Oral History Commons^™

Interview With Maykao Hang, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Dr. MayKao Hang is president and CEO of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. Born in war-torn Laos, Hang’s family escaped to Thailand and eventually settled in the Twin Cities in 1976, when only a small number of Hmong families had yet arrived. Dr. Hang reviews her life story, focusing on her family’s history and adjustment to life in Minnesota, her education, and memories of various issues in the Hmong community related to resettlement, including clan and gender issues, community leadership, generational conflict, and changing understandings and definitions of Hmong identity. The final portion of the interview covers her professional experiences …

Interview With Phoumee Xiong, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Phoumee Xiong discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Pa Sher Yang, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Pa Sher Yang discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s as well as refugee resettlement in Thailand and the United States.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang; translated and transcribed by Mai Vang.

Interview With Wang Her, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Wang Her discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Pang Her Vang, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Pang Her Vang discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With John Tucker, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

John Tucker was born in Akron, Ohio in 1945. An eagle scout, he was given the opportunity to travel the world, which fueled his international perspective. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 1967 and then joined the Peace Corps. He was assigned to Thailand where he spent three years working on a malaria eradication program. While there he was recruited by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). He spent the early part of his career working for USAID in Laos and Thailand as a refugee Relief and Resettlement Officer. He was one of 15 USAID employees in …

Interview With Kao Kalia Yang, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Kao Kalia Yang was born in Ban Vinai refugee camp and came with her family to Minnesota in July 1987, when she was six years old. Attending school in St. Paul and graduating from Harding High School, Yang was accepted at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, and went on to earn an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. In 2008 Coffee House Press published her memoir, The Latehomecomer, which tells the story of her family in Laos, the refugee camps of Thailand, and their new life in Minnesota. Central to this story is Yang’s grandmother, who embodies the …

Interview With Yaw Yang, Marly Moua

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Yaw Yang discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Marly Moua.

Interview With Xao Vang Vue, Jena Vue

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Xao Vang Vue discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Jena Vue.

Interview With Sia Ly Thao, Tou Thao

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Sia Ly Thao discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Tou Thao; translated and transcribed by Soua Lee and Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Xai Thao, Mai Neng Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Xai Thao discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Mai Neng Vang; translated and transcribed by Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With B. Hugh Tovar, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Bernardo Hugh Tovar was born on December 27, 1922 in Bogota, Columbia. His father was Columbian and his mother Irish. His family moved to Chicago in 1924, but his family frequently visited Columbia in his early youth. As a result he grew up bilingual. He attended Portsmouth Priory School in Rhode Island (1941), before attending Harvard, where he also learned French. His ROTC class was called to active duty in June 1943, though he was awarded a degree in 1944 because he passed his comprehensive exams. He graduated as a second lieutenant. After various assignments and training in Infantry, Artillery …

Interview With Rev. Pa Mang Her, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Rev. Pa Mang Her discussing spirituality and Christianity among the Hmong.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang; translated and transcribed by Leona Lor.

Interview With Carol Mills, Tom Ward, & Paul White, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Paul White, Carol Mills, and Tom Ward were all USAID staff in Laos during the Secret War, and all worked closely with Edgar “Pop” Buell. In this interview each of them shares the details of how they came to work in Laos, what responsibilities they had, and their impression of Buell. They describe their own responsibilities, the various aspects of the USAID program (education, health, refugee services), different individuals involved in the operation, and the program’s eventual evacuation from Sam Thong and relocation to Ban Xoun.

Interview With Mac Thompson, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Interview With Lee Pao Xiong, Mai Neng Vang, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Born in Long Tieng, Laos in 1966, Lee Pao Xiong lived with his father, who had already been recruited into the Hmong army at age 12. His mother and grandparents lived nearby. After the fall of Long Tieng in May 1975, Xiong and his family spent more than a year in Thai refugee camps before migrating to the United States in 1976. Settling first in Indiana, his family moved to the Twin Cities in 1979. Xiong earned a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. from Hamline University, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. He has …

Interview With Dennis Grace, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Serving at the time of the interview as Special Assistant to the President for Administrative Reforms in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Mr. Dennis Grace has a long and distinguished career in refugee affairs. After serving in the Air Force from 1965 to 1969, Grace spent four years working in Vientiane, Laos as an English teacher and translator. He later completed his BA at the University of Colorado and an MA in East Asian Regional Affairs at Harvard University. Returning to Bangkok, he spent 15 years in Bangkok as the representative of the International Rescue Committee’s …

Interview With Xia Vue Yang, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Vue Yang was born in Nong Het, Laos, though his family moved to Xieng Khouang province after the defeat of the French in 1954. He began school in 1958 in Long Tieng, but moved to study in Vientiane in 1961. He was later one of a small number of Lao students sent to study in Paris, where he eventually chose to study engineering. After 1973, Yang stayed in France, where he was offered—and turned down—an opportunity to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. After working in the United Arab Emirates, he finally came to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where his parents had settled. …

Interview With Fay Chia Lee, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Fay Chia Lee was born in Thay Thao, Laos and enlisted in General Vang Pao’s army at a young age. (It is often the case that Hmong people born in Laos do not know their actual birthdays Mr. Lee said he was 63 in 2003 and joined Vang Pao’s army at age 14, which would have been c. 1957. Vang Pao did not start recruiting an army until 1961.) Mr. Lee describes many battles in which he participated, especially the siege of Na Khang in 1967. He also discusses battle tactics, military equipment, interactions with pilots and aircraft, and his …

Interview With Dr. Fungchatou Lo, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Dr. Fungchatou Lo discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement in Thailand and the United States.

Interview With Steve Schofield, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Born and raised in Chicago, Steve Schofield majored in physical education and wrestled on scholarship at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. On the basis of his college study in zoology, when he joined US Special Forces in 1966 he was assigned to train as a medic. He served in the 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa, then in Vietnam with the Studies and Observations Group (SOG). In 1968, as a sergeant with SOG, Schofield was one of 14 US Special Forces personnel transported 13 miles into Laos with a company of ethnic Chinese and Cambodian soldiers. Two SF and several …

Interview With Dr. Gary Yia Lee, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Dr. Gary Yia Lee, distinguished anthropologist and scholar, traveled from his home in Sydney, Australia to California for a funeral, then made a stop to visit family in the Twin Cities. Tou Thao, his nephew, is an alumnus of Concordia University and a founder of the Hmong Oral History Project. He prevailed on his kind uncle, despite jet lag, the exhausting effects of a three-day funeral, and many, many demands on his time (including a presentation at Concordia University on 29 December), to sit down with me. I owe many thanks-and apologies-to Dr. Lee, his wife Maylee Lee, and the …

Interview With William Snyder, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Sergeant William Snyder has served on the St. Paul Police Force since 1975. He heads up the Asian Gang Strike Force and has many years of experience dealing with Hmong gangs and relating to Hmong gang members. Sergeant Snyder was the first chairman of the board for the General John W. Vessey Leadership Academy. Dr. Hillmer [the interviewer] is Concordia University’s liaison to the Academy, which may explain any apparent familiarity between the two men in this interview.

Interview With Dr. Dia Cha, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Dr. Dia Cha left Laos with her family in 1975 and lived in a Thai refugee camp until coming to the US in 1979. She commenced formal classroom studies in ninth grade, graduating four years later from Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver, Colorado. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology in 1989 from Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado, she went on to receive her Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1992. In 2000, she received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is …

Interview With Colonel Gao Moua, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Colonel Gao Moua discussing his experiences as a Hmong soldier working with General Vang Pao during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Jim Anderson, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

James Anderson is Ramsey County Department of Human Services’ Planner for Immigrants, Refugees, and the Homeless. He spent about ten years working in Thailand in various capacities, helping Hmong and Cambodian refugees under the auspices of the International Rescue Committee.

Interview With Mai Lee, Mai Neng Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Mai Lee discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Mai Neng Vang.

Interview With Keith Vang, Paul Hillmer

Hmong Oral History Project

Keith Vang was born in Long Cheng, Laos, but his family left in 1972 for Vientiane. After the fall of Long Cheng in 1975, Vang’s family fled to northern Laos, where they lived until they surrendered to the communists in 1978. His family fled to Thailand in 1979. Keith’s father was a shaman, and much of his story tells of his father’s role as a shaman and the struggles his family faced when they came to the United States, converted to Christianity, and faced the growing demand by the local Hmong immigrant community for his father to return to practicing …

Interview With Poj Noj Her, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Poj Noj Her discussing Hmong culture and experiences with Hmong refugee resettlement and being the wife of a Hmong soldier who was also a prisoner of war.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Long Yang, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Long Yang discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s as well as refugee resettlement in Thailand and the United States.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang; translated and transcribed by Mai Vang.