Unit 2: Resilience and Resistance – Hmong Resilience and Resistance
Time Frame
- 1–2 class periods
Materials
- Green Card Entrepreneur Voices – Bo Thao-Urabe’s story and video
- Hmong Town Marketplace and Hmong Village images
- Hmong Resilience and Resistance worksheet
- Gallery Walk worksheet
Connections to the 7 Cs of Ethnic Studies
- Celebrate: using Hmong counter-stories and community narratives through storytelling
- Challenge: understanding how Hmong individuals and organizations contribute toward action, organizing, advocating, and healing in their local communities
Instruction (ICCR)
Ignite: Qualities for Success
- Display on the board images of either Hmong Village or Hmong town Marketplace in St. Paul, MN.
- As students are looking at the visual, give them this prompt:
- The first Hmong refugees began arriving in MN in 1975. They first arrived with little money, no English, no credit history, and very little of value other than the clothes on their backs and small household items such as pots and pans. Experts predicted they would be dependent on welfare for generations. Today, the Hmong community contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy in Minnesota, with large shopping centers such as Hmongtown Marketplace, Hmong Village, and lots of other Hmong-owned businesses, shops, and restaurants throughout the Twin Cities.
Turn and Talk
Ask students to brainstorm with an elbow partner what strengths a community needs to survive a war, migrate to a new country, and build a robust economy from scratch in fifty years.
- Ask a few students to share out loud with the class.
Chunk: Resilience
Acknowledgement: This was the shared journey for many Hmong Americans. There are other Hmong narratives that may contrast this one, such as Hmong Chinese, Hmong Laos, Hmong Vietnam, and other groups with their own different experiences. Some may have fought along with the communists or with the Pathet Lao for their own survival or by choice. Similarly, not all Hmong followed the refugee journey or chose to migrate to the United States, as many chose to remain in Laos and Thailand, and some even migrated to different countries throughout the world. This lesson will focus mainly on the shared experience of Hmong Americans.
Explain that the Hmong were an ethnic minority group from China. Throughout history, the Chinese and Hmong fought many wars against each other over land and resources. Eventually, Hmong fled China into Southeast Asia. In Laos, the CIA recruited the Hmong to help fight against communism and the Pathet Lao during the Secret War. They were recruited due to the Hmong being familiar with the land; many joined out of necessity to survive during wartime. When the US withdrew from the Vietnam War, they also abandoned the Hmong in Laos. The Hmong faced persecution and genocide by the Pathet Lao and had to fend for themselves in the jungles of Laos.
The journey to get across the Mekong River to Thailand was in itself a journey of resilience. The Hmong had to hide in the jungle, forage for food, travel in groups, and often move under the cover of the night sky to evade the Pathet Lao. Along the way, some had to abandon personal belongings, some had to leave behind family members, some elders had to be carried, some crying babies were drugged with opium to keep them silent when the enemy was nearby, and some babies did not make it. It was their mental and physical resilience that helped them to reach the river and to cross it into Thailand to gain their freedom. (Background Information)
- Resilience is the ability to get through an incredibly hard time and keep going.
- Quick Check-In: What is one example of how the Hmong showed resilience?
- The Hmong had to hide, travel at night, and look out for each other in the jungle to reach safety across the Mekong River.
Chunk: Resistance and Power
Transition from history to community, by introducing the clan system and political representation. Explain how Minnesota is home to over 90,000 Hmong immigrants, with St. Paul being the largest urban concentration in the US.
Cultural strength
- Explain how the clan system is a strength for the Hmong. Explain what a clan is and how it functions.
- Clans acted as a resistance to poverty.
- They allowed families to help each other in times of need.
- Clans often pooled their money to help each other, especially during celebrations like weddings and hardships like funerals.
- Connection to Resistance: Explain to the students that resistance doesn’t always mean fighting, and can also mean organizing to make sure your people or community have a voice and receive fair treatment.
Politics
- For a long time, the Hmong community in MN did not have anyone in city or state government who understood their history or culture. Hmong lacked political representation until Mee Moua came along in 2002. Mee Moua was the first elected Hmong state senator.
- Not only did she use her voice to make sure Hmong were heard, she also opened the door for Foung Hawj and others to follow, attracting Hmong Americans to participate in politics.
Chew: Bo Thao-Urabe’s Story
- Watch the “Bo Thao-Urabe” video from Green Card Entrepreneur Voices.
Group Task
- Watch: Watch the video together.
- Discuss: How can Bo’s narrative of her Hmong American identity be seen as something to celebrate? What inspired Bo to want to help others? How did Bo first become an entrepreneur, and what were some of her challenges?
- Analyze Resilience: How did Bo’s resilience allow her to become a successful entrepreneur? How did she challenge the system?
Chew: Gallery Walk
Let’s do a gallery walk to analyze some examples of how Hmong Americans have persevered. There are four topics that show how Hmong have dealt with resilience and resistance, by using their voice and demanding changes.
Create handouts for each of the topics below, and have students work in groups as they rotate around to read and fill out the worksheet for each case study topic. At the end, have students answer the reflection questions.
Fight for Hmong Veterans’ Benefits (Kare11, Sahan Journal)
- System: Even though Hmong soldiers were recruited by the CIA, they were never officially recognized as US Army soldiers and were denied military benefits.
- Resistance: Hmong veterans participated in decades of lobbying, protests in DC, and intentional wearing of military uniforms to public events to increase visibility of Hmong participation in the Secret War.
- Change: Although Hmong soldiers are still denied the benefits given to American soldiers, Congress passed the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000, making it easier for Hmong veterans to gain US citizenship. In 2026, MN became the first state to pass a bill to grant veteran status to Hmong soldiers who fought during the Secret War in Laos.
Hmong American Day (Pioneer Press, NBC Bay Area)
- System: Hmong have resettled in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin since 1975. However, many did not see themselves reflected in the school curriculum or represented elsewhere. Also, many Americans still did not know the Hmong’s identity and history, and many still questioned why the Hmong were here.
- Resistance: Hmong advocated for themselves and spoke up. Hmong began to tell their stories and shared their culture with special events and celebrations, such as observing the Hmong New Year and hosting large sports tournaments.
- Change: In 2013, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton officially proclaimed May 14 as Hmong American Day; other states also followed. The day would serve to honor Hmong history, culture, and contributions to the US, acknowledging the sacrifices the Hmong have made, educating the public about the Hmong, and celebrating the resilience and achievements of the Hmong community.
Educational Resistance (Hmong American Charter Schools, HCPA)
- System: An English-only education system led to high dropout rates for Hmong in the 1990s, and there was a lack of Hmong representation or culture presented in the schools. Hmong wished for their language and culture to be taught in schools.
- Resistance: Hmong parents and leaders organized and created several Hmong charter schools that would focus on Hmong language and culture, employ Hmong staff, and serve Hmong food for lunch.
- Change: Minnesota is a hub for Hmong charter schools, such as Hope Community Academy, Hmong College Prep Academy, Noble Academy, and New Millennium, along with Hmong language instruction. Saint Paul Public Schools was the first district in the state to create a Hmong dual-language immersion program.
Hmong Politicians (MinnPost, MPR, Pioneer Press)
- System: Politicians often did not care about Asian constituents, especially Hmong, due to their perceived lack of understanding and involvement in politics.
- Resistance: Hmong leaders understood that to be heard, they needed a seat at the table. Slowly, Hmong leaders began running for office, starting with the school board and state office.
- Change: Hmong leaders in the Twin Cities have learned how to successfully run grassroots programs and campaigns. Many Hmong officials throughout California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have been elected as city council members, state representatives, state senators, and even mayors (Kaohly Her, Jay Xiong, Fue Lee, Samantha Vang, Nelsie Yang, etc.).
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- What connections or patterns do you notice with these four topics and the current experiences of Hmong Americans?
- Do you think Hmong American Day is important? Why or why not?
- How has the creation of Hmong charter schools affected the public schools in the Twin Cities area?
- Why do you think so many Hmong individuals became involved in politics?
- How have these four topics impacted the Hmong community?
- What can we celebrate or critique about these four topics?
Review: Exit Ticket
Have students fill in the blank to answer this question prompt: “The Hmong community united together and drew on their strength of ______________________ to challenge ____________________, and created a lasting change by _____________________.”
Multilingual and ELL Support
Provide sentence stems for reflection questions:
- I noticed that . . .
- I think / I believe Hmong American Day is important / not important because . . .
- I think many Hmong became interested/involved in politics because . . .
- We can celebrate / critique _______________ because . . .
Vocabulary and Definitions
- System: the organized way of doing something based on the way it was set up and meant to work
- Resilience: the ability to bounce back after a tough experience or time
- Clan system: a large extended family connected by both a shared last name and shared ancestors
- Change: the process of something becoming different than what it was before
- Politician: a person elected to help run a government and make decisions for the city, state, or country
- Entrepreneur: a person who starts their own business or projects to help solve a problem or provide goods or services
Resource List
- River Crossing Paj Ntaub www.lchshistory.org/hmong-story-cloths
- Green Card Entrepreneur Voices – Bo Thao-Urabe’s story and video
- Background Information on The Secret War, Chippewa Valley Museum-Hmong in Eau Claire Secret War, www.cvmuseum.com/explore/the-secret-war
- The CIA, the Hmong and Secret War www.mnvietnam.org/story/the-cia-the-hmong-and-the-secret-war/index.html
- Clan System https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/ethno-med/hmong/hmong-american/introduction/family.html
- Hmong Politicians
- Educational Resistance
- Hmong American Charter Schools https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&context=jsaaea
- HCPA www.hcpak12.org/aboutus/district-history/hcpa-history
- Hmong American Day
- Fight for Hmong Veterans’ Benefits
- Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Values and Principles (7 Cs) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cGOs7rsY9wT2qI-yIQh5dye8snRjGYxr/view