Annotated Bibliography

Web Links:

Hmong American Partnership (HAP)

http://www.hmong.org/

The site is useful in that it provides a brief description of the functions HAP performs. It also has a class schedule. However, if you really want to find out about the organization, you would need to look elsewhere. This site serves only as an introduction to the organization. I think it could be useful research because the caseworkers are all bilingual and bicultural. They could be potential informants for future research on this topic.

Hmong Homepage

http://www.hmongnet.com

I found this page extremely useful. There's such a variety of information from a variety of different sources. This is an excellent place to start for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Hmong.

Hmong Online

http://www.hmongonline.com

This is basically a chatroom for the Hmong online community. There doesn't seem to be any educated conversations taking place, at least not on the message board or under the question of the week. The people who post the messages are all around 20 years old and they use a lot of foul language and make reference to gang fights.

Hmong-Australian Resource Page

http://www.stolaf.edu/people/cdr/hmong/hmong-au/ozintro.htm

From this page, you can find information about Hmong communities around the globe. It's easy to follow and not confusing. The page is mostly about Hmong in Australia, but it also provides information and further links about Hmong in the US, France, Vietnam, China, Laos, and Thailand.

Lee, Gary Yia. Refugees from Laos: Historical Background and Causes. 1990.

Http://www.stolaf.edu/people/cdr/hmong/hmong-au/refugee.htm

Gary Lee is a Hmong immigrant in Australia and he has done extensive work and research on his people. This is one of the many papers he has published and is a broader subject matter than the others. He focuses on the experience of Laos as a country rather than focusing on any certain group within the country. The history of Laos is quite confusing and Lee does a good job summarizing and simplifying the complicated politics and world players in Southeast Asia.

Library Resources:

Donnelly, Nancy D.

Changing Lives of Refugee Hmong Women. University of Washington Press: Seattle and London, 1997.

Spanning the Hmong experience both pre and post war, Donnelly focuses on gender relations within the society. Of particular interest are her chapters, "Domestic Conflict," and "What does change mean?" The book splices personal stories of Hmong women with Donnelly's own commentary and conclusions. There is also a picture insert in the middle of the book which gives the reader a visual of the Hmong culture.

Yang, Ka Ying.

"The Hmong in French Guyana." XovXwm A2Z Fresno Newsletter. January 1995.

This article provides an interesting look at a little known Hmong community in a non-traditional migration country. Although it is clearly written from a partisan point of view, it offers a surface look at the apparently successful Hmong enclave in French Guyana.

Julian, Roberta.

Hmong Refugees in Tasmania: Employment, Housing and Community Development. University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. 1993.

The Australian Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research contracted Dr. Julian to conduct research on refugee settlement in Tasmania. Her methodology included a sample survey, follow-up in depth interviews, and participant observation. The results of this study were to be used by the Bureau to develop policy suggestions for improving settlement experiences for refugees.

This report was a summarized glimpse at the Hmong community in Tasmania. There are several direct quotes from interviews, and a solid section regarding the economics of the community. It would help to be aware of the Australian Mutlicultural policy before reading this report as it gives very little background information on Australian politics.

Miyares, Ines M.

"Changing perceptions of space and place as measures of Hmong acculturation." The Professional Geographer. May 1997, v49 n2 p214(11).

I thoroughly enjoyed this article. Miyares draws interesting and logical conclusions from her observations of Hmong residences in the United States. She has a firm understanding of Hmong history and sees the parallels between life in Laos and life in the U.S. I also liked how she gave theoretical background to her study, providing definitions of terms such as spatial assimilation.

The other way in which this article was helpful to me is that it described the typical Hmong-American residence. It showed me how simple observations such as what kind of furniture a household has and how they use it can reflect a lot about the adjustment of a group of people.

Inui, Miki.

"Assimilation and repatriation conflicts of the Hmong refugees in a Wisconsin community: a qualitative study of five local groups." Migration World Magazine. May-June 1998, v26, n4 p26(3).

This article was helpful to me in that it directly stated what Midwestern Hmong feel are obstacles to their adjustment. Some of the information was useful, but the sample group was too small, so I wasn't sure how reliable the conclusions of the article could be.

Chan, Sucheng.

Hmong means free: Life in Laos and America. Temple University Press: May 1994.

This was the first source I consulted and I read only the introduction of the book to get some background information. I found it to be an non-overwhelming starting point for the complex history of the Hmong. Unlike Lee's history of Laos, Chan's account focuses solely on the Hmong experience in Laos. It also provides some preliminary information on Laos itself, its geography and ethnic composition.

Leslie, Lourdes Medrano.

"Hmong address culture clashes." Star Tribune. November 2, 1999. Page B2.

This short newspaper article highlighted some of the conflicts I had already begun to notice during the course of my research. While the article didn't really shed any new light on the gender and generation tensions, it did alert me to the fact that the Hmong community is very aware that these tensions exist. It also gave me up-to-date information on how the community goes about resolving these tensions.

Shefchik, Rick.

"Many older Hmong afraid of Y2K; language barrier blocks reassurance." Pioneer Press, v151, n216. November 29, 1999.

I liked this article because it addresses two central issues in my study; generation tensions and the language barrier. Shefchik does a good job tracking down the story and shedding light on a topic that many people probably were unaware of before.