HMONG CULTURE

LIFE IN THE JUNGLE

• Living in the jungle was very tough for some people.
• There was very little food supply for the Hmong that fled for the jungle.
• Many of the Hmong had starved, then died.
• Some also got very ill, and eventually had died.
• Families had stayed in the jungle for years.

THE WAR ENDS

• 11/1/1955- 4/30/1975
• The United States lost the war.
• The U.S withdrew and the communists took over Loas and South Vietnam.
• The Hmong that fought against the communist group were in danger.

THE KILLING CONTINUES

• Communist tracked, and hunted down people of the secret Hmong army.
• There was no United States troops to protect the Hmong anymore.
• The planes of the communists dropped bombs on the Hmong villages.
• Thr communist lit the jungle on fire with napalm.
• Some Hmong had surrendered to communist soldiers, but were treated like slaves.

CROSSING THE MEKONG RIVER

• The other side of the Mekong River was Thailand.
• People, including many families, had walked days to get to the Mekong River.
• There was no bridge for them to get across safely.
• Only some had boats, but some tried to swim across the river.
• Some had rafts that were made from banana leaves or bamboo poles.

DEATH IN THE WATER

• On the shore of Laos communists stayed keeping watch.
• The communists searched for people trying to escape from Laos in the Mekong River.
• Bodies often floated down the Mekong River.

THE REFUGEE CAMPS

• No one was positive how many people had tried to escape.
• The people that had made it to Thailand had been placed in refugee camps.
• One of the largest camps was named Ban Vinai.
• At that time more that 4,500 people had lived in this camp called "Ban Vinai."
• Around half of the people were children.

LIVING CONDITIONS

• Most of the Hmong refugees lived in barracks, with dirt floors and straw thatched roofs.
• Sometimes as many as ten families had to live in in each barrack.
• Some families had a little bit of space for a garden, and grew some of their food, but depended on the camps to give them food.
• Sometimes 200 people had to share one bathroom in these barracks.

FAMILY IS IMPORTANT

• The Hmong people tried to follow their traditions as best as they could in the refugee camps.
• The Hmong tried to live in clans or groups. If it was possible.
• Sometimes, as many as four generations of one of the clans may live together.

THE HMONG CLANS

• The Armband Hmong and the Green Hmong were the main Hmong clans from Thailand and Laos.
• The Blue Hmong, the Black Hmong, the Flower Hmong, and the White Hmong were the main Vietnam clans.
• If it was possible, the Hmong wore hand-woven clothes to show what clan they are from.
• Most of the time they wore what they could.

NO WRITTEN LANGUAGE

• They tried to write about their experiences of the war and living in the jungle, but they had no written language.
• In the legends it is said that, they had a written language, but it was lost in time.
• Then the Western missionaries had tried to form a alphabet for the Hmong.
• They had to keep their stories in these refugee camps, but how could they? They started making storycloths instead of keeping a journal, to remember their past and their history.

THE STORYCLOTHS

• Because the Hmong didn't have a written language, they started to create storycloths to tell their stories.
• Because of the storycloth, it was easier to trace the history of the Hmong.
• Some relief workers bought their storycloths and sent them back to their home countries.
• Because of the relief workers bying the storycloths, some of the Hmomg got money that they really needed.

Untitled Slide

Information: Long Road To Freedom, Google
Pictures: Web Search
Put together by: Lyla Tolle
Tools used for the project : School District of LaCrosse
Presented: Lyla Tolle
Audience: Mrs.Popps 9th hour social studies class



Thank you 😄