Hmong Culture

“She had never said it was love. Neither had he. They were shy. They had been unsure. Now, there would be no time for love. It was in the moment of parting that she knew she loved him” (21).

     The Hmong had trouble adapting to American life. With no driver’s license or bank account, they had to make a living doing whatever they could. Not knowing the language in a foreign land doesn’t help either. The Hmong women adapted much more quickly than the men did because of the fact that they interacted more with English-speaking people. While the men were at work, the women were spending time interacting. The Hmong men also refused to change more that the women did. This shift of power caused a lot of changes in Hmong households. What even caused more of a power shift was the fact that the Hmong children learned about the culture easier than the women did. Instead of the father having control over the family like it was back in Southeast Asia, the children now had the upper edge. The children could communicate, interact and even drive with Americans. You could see a 16-year-old Hmong

15. What was the "role loss" many adult Hmong faced when they came to the United States? What is the underlying root cause? How does this loss affect their adjustment to America?

In Yang’s The Latehomecomer, the author describes how her Hmong family and many other families are chased out of their homes in the Laos mountain. No longer having anywhere to call home they have no other choice but to become refugees in another country where they don’t feel welcomed. In Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, in Thailand the Hmong people make a dramatic change in there life. The Hmong go from a life of freedom before the war, to having restrictions in everything they do, “There were Thai men in uniforms with guns that surrounded us”(66). The idea of being surrounded comes up constantly throughout Yang’s life in the camps, as a sign of constriction to their human rights. The liberty to roam freely is effortlessly taken away from the Hmong people

Lia Lee born and raised in America, but brought up as a Hmong, faced health issues specifically epilepsy. Her parents who practice the Hmong culture had a different view on how to handle Lia critical condition. Hmong did not believe in traditional medicine but believed in Txiv neeb, person with a healing spirit. Not only do they believe in a person with healing spirit to help cure their illness but also consider epilepsy as power; “Their seizures are thought to be evidence that they have the power to perceive things other people cannot see, as well as facilitating their entry into trances, a prerequisite for their journeys into the realm of the unseen” (Fadiman, 1998, p.21). Right at this moment is where you can tell conflict is going to occur.

For many Hmong people, immigrating to the United States of America is a large form of stress as it involves adapting to new cultures and new environments. In the documentary, the Split Horn, a Hmong shaman and his family immigrates to the United States to pursue a better life for themselves. The immense change from living in the countryside of Laos to moving to Wisconsin, America affects the family greatly. As the Hmong shaman tries to preserve his ancient traditions and culture, his children embrace the American one, finding partners and converting to Christianity, not necessarily following Hmong guidelines. When Paja Thao, the Hmong shaman’s children go their separate ways, abandoning Hmong culture, Paja falls into a state of depression. The understanding of depression in Hmong culture contrasts with the biomedical model of health drastically, resulting in consequences such as the impotence to receive medical assistance, lack of knowledge and education, resulting in untreated diseases such as chronic illnesses.

An immigrant's culture and beliefs take a shift, sometimes going extinct, or they evolve to include elements from both countries; where they grew up, and where they’ll grow old. Transculturation is key in order to fit into a new society, those who do it well have a smoother time transitioning. For example the Hmong and Mexicans both had to flee their country, but the Mexicans found it easier to transition to the American culture than the Hmongs.The Hmongs never thought they would leave their home in Laos, they were happy and thriving on their lands. Unfortunately war struck and the Hmong agreed to help the US fight back, due to their involvement in the war, they were seen as traders, therefore they were persecuted by the Vietnamese. Due to this the Hmong people suffered in

Along with the stubbornness of the Hmong is my last point that the Hmong and Americans have cultural misunderstandings. Fadiman came “to believe that her [Lia’s] life was ruined not by septic shock or noncompliant parents but by cross-cultural misunderstanding” (Fadiman 1997:262). Hmong once believed some crazy things about Americans. “It was said that Hmong women were forced into slavery, forced to have sex with American men … and with animals; that dinosaurs lived in America, along with ghosts, ogres, and

Lia Lee was a Hmong infant born with epilepsy. Lia’s parents were immigrants to a Western nation. However, the parents held tightly onto traditional beliefs from their native country. The incongruent belief structure of the East and West created difficulty when the two systems collided in an effort to care for Lia Lee. Specifically, when the drug therapy prescribed for Lia Lee was not followed by her parents. Subsequently the child’s medical team contacted child services, which lead to Lia’s removal from her family. The result of the cultural misunderstanding was fragmented family. In addition to fueling the distrust of the western healthcare system by an already marginalized community.

It is no secret that the Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) population is one of the most (if not, the most) overlooked and underserved communities in America. Perhaps because of their small numbers, rural habitats, or general neglect and antagonism by the part of the United States government (or a combination of all of these), extreme disparities in health exist among NA/AN communities. The detrimental effects that colonial settling and industrialization have had on the NA/AN lifestyle are obvious and well-documented. So too, are the physical health disparities that plague NA/ANs (diabetes, tuberculosis, obesity, etc). However, less data is readily available on the mental health challenges that NA/AN populations face. Furthermore, even

At birth, the Hmong view their newborns as a gift and extremely special. At birth, it is called “Mus Thawj thiab, “go become again” or more simple, “reincarnation,” is a traditional Hmong belief (Bankston 2000). When a child is born, they are automatically seen as a gift and reborn as a reincarnated soul. Though, if a child dies after three days of living there are “no funeral ceremonies…since the child did not have a soul yet” (Bankston 2000). The Hmong believe if the child lives past three days, their soul is present though if they die, the infant never had a soul to begin with. If the child lives past day three, then a shaman is brought in and he “evokes a soul to be be reincarnated in the baby’s body” (Bankston 2000). This is considered

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

Displacing and Disrupting: A Dialogue on Hmong Studies and Asian American Studies [on line]. In: Hmong Studies Journal. Volume 16(2), 2015, 24 pp. Available at: (Accessed November 25, 2016).

In a multicultural counseling perspective there are four key approaches when counseling individuals, (a) multicultural awareness of culturally learned assumptions about self and others leading to accurate assessments of clients, (b) multicultural knowledge of information, (c) multicultural skills and interventions, that are appropriate treating clients, and (d) individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, demographic status, and affiliation of cultures. The three-stage approach, will direct the counselor towards levels of multicultural competence in therapy by providing a successful outcome in the recovery process. When conducting a psychotherapy session with a client the counselor should be able to demonstrate skills, when exploring the client’s cultural background. Counselors should also be able to focus on the essential skills and pattern behaviors, when identifying cultural differences. Counseling a minority from a different culture counselors’ must be able to identify their own personal behaviors. These behaviors are crucial when counseling these individuals. First, a counselor must be able to sense the clients’ viewpoint or issue in some way. Secondly, a counselor should be specific when asking a question rather than being unclear and confusing.

As civil war severely undermines a nation, the aspect of family can be deeply impacted as well. This most certainly is evident when looking at the case scenario of Akamu and his family, as the civil unrest in Laos contributed to family imbalance by drastically changing the political, social, economic, and even the cultural context of Akamu’s world. Choudhuri, Santiago-Rivera & Garrett (2012) point out that identity found in ethnicity can be associated to a shared political, social, and economic interest. As Akamu’s family fled the political oppression in Laos, he experienced the social in-justice of the government and the prejudice that resulted most likely in the death of his brother. As refugees his family became subject to continual changes in political power, as well as, the social change as a result of migrating to California. This migration increased an economic void as the family left everything behind and began a new life with nothing left aside from their cultural beliefs and heritage. Assessment of Akamu’s historical context will determine the affect on addiction and treatment, just as the presence of race/culture/ethnicity pertains to the risk and resiliency factor, and challenges of treatment based on cultural views.