Hmong Archives: Ten years of collecting, preserving and serving

By Marlin L. Heise , Asian American Press

June 14, 2009

Hmong Archives was chartered on February 10, 1999, as a nonprofit with the mission to research, collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate materials in all formats about or by Hmong. A dozen young Hmong professionals had this grand dream, but I credit Yuepheng Xiong of Hmong ABC with changing discussion into action by securing a charter and keys to a Metropolitan State University room. My role, and great joy as archivist, has been as chief volunteer recorder.

Hmong refugees from the Secret War in Laos first came to Saint Paul in 1975-76 to an environment very unlike their tropical mountain villages. After 15 years of war and relocation, they had lost or worn out most of their possessions. Very few were able to attend schools in the turmoil and poverty of Laos. Only in the 1960s did Hmong become a written language in Laos, using both Latin and Pahawm writing systems. Almost all Hmong knowledge has been oral, passed down through the generations.

By 1999 the Hmong Saint Paul community had undergone dramatic changes. Hmong had become market gardeners, teachers, grocers, doctors, realtors, lawyers, and with Choua Lee’s 1991 election, local government officials—but at the same time maintaining (or adapting) old traditions. Such changes lead to the loss of old knowledge and cultural materials, as well as developing new ones. Thus, Hmong Archives found its mission almost 25 years after the first refugee arrivals. Our inspiration came from the Minnesota Historical Society, and from the Norwegian-American Historical Association, founded in 1925, a century after modern Norwegian immigration began.

Our volunteers have invested 13,000 hours in caring for the 115,000 items entrusted to Hmong Archives, now in six rooms above Hmong ABC. Our 750 donors and 2500 researchers and visitors are mostly from the US, but also from Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Japan, Laos, the Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, and Vietnam. Our collections of audios, books, cards, files, maps, newspapers, objects, periodicals, photos, posters, videos, and works of art come from all parts of the Hmong world. What a great educational resource for students, teachers and researchers, locally and internationally! We are proud of connections with Hmong Cultural Center, CHAT, Hmong Today, Hmong Times, Jackson Elementary, Phalen Lake Elementary, Seexeng Lee, Kao Kalia Yang, Noah Vang, and many others who make Saint Paul the Hmong cultural capitol of the US.

Daily archive work can be slow and tedious, processing a thousand donated items each month. However, there are also exhilarating moments, such as when Grandma Yer discovered her skirt discarded in Wat Tham Krabok is now a museum piece. Or a Lao American researcher laid hands on Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book in Lao. Or a proud high school student donated her History Day DVD. Or Hmong veterans discover their younger selves in Vang Xiong’s Ban Vinai photos.

Hmong Archives is open to the public at 298 University Avenue West, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and by appointment by calling 651.224.8754. Groups are very welcome, but please call first. Our website is www.hmongarchives.org, and we are on Facebook.

I wish to thank Chong Toua, Chia, Tong, Dang and Shoua, co-workers at Minnesota Historical Society in 1980-81, for introducing me to the rich culture Hmong have brought with them and continue to develop in Saint Paul, a culture Hmong Archives has collected, preserved and served for a decade.

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Refugees to celebrate in Mpls.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Refugees from around the world who now make Minnesota their home will celebrate their cultures next weekend.

Twin Cities World Refugee Day will be held Saturday in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Admission is free.

Refugee musicians, dancers and poets will perform that afternoon. The event also features children's activities, food and crafts, and an immigrant resource fair.

More than 90,000 refugees have resettled in Minnesota since 1979. That includes large Somali and Hmong populations.

The United Nations created World Refugee Day. It's celebrated around the world each year on June 20.

Twin Cities World Refugee Day: http://www.tcworldrefugeeday.org

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US removes Laos, Cambodia from trade blacklist

By Shaun Tandon – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama removed Laos and Cambodia from a trade blacklist, opening the way for US loans to companies doing business in the former US adversaries.

The United States has been boosting ties with both Southeast Asian nations. But the decision on Laos was sharply criticized by campaigners for the country's Hmong minority, which says it faces persecution.

In brief declarations, Obama said Cambodia and Laos had each "ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country," a designation that prevented financial support by the US Export-Import Bank for businesses operating in the two nations.

The move, which still must go through formalities, means that US businesses would be eligible for US government-backed loans and credit guarantees as they can receive when operating in most countries.

"Given the commitment of Cambodia and Laos to open markets, the president has determined that this designation is no longer applicable," an Obama administration official said.

With the decision, the United States forbids US-backed loans for businesses to operate in only six countries -- Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

US ties with Cambodia and Laos were long clouded by concerns about the fate of US service members missing since the Vietnam War. In Cambodia, the United States worried about corruption and accountability for Khmer Rouge war crimes.

But the United States has been moving closer to both nations, where China is also stepping up influence. Washington established normal trade ties with Laos in 2004 and three years later lifted all restrictions on aid to Cambodia.

Obama's decision to boost trade ties with Laos came under fire from supporters of the Hmong, a hill people who supported US forces during the Vietnam War and say they face retaliatory abuse decades later.

A recent report by Paris-based Medicins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said Hmong who fled since 2005 to Thailand have said they suffered killings, gang-rape and malnutrition at the hands of Laotian forces.

Obama's declaration "is completely shocking and outrageous," said Philip Smith, executive director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis, which promotes Hmong rights.

"This is a one-party regime which is closely allied with Burma (Myanmar) and North Korea," he said. "This will embolden the Laos government to continue to slaughter and massacre civilians."

Many Hmong are still in hiding in Laos. Another 250,000 Hmong have resettled in the United States.

Last month, Medicins Sans Frontieres pulled out of the sole Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, complaining that the kingdom was forcing some 4,700 people in the camp back to Laos where they fear persecution.

US lawmakers plan to send a letter next week to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asking her to press Thailand to halt the repatriation of the Hmong to Laos.

"The US has been a champion of the Hmong since the Vietnam War," said the letter, so far signed by 17 members of Congress.

"We continue to have a vital national security interest in and moral obligation to assist our former allies, especially those with bona fide persecution claims," it said.

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Sac City Unified cancels summer school for elementary and middle schools

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

Published: Friday, Jun. 12, 2009 - 1:55 pm

The Sacramento City Unified School District voted Thursday night to eliminate summer school for elementary and middle school students for the next two years, while reducing its high school offerings.

The move is effective immediately and will save the district $1,960,300. Elementary and middle school summer school programs were scheduled to begin June 29.

The district had planned to offer five weeks of remedial instruction this summer for elementary and middle school students. The board voted to keep programs designed to close the achievement gap, such as a Hmong, Mien and Lao program that serves 220 kindergarten through sixth-grade students at the cost of $53,500.

The board cut $102,400 out of the high school summer school budget by eliminating online credit recovery courses and other measures.

The school district is considering other measures to close a budget shortfall. On a list of proposed budget reductions are closing Mark Hopkins Elementary School, eliminating freshman sports and eliminating middle school sports.

The board will next meet Thursday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m.

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MDA awards $100,000 in sustainable agriculture grants

ST. PAUL, MN(release) - The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has awarded $100,000 in sustainable agriculture grants for seven on-farm research and demonstration projects. Available through the MDA's Sustainable Agriculture Grant Demonstration Program, the grants support three-year projects that increase farm net profits, benefit the environment and improve the farm family quality of life.

This year's grantees are experimenting in growing cherries, organic mushrooms and other fruit and vegetable production strategies.

A grant was awarded to the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota (AAHWM). The organization's goal is to reduce pesticide use by Hmong and other immigrant farmers by training them in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods. During the first year of the three-year project, two Hmong farmers will learn IPM strategies for growing cabbage crops and share these methods with other Hmong farmers.

Pat Altrichter and Judy Heiling, Morrison County sisters, are expanding their Saskatoon berry and blueberry growing operation and "fruit u-pick" market to include cherries which are typically not grown in their region.

Jill Jacoby, St. Louis County, is researching the possibility of growing shiitake and oyster mushrooms in a northern climate. She hopes to be able to sell the mushrooms to local restaurants, co-ops and farmers' markets.

Arlene and Robert Jones, Crow Wing County, are investigating the feasibility of producing hops using sustainable and organic growing practices. If successful, they hope to establish a commercially viable hops market for small craft brewers and micro breweries.

Eric Gundacker, Dakota County, is researching the commercial viability of growing organic blackberries and how the use of high tunnels might increase blackberry yields.

At the University of Minnesota - North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, grantee Shengrui Yao will study methods of extending the growing season for blackberries by using high tunnels, thus increasing the market potential for this fruit.

Steven Poppe, at the University of Minnesota - West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, will research growing fall-bearing raspberries in high tunnels with an additional goal of eliminating or minimizing the use of fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

Sustainable agriculture grant projects are highlighted in the MDA's annual Greenbook. To learn more about previous projects, visit http://www.mda.state.mn.us/protecting/sustainable/greenbook2008.htm.

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