Yee Xiong - Week 2

 
In Chia Youyee Vang’s book, “Hmong America: Reconstructive Community in Diaspora”, she
further explains the complex history of the Hmong people’s migration and structure prior to America. Because most scholars have agreed to this written history, I have an easier time believing that this is the "truth", however, I still have some questions to ask because there were no documentation of the Hmong people's migrations.

There is no doubt that the history of the Hmong people is complex. One thing that we seem to
do is search for an identity-one identity for all the Hmong people- whether that be through the clothing we wear, the dialect we speak, or the region we are from.

What’s important to understand is that identity is a social construct and it cannot be controlled or fixed. Although it is critical to find common ground and a reason for all Hmong people to unite, what we should appreciatemore is each of our differences. It is our differences that complete the wholeness of our Hmong people. So for example, whether or not you are a follower of the late General Vang Pao, it is important to respect these differences. I didn't use to think this way; I thought that all those who were against him could not call themselves Hmong because they did not believe in his ways of paving the way for Hmong people. There are also those who believe that those who speak in the Green dialect are the "original" language of the Hmong. However, because Hmong identity is so complex, what other factors do you think influences our identity? What does it mean to be Hmong?