ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
Laotian Americans
Despite the US’s Secret War in Laos, have Laotian Americans found home in the United States?
Chapter objectives
- Learn that for Laotian Americans, rebuilding a home in the United States is an ongoing process representing their pursuit of belonging.
- Understand the untold history of US militarism in Laos and its impact on Laotian Americans in the United States.
- Explore the advocacy work, performances and stories by 1.5 and second-generation Laotian Americans as both narratives and counternarratives of belonging.
This chapter centers on the evolving idea of home within the Laotian American experience, asking whether home is ever truly found or continuously forged. It situates this question within the history of the Secret War in Laos and their resettlement in the United States, tracing how Laotian Americans create new forms of belonging. Each module looks at the experiences and memories of war, displacement, belonging, and building community through first and second-generation Laotian Americans. In their active process of belonging and reclaiming their narratives through storytelling and other creative forms, Laotian Americans also stood in stark contrast to US government policies that often treated them as a burden on society, from resettlement and welfare dependency to criminalization and deportation. Even after decades of living and rebuilding their lives in America, the promise of safety and freedom remains uncertain, revealing how belonging for many has always been and continues to be tenuous. By exploring how Laotian Americans articulate belonging and identity across generations, the chapter invites readers and students to reflect on what it means to create, and perhaps reimagine home after displacement on their own terms.
Modules in this chapter
Introduction: Laotian Americans
America’s Secret War in Laos (1954-1973)
Laotian American Activism and Advocacy
Making Laos in America: Lanexang Village
Storytelling as Resistance: Cultural Expression
Introduction: Laotian Americans
America’s Secret War in Laos (1954-1973)
Laotian American Activism and Advocacy
Making Laos in America: Lanexang Village
Storytelling as Resistance: Cultural Expression
Chapter Sources
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