Tricia Leong ASA 002 A03 Week 6

In her article "Hmong Does Not Mean Free," author Kaozong N. Mouavangsou claims that that in order to succeed in America, many Hmong are expected to assimilate to American customs, culture, and language. This is often the only way for to survive and stay in America- assimilating is essential for them to get an education and subsequently a job. She makes the point that doing this, however, results in a loss of culture as the Hmong in America adapt American customs and as a result begin to forget their Hmong culture. This was shown especially with the children of Hmong immigrants who went to school in America, speak English, and don't know much about Hmong history. What they do know is what is taught to them in school, which is not much and often misrepresented; therefore, Hmong history and culture begins to get lost and forgotten.

This article and study reminded me of a book I read for a class last year called The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang. The book tells the story of the author, a Hmong woman whose family escaped from Southeast Asia after staying in a refugee camp in Thailand during the Vietnam War. She describes her experience trying to make a life for herself in America by going to an American school, learning English, and eating American food. In this memoir, the author is able to demonstrate a gradual loss of Hmong culture as the family adjusts to their new life, especially in the younger, "American" generations. This may explain why students in America don't know much about the Hmong history and people- in fact, the group is often left out when discussing the Vietnam War. I think both the article and this book are very important, as they try to tell a previously untold story and attempt to resist this erasure of culture and history while simultaneously addressing how American society works to suppress these cultural differences and rewrite history as the dominant group sees fit.

Question: Are there other cultures that have gone through something like this and have almost completely disappeared as a result?

References

Mouavangsou, K. “Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation of and by Hmong Americans”. Fight the Tower. Rutgers University Press.

Yang, K. (2008). The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. N.p. Coffee House Press.

Image taken from: https://nlb.overdrive.com/media/564551