Where is hmong located

The Hmong originated as a non-literate society, with grandparents passing on their rich heritage orally. Although a written language was developed in , many Hmong elders have retained this oral tradition.

Back to Top. In the s, the war in Vietnam spread into Northeastern Laos, where many Hmong lived. Consequently, Hmong men and boys served as soldiers on both sides of the war. From the early s to , an estimated 18,, men died as soldiers, while an estimated 50, civilians died directly from the fighting or indirectly from disrupted village and agricultural life Robinson, , p.

Minnesota ranks second, with more than 66,, and Wisconsin is third, with a Hmong population of about 49, However, the Twin Cities easily tops other metropolitan areas. Most of Minnesota's Hmong population resides in the metro area about 65, ; the second-largest metro concentration of Hmong people is in Fresno, Calif.

Within the Twin Cities, St. Paul has the largest population by far with nearly 30, Hmong. Minneapolis is a distant second with about 7,, followed by Brooklyn Park with about 5, and Brooklyn Center with about 3, Maplewood rounds out the top five with a population of about 2, The Hmong are an ethnic group within the country of Laos.

In Laos, the Hmong are called Hmong, even by the majority Lao. So as not to confuse people, Hmong are Hmong and Lao are Lao. It's like apples and oranges. Both are from Laos , but labeled differently. There are 18 clans in the Hmong culture, each with a different name. Children are members of their father's clan. Women, upon marriage, become members of their husband's clan, but typically retain their original clan — or, rather, maiden name. Members of the same clan consider themselves family.

The Hmong language has two dialects: white and green. Census statistics for the "Hmong alone or in any combination" group pertain to both respondents only identified themselves as Hmong, and those who identified themselves as Hmong as well as some other race or ethnic group.

This Spotlight uses the numbers for foreign-born respondents who identified as "Hmong alone and in any combination. For more information on how the Census collected data pertaining to race, click here. Since , more than , Hmong have fled Laos as refugees. Thailand has been the staging arena for the resettlement or repatriation of most Hmong refugees. In May , when communist takeover of Laos seemed imminent, the U. The earliest Hmong refugees who fled the country consisted mainly of soldiers in the U.

Later waves have fled because of a variety of post-war hardships, including declining economic conditions, crop failure due to ineffective communist farm collectivization schemes and drought, and repression of past and on-going resistance activities.

Because of their role in the U. The first flow to the United States included approximately 3, Hmong by December The Census counted , foreign born who self-identified as Hmong. The largest wave of Hmong immigrants arrived in the United States during the s. While 15 percent of Hmong immigrants arrived in the latter half of the s, the s saw a larger wave of entrants, representing 46 percent of Hmong foreign born currently in the U.

The flow of arrivals in the s decreased, accounting for 39 percent of current Hmong immigrants. For more information on the U. Many Hmong, however, have opted to stay in Thailand, waiting either for a return to Laos without fear of political reprisal, or until relatives can join them for settlement in a third country. Some have spent up to 10 years in Thai camps. All official refugee camps in Thailand serving the Hmong were closed in the mids.

Country Profile There is no Hmong nation or state. The Hmong have traditionally lived in Laos, Vietnam and China and are an ethnic group, not a nationality.

Following the U. The Hmong have always been an independent population living in the mountains of Southeast Asia. The Hmong culture is traditionally agrarian. Language Hmong is a monosyllabic tonal language.