, following the 1975 Hmong emigration, led to the development of a global Hmong identity that includes linguistically and culturally related minorities in China with no previous ethnic affiliation.[87] Scholarly and commercial exchanges, increasingly made over the internet, have also resulted in an exchange of terminology, including some Hmong people accepting the designation "Miao" after visiting China and some nationalist non-Hmong Miao peoples identifying as Hmong.[85] Such realignments of identity, while largely the concern of economically elite community leaders reflects a trend towards the interchangeability of the terms "Hmong" and "Miao".[88]
Diaspora
[edit]Linguistic data shows that the Hmong of the peninsula stem from the Miao of southern China as one among a set of ethnic groups belonging to the Hmong–Mien language family.[89] Linguistically and culturally speaking, the Hmong and the other sub-groups of the Miao have little in common.[90]
Vietnam, where their presence is attested from the late 18th century onwards and characterized with both assimilation, cooperation and hostility, is likely to be the first Southeastern Eurasian country into which the Hmong migrated.[91] At the 2019 national census, there were 1,393,547 Hmong living in Vietnam, the vast majority of them in the north of the country. The traditional trade in coffin wood with China and cultivation of the opium poppy – not prohibited in Vietnam until 1993 – long guaranteed a regular cash income. Today, cash cropping is the main economic activity. As in China and Laos, Hmong participate to a certain degree in local and regional administration.[92] In the late 1990s, several thousands of Hmong started moving to the Central Highlands and some crossed the border into Cambodia, constituting the first attested presence of Hmong settlers in that country.[citation needed]
In 2015, the Hmong in Laos numbered 595,028.[93] Hmong settlement there is nearly as ancient as in Vietnam.
After the 1975 Communist victory, thousands of Hmong from Laos had to seek refuge abroad (see Laos below). Approximately 30 percent of the Hmong have left, although the only concrete figure we have is that of 116,000 Hmong from Laos and Vietnam together seeking refuge in Thailand up to 1990.[94]
In 2002 the Hmong in Thailand numbered 151,080.
Myanmar most likely includes a modest number of Hmong (perhaps around 2,500) but no reliable census has been conducted there recently.[95]
As result of refugee movements in the wake of the Indochina Wars (1946–1975), in particular, in Laos, the largest Hmong community to settle outside Asia went to the United States where approximately 100,000 individuals had already arrived by 1990. By the same date, 10,000 Hmong had migrated to France, including 1,400 in French Guiana; Canada admitted 900 individuals, while another 360 went to Australia, 260 to China, and 250 to Argentina. Over the following years and until the definitive closure of the last refugee camps in Thailand in 1998, additional numbers of Hmong have left Asia, but the definitive figures are still to be produced.[96]
Approximately 5% of the Hmong population currently lives outside of Asia, with the United States home to the largest Hmong diaspora community. The 2008 census counted 171,316 people solely of Hmong ancestry, and 221,948 persons of at least partial Hmong ancestry.[97] Other countries with significant populations include:[98]
- France: 15,000
- Australia: 2,000
- French Guiana: 1,500
- Canada: 835
- Argentina: 600
The Hmong population within the United States is centered in the Upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and California.[99]
Vietnam
[edit]Hmong people in Vietnam have been perceived differently by various modern political organizations and in different historical periods. Since the Hmong are an ethnic minority in Vietnam, their loyalty toward the Vietnamese state has been frequently questioned by the state. However, many Hmong in Vietnam are fiercely loyal, regardless of the current ideologies of the government;[100] the Hmong in Laos and Cambodia are the most supportive of active resistance. These tend to be Hmong Christians that have been targeted by all three Vietnamese governments.[101] The Hmong in Vietnam also receive cultural and political incentives from the government,[102] which led to the Vietnamese Hmong further diverging from the Laotian Hmong, since the latter are strongly anti-Vietnamese due to the Secret War and Communism.
Laos
[edit]There are 595,028 Hmong people in Laos. They mainly live in northern regions.
Thailand
[edit]The Hmong presence in Thailand dates back to the turn of the 20th century when families migrated from China through Laos and Burma, according to most authors. A relatively small population, they still formed dozens of villages and hamlets throughout the northern provinces. The Hmong were registered by the state as the Meo hill tribe. Then, more Hmong migrated from Laos to Thailand following the victory of the Pathet Lao in 1975. While some ended up in refugee camps, others settled in mountainous areas among more ancient Hill Tribes.[103]
Americas
[edit]Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had emigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, 260,073 Hmong people reside in the United States,[104] the majority of whom live in California (91,224), then Minnesota (66,181), and Wisconsin (49,240), an increase from 186,310 in 2000.[105] 247,595 or 95.2% are Hmong alone, and the remaining 12,478 are mixed Hmong with some other ethnicity. The vast majority of part-Hmong are under 10 years old.
In terms of cities and towns, the largest Hmong-American community is in St. Paul (29,662), followed by Fresno (24,328), Sacramento (16,676), Milwaukee (10,245), and Minneapolis (7,512).[104]
There are smaller Hmong communities scattered across the United States, including those in Minnesota (Rochester, Mankato, Duluth); Michigan (Detroit and Warren); Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Washington; North Carolina (Charlotte, Morganton); South Carolina (Spartanburg); Georgia (Auburn, Duluth, Monroe, Atlanta, and Winder); Florida (Tampa Bay); California (Merced); Wisconsin (Madison, Eau Claire, Appleton, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Wausau); Aurora, Illinois; Kansas City, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Missoula, Montana; Des Moines, Iowa; Springfield, Missouri; Arkansas, Fitchburg, Massachusetts,[104] and Providence, Rhode Island.[106]
Sunisa "Suni" Lee of Saint Paul, Minnesota is a notable Hmong-American; she is a three time Olympic medalist in artistic gymnastics. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, Lee won silver in the women's artistic team all-around, followed by gold in the women's artistic individual all-around and bronze in the women's uneven bars. With these results, Sunisa made history as both the first Hmong-American to compete in the Olympics in any sport and the first Hmong-American to win an Olympic medal.[107]
Canada's small Hmong population is mostly concentrated within the province of Ontario. Kitchener, Ontario has 515 residents of Hmong descent, and has a Hmong church.[108][109]
There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to French Guiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s,[110] that can be mainly found in the Hmong villages of Javouhey (1200 individuals) and Cacao (950 individuals).
The Hmong immigrant population of Detroit is a central focus of the 2008 film Gran Torino, though that city does not have a significant Hmong population.
Religious persecution
[edit]Hmong Catholics, Protestants, and animists have been subjected to military attacks, police arrest, imprisonment, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture in Laos and Vietnam on anti-religious grounds.[111]
A significant example was the deportation of Zoua Yang and her 27 children from Thailand on 19 December 2005, after the group was arrested attending a church in Ban Kho Noi, Phetchabun Province, Thailand. Ms. Yang and her children were detained upon their return to Laos, after which the whereabouts of much of the family is unknown.[112]
In 2011, Vietnam People's Army troops were used to crush a peaceful demonstration by Hmong Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical Christians who gathered in Dien Bien Province and the Dien Bien Phu area of northwestern Vietnam, according to Philip Smith of the Center for Public Policy Analysis, independent journalists and others.[113] In 2013, Vam Ngaij Vaj, a Christian pastor of Hmong ancestry, was beaten to death by Vietnamese police and security forces.[114] In Hanoi, Vietnamese government officials refused to allow medical treatment for a Hmong Christian leader, Duong Van Minh, who was suffering from a serious kidney illness, in February 2014.[115]
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has documented official and ongoing religious persecution, religious-freedom violations against the Laotian and Hmong people in both Laos and Vietnam by the governments. In April 2011, the Center for Public Policy Analysis also researched and documented cases of Hmong Christians being attacked and summarily executed, including four Lao Hmong Christians.[116]
See also
[edit]- Chi You, (Huab Tais Txiv Yawg) a noted ancestor of the Hmong People
- Hmong churches
- Hmong cuisine
- Hmong customs and culture
- Hmong funeral
- Hmong music
- Hmong textile art
- Indochina refugee crisis
- Ban Phou Pheung Noi
- Wangyee Vang
- Vang Pobzeb
- Vang Pao
- List of Hmong people
- Long Tieng
- Sheboygan Hmong Memorial
- The Art of Not Being Governed
- Bhutanese people
- Khmu people
- Nepalis
- Nyaw people
- Tai Dam people
- Tibetans
- Burmese people
Notes
[edit]- ^ There is no official census of the Hmong people in China, as they are classified as a subgroup of the Miao people there.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lemoine, Jacques (2005). "What is the actual number of (H)mong in the world?" (PDF). Hmong Studies Journal. 6. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Report on Results of the 2019 Census". General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "Results of Population and Housing Census 2015" (PDF). Lao Statistics Bureau. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "B02018 Asian Alone Or in Any Combination by Selected Groups – 2021: 1-year estimates Detailed Tables – United States". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Lee, G.Y. "Diaspora and the Predicament of Origins: Interrogating Hmong Postcolonial History and Identity" (PDF). Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Jacques Lemoine (2005). "What is the actual number of the (H)mong in the world" (PDF). Hmong Studies Journal. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "ABS Census – ethnicity". Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ "Hmong's new lives in Caribbean". 10 March 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ Sucheng Chan, ed. (1994). Hmong means free: life in Laos and America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-0139-7. OCLC 318215953.
- ^ Being Hmong Means Being Free. PBS. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "Constructing an Ethnicity: Miao in the Chinese Narratives during the Qing Era" (PDF).
- ^ Motti, Jean (1980). History of the Hmong. Bangkok Thailand: Odeon Store. p. 3.
- ^ a b "Dr. Yang Dao (Yaj Daus)". Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ Lee 1996
- ^ Yang 2009
- ^ "Hmong not Meo", 18 August 2016, retrieved 27 January 2023
- ^ "2005 Senate Joint Resolution 37" (PDF). docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. 22 September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Lee, Tapp, Gary Yia, Nicolas (2010). Culture and Customs of the Hmong. Greenwood. p. 4.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Who are the Hmong? – Hmong American Center". 4 October 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Tapp, Nicholas (2002). Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong. Nanzan University. pp. 77–104.
- ^ The security poem - Qeej Ntaus Rog, 18 May 2023, retrieved 15 January 2024
- ^ qeej ntaus rog. ep1, 6 April 2023, retrieved 15 January 2024
- ^ "Miao Ethnic Minority". 13 April 2015.
- ^ "The origins of the Hmong" (PDF). Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "The Mong American Families". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.513.2976.
- ^ Lee, G. Y. (2010). Culture and customs of the Hmong. Nicholas Tapp. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-34527-2. OCLC 693776855.
- ^ a b Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of Environment and Subsistence in Proto-language," p. 160.
- ^ a b Bo Wen, et al. "Genetic Structure of Hmong–Mien Speaking Populations in East Asia as Revealed by mtDNA Lineages." Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(3): 725–34.
- ^ Blench, Roger. 2004. Stratification in the peopling of China: how far does the linguistic evidence match genetics and archaeology? Paper for the Symposium "Human migrations in continental East Asia and Taiwan: genetic, linguistic and archaeological evidence". Geneva June 10–13, 2004. Université de Genève.
- ^ Li, Hui; Huang, Ying; Mustavich, Laura F.; Zhang, Fan; Tan, Jing-Ze; Wang, Ling-E; Qian, Ji; Gao, Meng-He; Jin, Li (2007). "Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River". Human Genetics. 122 (3–4): 383–8. doi:10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2. PMID 17657509. S2CID 2533393.
- ^ Cai, X; Qin, Z; Wen, B; Xu, S; Wang, Y; Lu, Y; Wei, L; Wang, C; Li, S; Huang, X; Jin, L; Li, H; Genographic, Consortium (2011). "Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes". PLOS ONE. 6 (8): e24282. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...624282C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024282. PMC 3164178. PMID 21904623.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Bomar, Julie. "Hmong History and Culture." Kinship networks among Hmong-American refugees. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2004. 33–39. Print.
- ^ Li, Hui; Huang, Ying; Mustavich, Laura F.; Zhang, Fan; Tan, Jing-Ze; Wang, Ling-E; Qian, Ji; Gao, Meng-He; Jin, Li (1 November 2007). "Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River". Human Genetics. 122 (3): 383–388. doi:10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2. ISSN 1432-1203. PMID 17657509. S2CID 2533393.
- ^ De la Cadena, Marisol. Starn, Orin. Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. [2007] (2007). Indigenous experience today. Berg Publishers, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84520-519-5. p. 239.
- ^ "國語•楚語下". Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ Cai, Xiaoyun; Qin, Zhendong; Wen, Bo; Xu, Shuhua; Wang, Yi; Lu, Yan; Wei, Lanhai; Wang, Chuanchao; Li, Shilin; Huang, Xingqiu; Jin, Li; Li, Hui; Consortium, the Genographic (31 August 2011). "Human Migration through Bottlenecks from Southeast Asia into East Asia during Last Glacial Maximum Revealed by Y Chromosomes". PLOS ONE. 6 (8): e24282. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...624282C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024282. PMC 3164178. PMID 21904623.
- ^ Culas and Michaud, 68–74.
- ^ Rogers, 2004 p. 225.
- ^ Lee, Mai Na M. (2015). Dreams of the Hmong Kingdom: The Quest for Legitimation in French Indochina, 1850–1960. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0-299-29884-5.
- ^ Michaud, J. (1 April 2000). "The Montagnards and the State in Northern Vietnam from 1802 to 1975: A Historical Overview". Ethnohistory. 47 (2): 333–68. doi:10.1215/00141801-47-2-333. S2CID 162363204. ProQuest 209752840.
- ^ Michaud, J. et al. 2016 The Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 177–80.
- ^ Grant Evans "Laos is getting a bad rap from the world's media" The Bangkok Post 8 July 2003
- ^ "Being Hmong Means Being Free" Wisconsin Public Television
- ^ Warner, Roger, Shooting at the Moon, (1996), p. 366.
- ^ Hmong National Development, Inc. "The State of the Hmong American Community 2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ a b "www.laoveteransofamerica.org". www.laoveteransofamerica.org. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016.
- ^ Smalley, William Allen, Chia Koua Vang (Txiaj Kuam Vaj ), and Gnia Yee Yang (Nyiaj Yig Yaj ). Mother of Writing: The Origin and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script. University of Chicago Press, 23 March 1990. 10. Retrieved from Google Books on 23 March 2012 ISBN 978-0-226-76286-9.
- ^ Not to be confused with the Thai royal title Chao Fa.
- ^ Jonathan Tucker (Spring 2001). "The Yellow Rain Controversy: Lessons for Arms Control Compliance" (PDF). The Nonproliferation Review.
- ^ Kinchen, David (17 November 2006). "438 former 'Cob Fab' removed by helicopter after they came out of hiding". Hmong Today. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ^ "Laos agrees to voluntary repatriation of refugees in Thailand". U.P.I. 5 June 1991.
- ^ "Lao Refugees Return Home Under European Union Repatriation Program". Associated Press Worldstream. 22 November 1994.
- ^ Karen J. (26 April 1994). "House Panel Hears Concerns About Hmong". States News Service.
- ^ Hamilton-Merritt, Jane. Tragic Mountains. pp. xix–xxi.
- ^ "centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org". 6 April 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008.
- ^ "Reports on results of investigations of allegations concerning the welfare of Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand and Laos". United States Embassy (Thailand). Refugee and Migration Affairs Unit. 1992. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- ^ Gunderson, Steve (18 May 1996). "State Department Outlines Resettlement Guidelines for Hmong Refugees". Congressional Press Releases.
- ^ "Laos refuses to take back Thai-based Hmong refugees". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 20 August 1998.
- ^ Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, 16 January 2004, archived 17 January 2009 from the original
- ^ History of the Hmong Resettlement Task Force at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 October 2008) Hmong Resettlement Task Force, archived 21 October 2008 from the original
- ^ "Hmong refugees pleading to stay". BBC News. 28 July 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ a b Thailand: EU Presidency Declaration on the situation of Hmong refugees Archived 12 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine EU@UN, 1 February 2007
- ^ Hmong refugees facing removal from Thailand at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 October 2007) The Wire – Amnesty International's monthly magazine, March 2007, archived 13 October 2007 from the original
- ^ Deportation of Hmong Lao refugees stopped in last minute Archived 24 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, 30 January 2007
- ^ Hmong: UNHCR Protests Refugee Deportation Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, 5 February 2007
- ^ Walsh, Denny. Ten accused of conspiring to oust government of Laos at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 April 2008) The Sacramento Bee, 5 June 2007, archived 27 April 2008 from the original
- ^ Magagnini, Stephen and Walsh, Denny. Hmong Rally for 'The General' at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 December 2007) The Sacramento Bee, 19 June 2007, archived 13 December 2007 from the original
- ^ U.S. Drops Case Against Exiled Hmong Leader The New York Times, 18 September 2009
- ^ "Charges dropped against 12 Hmong men accused in plot to overthrow Laotian government". Los Angeles Times. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ Tapp, Nicholas, 1989 Sovereignty and Rebellion. Oxford.[page needed]
- ^ Cooper, Robert G. 1984 Resource scarcity and the Hmong response. Singapore University Press, Singapore.[page needed]
- ^ Cohen, Eric (2000). The Commercialized Crafts of Thailand. University of Hawai'i Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-8248-2297-8.
- ^ Vang, Xee. "The Hmong Language" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Tapp, Nicholas (2002). "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong" (PDF). Asian Folklore Studies. 61 (1): 78. doi:10.2307/1178678. JSTOR 1178678.
- ^ "Flower Hmong: Preserving Traditional Culture in Vietnam". Ten Thousand Villages. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ Graham, David Crockett (1954). Songs and Stories of the Ch'uan Miao. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vol. 123, 1. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
- ^ Lee, Mai Na (1998). "The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong". Hmong Studies Journal. 2 (2). Archived from the original on 26 May 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ Hmong Daw at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ History of the Assembly Bill AB78 by Kao-Ly Yang Archived 27 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Romney, Lee. "Bill spurs bitter debate over Hmong identity." L.A. Times, 24 May 2003.
- ^ Thao, Paoze and Chimeng Yang. "The Mong and the Hmong". Mong Journal, vol. 1 (June 2004). Archived 4 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lee, Gary and Nicholas Tapp. "Current Hmong Issues: 12-point Statement Archived 21 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine".
- ^ Duffy, John, Roger Harmon, Donald A. Ranard, Bo Thao, and Kou Yang. "People Archived 2012-09-16 at the Wayback Machine". In The Hmong: An Introduction to their history and culture. The Center for Applied Linguistics, Culture Profile No. 18 (June 2004): 3.
- ^ a b Tapp, Nicholas (2002). "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong" (PDF). Asian Folklore Studies. 61 (1): 77–104. doi:10.2307/1178678. JSTOR 1178678. ProQuest 224529908.
- ^ Cheung Siu-Woo "Miao Identity in Western Guizhou: Indigenism and the politics of appropriation in the southwest china during the republican period" in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 237–40.
- ^ Schien, Louisa. "Hmong/Miao Transnationality: Identity Beyond Culture." in Hmong or Miao in Asia. 274–75.
- ^ Lee, Gary Y. Dreaming Across the Oceans: Globalization and Cultural Reinvention in the Hmong Diaspora[usurped]. Hmong Studies Journal, 7:1–33.
- ^ Ratliff and Niederer, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia, Silkworm Press, 2004
- ^ Tapp, N. 2001, Hmong in China. Brill[page needed]
- ^ Culas and Michaud, 2004, in Tapp, Michaud, Culas and Lee, Hmong/Miao in Asia. SIlkworm.
- ^ Bonnin, Christine. Markets in the mountains: upland trade-scapes, trader livelihoods, and state development agendas in northern Vietnam (Thesis).
- ^ "Results of Population and Housing Census 2015" (PDF). Lao Statistics Bureau. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ Culas and Michaud 2004
- ^ Michaud et al. 2016
- ^ Culas and Michaud 2004.
- ^ 2008 Southeast Asian American Data from the American Community Survey (Released Fall 2009)
- ^ Lemoine. "What is the number of the (H)mong in the world."
- ^ Pfeifer, Mark (compiler). University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire"Hmong Population Research Project – Population". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2011. archived 25 July 2008 from the original Archived 22 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pike, Matthew (29 April 2018). "The History of Vietnam's Hmong Community". Culture Trip. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Hmong Catholics keep faith in Vietnam despite hardship - UCA News". ucanews.com.
- ^ "Hmong People in Vietnam". vietnamroyaltourism.com.
- ^ Baird, Ian G. (2013). The monks and the Hmong: The special relationship between the Chao Fa and the Tham Krabok Buddhist Temple in Saraburi Province, Thailand. In Vladimir Tikhonov and Torkel Brekke (eds.), Violent Buddhism – Buddhism and Militarism in Asia in the Twentieth Century. London: Routledge. pp. 120–151.
- ^ a b c "Census.gov". Census.gov.
- ^ "Census Bureau Homepage". Census.gov. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ "Rhode Island's Hmong-Lao community to mark 40 years of resettlement". The Providence Journal. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ Rob Mentzer (29 July 2021). "Hmong Community Rejoices As Sunisa Lee Becomes First Hmong American Gold Medalist". Wisconsin Public Radio.
- ^ Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics (8 May 2013). "2011 National Household Survey Profile – Census subdivision".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ The Hmong, 1987–1995: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography, Diane Publishing
- ^ "Info about the Hmong in French Guyana – KaYing Yang, Hmong Cultural Center, 1994". 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ "Laos, Vietnam Troops Execute 4 Hmong Christians" (Press release). Center for Public Policy Analysis. 16 April 2011 – via Scoop News.
Laotian and Hmong minority Christian and Animist believers continue to be hunted, brutally tortured, and killed by the Lao military in significant numbers in key provinces in Laos.
- ^ "H.Res. 992 (115th): Condemning the actions taken by the Lao People's Democratic Republic against the Hmong ChaoFa Indigenous people, and for other purposes" – via GovTrack.
- ^ "Agence France Press (AFP), (6 May 2011) "Vietnam troops 'use force' at rare Hmong protest"". Archived from the original on 2 December 2014.
- ^ Correspondent, Our Vietnam (28 March 2013). "Hmong Christian Leader in Vietnam Beaten to Death in Police Custody, Sources Say". Morningstar News.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Hanoi Hospitals Refuse Treatment to Ailing Hmong Christian Leader". Radio Free Asia.
- ^ "Agence France Press (AFP), (15 April 2011) "Laos, Vietnam troops kill four Hmong Christians: NGO"". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
Sources
[edit]- Fadiman, Anne (1997). The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-26781-2.
- Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, 'Chiang Mai's Hill Peoples' in: Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 3. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN B006IN1RNW.
- Hillmer, Paul. A People's History of the Hmong (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2010). 327 pages. ISBN 978-0-87351-726-3.
- [TYPN 1992] The section on nomenclature draws heavily on Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, Number 17, June 1992, Department of Anthropology, Australian National University. Material from that newsletter may be freely reproduced with due acknowledgment.
- W.R. Geddes. Migrants of the Mountains: The Cultural Ecology of the Blue Miao (Hmong Njua) of Thailand. Oxford, England: The Clarendon Press, 1976.
- Tapp, N., J.Michaud, C.Culasc, G.Y.Lee (Eds.) (2004). Hmong/Miao in Asia. Chiang Mai (Thailand): Silkworm. 500 pages.
- Chia Youyee Vang. Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora (University of Illinois Press; 2011) 200 pages; Combines scholarly and personal perspectives in an ethnographic history of the Hmong refugee experience in the United States.
- "Hmong in Minnesota". Minnesota Historical Society, Explore Minnesota.
Further reading
[edit]- Edkins, The Miau-tsi Tribes. Foochow: 1870.
- Henry, Lingnam. London: 1886.
- Bourne, Journey in Southwest China. London: 1888.
- A. H. Keaw, Man: Past and Present. Cambridge: 1900.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Johnson, Charles. Dab Neeg Hmoob: Myths, Legends and Folk Tales from the Hmong of Laos. St. Paul, Minnesota: Macalester College, 1983. – bilingual oral literature anthology, includes introduction and explanatory notes from a language professor who had sponsored the first Hmong family to arrive in Minnesota
- Lee, Mai Na M. "The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong." (Archive) Hmong Studies Journal. v2n2. Northern hemisphere Spring 1998.
- Meneses, Rashaan. "Hmong: An Endangered People." UCLA International Institute.
- Merritt, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992. Indiana: 1999.
- Mottin, Father Jean. History of the Hmong. Bangkok: Odeon Store, 1980. written in Khek Noi, a Hmong village in northern Thailand, Translated into English by an Irish nun, printed in Bangkok.
- Quincy, Keith. Hmong: History of a People. Cheney, Wash.: Eastern Washington University Press, 1988.
- Savina, F.M. Histoire des Miao. 2nd Edition. Hong Kong: Impremerie de la Société des Missions-Etrangères de Paris, 1930. Written by a French missionary who worked in Laos and Tonkin.
- George, William Lloyd. "Hmong Refugees Live in Fear in Laos and Thailand." TIME. Saturday 24 July 2010.
- Hookaway, James. "Thai Army Forces Out Refugees." The Wall Street Journal. 28 December 2009.
External links
[edit]- Laotian and Hmong veterans and refugee families of the Lao Veterans of America, Inc.
- Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Washington, D.C. Hmong human rights, religious persecution/ religious freedom violations and refugee issues
- Hmong-related web sites Archived 17 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine edited by Mark Pfeifer of the Hmong Cultural Center.
- Laos & Hmong Refugee Crisis & human rights violations against Hmong people in Southeast Asia, Centre for Public Policy Analysis, Washington, D.C.
- Publications list Archived 27 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center[usurped]
- Hmong culture studies[usurped] multimedia educational content
- Hmong history and culture articles by Hmong Australian anthropologist, Dr. Gary Yia Lee
- Hmong Contemporary Issues by Hmong French anthropologist and linguist, Dr. Kao-Ly Yang (English, French, and Hmong languages)
- Being Hmong Means Being Free Wisconsin Public Television
- Learn about Hmong People & Culture Archived 28 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- Hmong Culture