Why the Hmong Come to Minnesota

The Hmong are an ethnic group living throughout mountainous regions of southeast Asia, in China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The Hmong have a distinct language and -traditional customs. Most Hmong who have immigrated to Minnesota originally came from northern Laos.

The first Hmong families emigrated as refugees. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. recruited Hmong villagers and farmers to help fight its “secret war” against communists in Laos. At the war’s end, the communists sought revenge on the Hmong for aiding the United States. Tens of thousands of Hmong fled their homes on a perilous journey—many suffering injuries and losing family members along the way—and settled in refugee camps. Beginning in the late 1970s, the U.S. and other nations began resettling the Hmong; Minnesota was among the U.S. destinations. In 2004, the resettlement of several thousand additional Hmong refugees began in Minnesota; the majority are expected to join family members who have already lived here for decades.

Demographics

More than 60,000 Hmong individuals live in Minnesota. At least half of those individuals live in St. Paul, making it home to the largest urban population of Hmong in the world. Other Minnesota communities with sizable Hmong populations include Duluth, Rochester, Taylor’s Falls, and the Marshall area.

The Hmong population is relatively young: the median age of the Hmong population in Minnesota is 16, compared to 35 for the entire Minnesota population.

Economics

The large, close-knit family structure of the Hmong often provides a cooperative path to economic stability and advancement. Hmong relatives often pool their resources and incomes to acquire homes, cars, and businesses. After building up equity, the family can spread out and extend their financial base. This approach, in part, has resulted in relatively high homeownership rates for Hmong Minnesotans—lower than the Minnesota average, but significantly higher than other recent immigrant groups. Revenue generated from Hmong companies in Minnesota is estimated at more than $100 million.

Larger-scale economic development, too, has also been driven by Hmong cooperative and entrepreneurial efforts. The revitalization of University Avenue in St. Paul is a visible example of the regenerative effects of Hmong investment in economically depressed areas.

Life in Minnesota: Challenges and Considerations

Intergenerational Conflict
As with other immigrant groups, conflicts can arise between older generations of Hmong immigrants seeking to preserve their traditional culture and their children and grandchildren who adopt American customs. Finding a balance can be a struggle for members of different generations as they find ways to fully participate in school, neighborhood, and community life while honoring their ancestral, ethnic, and religious traditions.

Family Life
The Hmong social structure is centered on large, extended families within 18 organized clans. Nuclear families -average 6.4 persons—although this is changing for Hmong men and women who were raised in the United States. In Southeast Asia, the Hmong lived in agricultural areas, in which large families brought economic advantages, as well as social and spiritual -support. The Hmong have traditionally married at a young age, often during the teenage years. Hmong men and women often have the same name and Hmong men traditionally take an adult name, added to their first name, after they marry and their first child is born.