After the Vietnam War, many Hmong people found themselves as refugees. The resettlement of some to the United States began in 1975, with multiple waves continuing until 2006. Today Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the largest urban Hmong population in the world. The Hmong people in Minnesota have developed a strong and vibrant community in their chapter of the immigrant story in America.
January 16, 2002 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Mee Moua, who won a DFL primary for the District 67 state Senate seat last night, beating state Representative Tim Mahoney and three other DFL candidates. Moua discusses education and housing.
January 16, 2002 - Mee Moua comments on her who hope to become the first Hmong person ever elected to a Minnesota state legislature.
January 30, 2002 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports voters on St. Paul's East Side having elected the world's first Hmong American legislator. Thirty-two year old Mee Moua won special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Randy Kelly, who was elected mayor.
February 4, 2002 - Mee Moua, a Hmong woman in St. Paul, makes history when she's sworn in as the nation's first Hmong legislator. The Southeast Asian hill tribe people started arriving in the U.S. more than 20 years ago. Yet, for many Hmong, their true date of arrival in this country starts with this political moment.
April 23, 2002 - Polygamy is illegal in Minnesota, yet activists in some immigrant groups in the Twin Cities say, while the practice is kept under wraps, it is relatively common. MPR’s Kaomi Goetz reports that younger members of the Hmong community are now trying to get the issue out into the open.
August 14, 2002 - It's tough to break into farming nowadays, and even tougher if you're an immigrant. MPR’s Rob Schmitz reports on Minnesota Food Association, which assists immigrant farmers in areas like production techniques, marketing, and management skills. Unfortunately, federal budget cuts have had a negative impact on program.
October 15, 2002 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Mai Nemg Moua, author and editor of "Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong-Americans," which features stories, poems and essays written by the first generation of Hmong to grow up in the United States. It is the first Hmong anthology ever published.
December 20, 2002 - MPR’s Annie Feidt reports on a group of Hmong teenage girls from St. Paul leaving for Thailand and Laos to retrace the journey their parents took to this country. They're calling their trip "the Homeland Project."
January 17, 2003 - Five Hmong high school girls from St. Paul are back from a two-week trip to Thailand and Laos. They called the trip the Homeland Project. The girls hoped seeing their parents' homeland and meeting relatives they had only heard about would help them understand the deep cultural gap that separates them from their parents. MPR’s Greta Cuningham interviews three members of the group, Soua Yang, Cindy Xiong, and adult chaperone Gunnar Liden.
March 31, 2003 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports that Phalen Lake Elementary, a St. Paul school, is launching new enrichment program that focuses on Hmong language and culture. The school will also offer students the option of a Spanish program.