Hmong Americans in Michigan

by Martha Aladjem Bloomfield

Overview

The Hmong people, originating from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos, are unique among American immigrants because of their extraordinary history of migration; loyalty to one another; prolonged abuse, trauma, and suffering at the hands of those who dominated them; profound loss; and independence, as well as their amazing capacity to adapt and remain resilient over centuries. This introduction to their experience in Michigan discusses Hmong American history, culture, and more specifically how they left homelands filled with brutality and warfare to come to the United States since the mid-1970s. More than five thousand Hmong Americans live in Michigan, and many of them have faced numerous challenges as they have settled in the Midwest. How did these brave and innovative people adapt to strange new lives thousands of miles away from their homelands? How have they preserved their past through time and place, advanced their goals, and cultivated plans for their children and education? What are their lives like in the diaspora? As this book documents via personal interviews and extensive research, despite the tremendous losses they have suffered for many years, the Hmong people in Michigan continue to demonstrate courage and profound resilience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611861198
Publisher:	Michigan State University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2014
Series:	Discovering the Peoples of Michigan
Edition description:	1
Pages:	100
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Martha Aladjem Bloomfield is a writer, oral historian, researcher, educator, photographer, and artist.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Timeline of the Hmong xiii

Preface xvii

A Brief Overview of Hmong History 1

Coming to Michigan 23

Adapting to Michigan 37

Some Afterthoughts 69

Sidebars

Tru Hang and His Son, Fu Hang, Come to Michigan 8

Chue Kue Leaves Camp 10

Lian and Kao Xiong Flee to Michigan 14

T. Christopher Thao Escapes from Laos 18

T. Christopher Thao Travels to the United States 27

Chue Kue Moves to Michigan 35

Tong Vue Gardens in Michigan 47

Goe Sheng Xiong Strives for Good Education 67

Appendices

Appendix 1 Hmong Populations in Michigan Areas 71

Appendix 2 Education and Socioeconomic Attainment in the United States 73

Appendix 3 Recipes 75

Appendix 4 Resources 81

Notes 83

For Further Reference 91

Index 99

Editorial Reviews

An important contribution to the literature on Hmong Americans. Thoroughly researched, combining interviews, secondary sources, and participant observation, this study provides the reader with an in-depth sense of the Hmong American experience in Michigan through the use of detailed portraits of families and individuals framed within a broader historical, political, and economic context.
—Andrea Louie, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University

From the Publisher