Hmong America: Restructuring Community in Diaspora by Chia Youyee Vang (review)

This fascinating book is authored by a multilingual member of a Hmong community. I say “a” because there are eighteen Hmong clans even in this relatively small population. Decisions are made by clans, although part of their acculturation has involved transitions to cooperation among clans that have begun to recognize how groups operate in American communities. Here, social networks and role models in other ethnic communities provide examples of how other such peoples use collaborative resources to get jobs, goods, and services from governmental and non-governmental agencies. Indeed, Hmong outside the U.S.A. look to those here to provide such assistance and even for modeling group patterns.

In fact, they have made gains and now we find thousands visiting Laos and their original villages in the Laotian highlands. At the same time, some of the Hmong’s leaders, such as General Van Pao, transplanted old world homeland factionalism, but lacking an indigenous nation state, the Hmong have learned to create communities that transcend national boundaries. Moreover, they have become sufficiently acculturated to campaign for recognition via negotiations, such as for a plaque in DC dedicated to Hmong members of America’s “secret army” in Laos. They also petitioned for what became the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act in May 2000 that exempts such vets from the language requirements for citizenship.

Following distinctive patterns—“Secondary Settlement” (their “Third Migration”) and maintaining community clusters away from suburbs and concentrated in such urban centers as Minneapolis/St. Paul—the Hmong have created lifestyles that are ethnic writ small, with others as role models, and they began to craft organizations, such as the Mutual Assistance Association and the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota. Beginning in 1992 Hmong began running for political office, notably on school boards, then city councils, and now a state assembly.

Some examples are presented here of ethnic adjustment, including political coalitions, and branches of Christian denominations (which they maintained, as noted) would provide greater acceptance of their “Hmong Americanness.” To some degree, Vang’s coverage is here uneven, for we do not learn much about which Christian practices they engage in in order to gain acceptance or how they went about pursuing political positions. In addition, the New Year’s celebration, traditionally a major event, now convenes for a shorter time and with fewer activities to keep people interested.

Although still attracting youngsters with some practices that have begun to fade in the diaspora, there are institutional features for New Year’s that are addressed by Vang, as is their entry into politics. What was needed was more of a profile of the jobs and businesses Hmong have created—or the lack thereof due to their more sparse backgrounds. Two other areas could have used more details. Just how did they begin to enter politics so quickly, given their background, and what changes have taken place in families and in the roles of women—in the home and in the community?