Ethnic group in southwest China and Southeast Asia
Ethnic group
Hmong people
𖬌𖬣𖬵
5 million
China
2,777,039 (2000, estimate)
note 1
Vietnam
1,393,547 (2019)
Laos
595,028 (2015)
United States
368,609 (2021)
Thailand
250,070 (2015)
citation needed
France
15,000
Australia
3,438 (2011)
Myanmar
3,000 (2010)
France
French Guiana
2,000 (2001)
Canada
1,000 (2005)
Argentina
600 (1999)
Germany
500
citation needed
Hmong
Mandarin
Vietnamese
Lao
Predominantly
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 ethnic group from
East
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
France
, and
South America
The term
Hmong
is the English spelling 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.
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 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.
18
Relationship to the Miao
edit
Hmong people at the Can Cau market,
Si Ma Cai
, Vietnam
Historically, the term "Hmong" is not featured in any Chinese text, only the term "Miao". However it is uncertain if all mentions of Miao people referred to the Hmong people. According to Ruey (1962), the way in which Miao was used in Chinese can roughly be divided into three periods: a legendary period from 2300 BC to 200 BC, then a period when the term generally referred to southern barbarians until 1200 AD, and then a modern period during which the Hmong were probably included. Although the term appeared before the
Qin dynasty
(221 BC), throughout history Miao was used as a loose and general term by the
Han
to refer to southern barbarians. Only since the
Tang dynasty
did more evidence of its association with the Hmong become more apparent.
11
18
In the 20th century, Western missionaries called the Hmong and
Hmao
the "Big Flowery Miao" (
Da Hua Miao
) and the "Little Flowery Miao" (
Xiao Hua Miao
).
21
Another source states that the Green and White Miao were the Hmong, the Flowery Miao were the Hmao, the Black Miao were the
Hmu
, and the Red Miao were the
Xong
18
According to She Miaojun, the Miao only existed as an exonym in the imagination of outsiders all the way up to the
Qing dynasty
. It did not refer to any self-defined ethnic group united by either territory or language. Others believe that Miao identity emerged during the
rebellions
of the 18th and 19th centuries.
11
Today, the Hmong in China are categorized under the umbrella term Miáo (
) along with three other indigenous cultural groups, which include non-Hmong peoples such as the Hmu and the Xong of southeast
Guizhou
. The Chinese Miao minority was created in 1949 as part of the ethnic identification project in which members of the ethnic groups that now comprise the Miao umbrella group campaigned for identification under the name
Miao—
taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression. The push to appropriate Miao as the official name of their
minzu
nationality received significant contributions from three Miao intellectuals, however none of them were Hmong. The various Miao sub-groups freely identify as Miao or Chinese while reserving their specific ethnonyms for intra-ethnic communication.
22
According to Jacques Lemoine, "Chinese Hmong have the Miao nationality but Hmong ethnicity" because the
People's Republic of China
doesn't recognize ethnicity.
24
The Miao minority group has been described as extremely heterogeneous. The four main groups classified as Miao in China are the Hmong, Hmao, Hmu, and the Xong. Despite speaking related languages belonging to the
Hmongic
language group, these four ethnic groups have little in common and their languages are mutually unintelligible. Even the group closest to the Hmong, the Hmao, speak a language that is as different from Hmong as Italian is from French. They diverged significantly as early as a thousand years ago, after which they may have had no relation to each other at all. Without their official classification as the Miao minority after 1949, it is unlikely that they would be able to recognize any affinity with each other. However none of the four groups have obtained official status as distinct minorities in China. Their names are generally unrecognized by the Chinese and are only used as part of the local vernacular language. As a result, only a small portion of the modern Miao people initially identified as Hmong.
18
26
The cumbersome umbrella term "Miao" refers to a number of disparate groups totaling 7.5 million people as of 1990, speaking three mutually unintelligible dialects and scattered over seven provinces in southwest China... These multiple sub-groups have been variously divided into large aggregates such as the Black, Red, Blue, White, and Flowery groups, or later the Eastern, Central or Western dialect groups. It was only in the Maoist period, with the national implementation of identification policies... that the diverse Miao in China came to recognize each other as co-ethnics and to identify with and operate under the ethnonym "Miao." Only a portion of those identified as Miao—the ones distributed over western Guizhou and parts of Yunnan, particularly the border areas—call themselves "Hmong" in their own language.
26
The non-equivalence between the Miao and the Hmong was acknowledged in interactions between Hmong refugees and the Miao. The Miao people that Hmong travelers from the West met were highly varied both in their language and cultural practices. When Hmong refugees from France and the US initially made contact with the Miao from China in officially sanctioned visits, they were introduced to the Xong Miao people who were neither Hmong nor spoke the Hmong language. An eyewitness recounts several occasions when a Hmong and a Hmao tried to understand each other's languages without success. They also met an assortment of Miao people who no longer spoke their native language and only knew Chinese. Many of the Miao they met did not share the same traditional clothing, myths, and folktales. Some did not even play the
lusheng
, a traditional Hmong musical instrument. The visiting Hmong were themselves not from China but Southeast Asia, where their ancestors had migrated over a century ago due to conflicts in the
Qing dynasty
. Not understanding the differences between the Miao and Hmong, initially some Hmong-Americans did not believe that these were real Miao people, but other ethnic groups. Some thought that the different costumes were the result of lost traditions among the Southeast Asian Hmong.
18
26
Some Hmong went further to seek out "really Hmong" people through unofficial channels with whom they could speak Hmong to. However even after successfully finding them, they found that there were dialect variations that differed from the Hmong that they grew up speaking. As Hmong refugees discovered the differences between themselves and the Chinese Miao, some non-Hmong Miao people such as the Hmu started referring to themselves as Hmong to express nationalistic sentiments. Contributing to this trend is the tendency of professional linguists to use the names of smaller ethnic groups to refer to the broader categories such as
Hmong–Mien languages
rather than Miao-Yao languages. This is due to the outsized influence of groups outside of Asia such as the Hmong and Mien who are able to articulate their cause, thereby affecting some proto-nationalistic movements within the Miao to identify as Hmong despite not actually being Hmong.
18
Hmong/Miao identity
edit
Miao or Meo carried strong pejorative connotations in both China and Southeast Asia. It was more so 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 primitiveness. Due to these negative connotations, the Hmong promote the use of Hmong as a replacement for Miao.
11
21
In modern times, however, Miao 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.
27
28
According to Louisa Schein, Miao is a neutral ethnonym within China and the only term that encompasses all its subgroups.
26
According to Gary Yia Lee writing in the
Hmong Studies Journal
, the choice to identify as Miao was a deliberate and strategic decision its members advocated for in recognition of its potential benefits. Rather than being split into multiple smaller groups with short and murky histories, the Miao chose to adopt one ethno-name representing 9.2 million people claiming a long history dating back to ancient China. Their larger population granted them the strength and support befitting of the fifth largest nationality in China. In addition, by claiming kinship to the San Miao referred to in ancient Chinese history, they positioned themselves as pre-existing inhabitants of China prior to the arrival of the Han, imparting a "legendary stature to the present-day Miao" that "bestows the dignity of great antiquity, authoritativeness and a firm standing in the documentary record".
29
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. In 1994, a Miao woman from China was chosen as the winner of the Miss Hmong Beauty Pageant in
Fresno, California
. Costume styles were imported from China and used in festivals.
26
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.
21
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".
30
31
The term Maew and Meo derived from the term Miao.
32
Likely routes of early rice transfer, and possible language family homelands (archaeological sites in China and SE Asia shown)
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.
33
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.
34
35
36
A 2020 study, however, states that Hmong in Thailand cluster with other Hmong groups only due to their practice of endogamy.
37
In 2011, Hmong DNA was sampled and found to contain 7.84%
D-M15
and 6%N(Tat) DNA.
38
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.
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.
39
The most representative ancestral lineages of Hmong-Mien speakers come from ancient individuals from Guangxi (GaoHuaHua) and Guizhou (Songshan_o2), dating back to the Ming Dynasty.
40
Other studies also confirm the significant role of
Ancient Northern East Asians
in shaping the Hmong genome.
41
Overall, Hmong–Mien cluster with Tai-Kadai and Sino-Tibetan speakers compared to other Chinese populations.
42
A 2020 study shows that the core Hmong-Mien population derives more ancestry from Neolithic Mekong (32.3%–35.3%) than Late Neolithic Fujian (23.7%–26.4%), suggesting stronger
Austroasiatic
affinities although Tai-Kadai ancestry peaks in groups that live in southeastern China.
43
Genetic stratification exists within the Hmong-Mien population, with northern Hmong-Mien populations exhibiting more genetic similarities with Tibeto-Burman/Sinitic populations and southern Hmong-Mien populations sharing more alleles with Austronesian/Tai-Kadai populations.
44
Hmong-Mien populations within the Miao cluster exhibit stronger genetic influence from neighboring populations like Han Chinese. Other Miao populations are more related to Hmong populations from Vietnam. Yao populations in Guangxi, in contrast, share more genetic drift with Tai-Kadai populations. Bunu-speaking Yao populations exhibit strong genetic affinities with the
GaoHuaHua
population due to their geographic isolation. She populations from Guizhou cluster with their Hmong-Mien neighbors and received significant input from Tai-Kadai populations whilst She populations from Fujian received more input from Han Chinese populations.
40
In 2021, researchers found that the 'GaoHuaHua' population in Guangxi contributed to the ancestries of modern Hmong-Mien groups in Guangxi. The 'GaoHuaHua' population was modeled as having 66% Dushan-related ancestry and 34% Boshan-related ancestry. They also received Northeast Asian-related Shandong ancestry, which emerged 9,500–7,700 years ago.
35
One hypothesis of the
homeland
of the Hmong–Mien languages is southwestern China.
45
46
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
47
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.
48
Another study shows that the core Hmong-Mien population in southern China derived most of their ancestry from Neolithic Mekong (32.3%–35.3%) than Late Neolithic Fujian (23.7%–26.4%).
43
The time of
Proto-Hmong–Mien
was estimated to be about 2500 BP (500 BC) 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.
49
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.
50
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.
33
The author of
Guoyu
, written in the 4th to 5th century, considered Chi You's
Jiuli tribes
to be related to the ancient ancestors of the Hmong, the San-Miao people.
51
Chi You
is the Hmong ancestral God of War. Today, a statue of Chi You has been erected in the town named
Zhuolu
52
A scene depicting the
Qing dynasty
's campaign against the Hmong people at Lancaoping in 1795
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.
53
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
."
54
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
. The settling region of the Hmong in China is further western than that of the other groups, mainly in Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi.
Xijiang, a Hmong-majority township in Guizhou, China
The Hmong or Miao began to migrate to Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) in the 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.
55
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
56
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.
57
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.
58
59
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.
60
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.
61
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.
62
failed verification
Hmong Lao resistance
edit
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
RPA
: Cob Fab,
Pahawh Hmong
𖬒𖬯 𖬖𖬜𖬵
).
63
64
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.
65
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.
66
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
A Hmong family in either Chiang Mai or Lamphun, circa 1954
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.
67
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.
68
69
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.
70
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
71
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.
62
Although some accusations of forced repatriation were denied,
72
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.
73
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.
74
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.
75
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.
76
In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of
Phetchabun
77
The
European Union
78
UNHCHR
, and international groups have since spoken out about the forced repatriation.
78
79
80
81
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.
82
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
, and
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.
83
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".
84
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."
85
Hmong kids in
Thailand
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.
86
87
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
).
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
batiked
dresses.
88
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.
89
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.
90
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 the 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.
90
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.
90
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
).
91
Hmong folk costume in
Sa Pa
, Vietnam
A Flower Hmong woman in
Vietnam
A typical
rammed earth
house –building technique of Flower Hmong in Vietnam
Hmong/Mong controversy
edit
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.
92
Even
ethnographers
studying the Hmong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as
Meo
, an alteration 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.
93
94
The issue came to a head during the passage of
California State Assembly
Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season.
95
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.
96
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.
97
Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr.
Gary Yia Lee
(a Hmong Der person), suggests that for the past 30 years,
as of?
Hmong
has been used in reference to the entire community and as a result, the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understandable.
98
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.
99
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
and the
. The ethnologist Jacques Lemoine has also begun to use the term (H)mong in reference to the entirety of the Hmong and Mong communities.
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.
100
Linguistically and culturally speaking, the Hmong and the other sub-groups of the Miao have little in common.
101
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.
102
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.
103
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.
104
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.
105
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.
106
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.
107
Hmong girl (aged 15) preparing wedding dress, Phố Cáo commune, Hà Giang province, Vietnam
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.
108
Other countries with significant populations include:
109
The Hmong population within the United States
is centered in the
Upper Midwest
Wisconsin
Minnesota
) and
California
110
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;
111
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.
112
The Hmong in Vietnam also receive cultural and political incentives from the government.
113
which led to the Vietnamese Hmong further diverging from the Laotian Hmong, since the latter are strongly anti-Vietnamese due to the
Laotian Civil War
and Communism.
There are 595,028 Hmong people in Laos. They mainly live in northern regions.
In Myanmar, Hmong are known as Myaung Zee or Hmont people. They are living mainly in northern, southern and eastern
Shan State
, as well as in
Wa State
Hmong girls in
Thoeng District
Thailand
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
114
Hmong woman in
Luang Prabang
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,
115
the plurality of whom live in California (91,224), then Minnesota (66,181), and Wisconsin (49,240), an increase from 186,310 in 2000.
116
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
(29,662), followed by
Fresno
(24,328),
Sacramento
(16,676),
Milwaukee
(10,245), and
Minneapolis
(7,512).
115
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
115
and
Providence, Rhode Island
117
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.
118
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.
119
120
There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to
French Guiana
in the late 1970s and early 1980s,
121
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.
122
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.
123
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.
124
new archival link needed
In 2013,
Vam Ngaij Vaj
, a Christian pastor of Hmong ancestry, was beaten to death by Vietnamese police and security forces.
125
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.
126
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.
127
There is no official
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of the Hmong people in China, as they are classified as a subgroup of the
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