Module 2: Hmong American Experiences with War and State Violence
Have Hmong Americans found home in the United States?
Between 1960 and 1975, the United States waged a Secret War in Laos to assist with military and intelligence during the Vietnam War. The war was “secret” in that it was undeclared, and because the American public did not know about it. Waging this war also violated the Geneva Conventions, which prohibited foreign military intervention into the former French territories of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
This module discusses Hmong involvement in the Secret War, the impact of state secrecy, and ongoing Hmong experiences of state violence through forced migration and policing. Hmong experiences of racism and structural violence—and their resistance to it—are made invisible, overshadowed by narratives of Hmong military allyship with the United States and the “good refugee” model.
How was secrecy a war strategy during the American Secret War in Laos, and how has secrecy continued to impact Hmong American experiences?
How do Hmong refugee experiences show the ways that state violence and power operate?
How have Hmong Americans experienced policing after their resettlement in the United States?
