MPR: This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota

This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota
By Lynette Nyman
March 8, 1999

THE 150,000 HMONG PEOPLE living in the United States traveled thousands of difficult miles to get here. Many settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, giving it the largest urban Hmong population in the world. Today these Hmong are wrestling with issues of culture and identity, with maintaining ties to the past and seeking to thrive in modern urban America.

Hmong in China (See Hard Work) Family visit (See Going Home) Training for war (See Ly Xiong Pao slideshow)		Part One: Hard Work The history of the Hmong people, their journey to the United States, and the life of one Hmong-American family in Saint Paul. RealAudio \| The Hmong in China slideshow Part Two: Leading the People The shift of power and leadership from the older to the younger generation in the Hmong community. RealAudio Part Three: Sew It Right The centuries-old tradition of Hmong hand stitching is a practice becoming less useful as Hmong women create new lives in the U.S. RealAudio Part Four: Going Home Each year more and more Hmong-Americans return to visit Laos to see family and friends. Here is one woman's journey to the homeland. RealAudio \| Going Home slideshow

		Portraits
		Ly Xiong Pao A clan leader and shaman, Pao was one of many CIA-trained soliders during the "secret" war in Laos. RealAudio \| Training for War slideshow Ma Lee Lee lived in refugee camps for 14 years. But that was after she ran for her life when the war ended in 1975. RealAudio May Pa Xenexai Xenexai found the self-sufficiency she was looking for through business and social services. RealAudio Yee Chang As a Hmong boy discovering his new country, Chang faced both fear and excitement. RealAudio Production Credits Reporter-Producer: Lynette Nyman Editor: Euan Kerr and Mike Edgerly Web Producer: Michael Wells Online News Editor: Bob Collins Senior Vice President, News: Bill Buzenberg

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	Text: Sm : Md : Lg