50 Years Of The Hmong Experience In Minnesota Special Issue Of Hmong Studies

From The Hmong Cultural Center

The Saint Paul-based Hmong Studies Journal in partnership with the Hmong Cultural Center of Minnesota is pleased to announce the publication of a special issue focused on 50 years of the Hmong Experience in Minnesota. This project was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a 50 Years of Southeast Asians in Minnesota grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Dr. Mark Pfeifer, Editor of the Hmong Studies Journal stated, “We are very proud to present what is likely the first special issue of any scholarly journal solely focused on the experiences of the Hmong community in Minnesota. The volume also will be published as a monograph later in 2026. This landmark special issue adds considerably to the Hmong Studies scholarly literature as it represents the first compilation of research centered on both the historical and contemporary experiences of the Hmong Minnesota population, a community that has played an extremely important role in the Hmong American story. Readers will learn about both important facets of Hmong history as well as a range of issues currently being experienced by Hmong residing in the Minnesota.

Particular highlights are Chia Youyee Vang and Mao Vang’s first-hand account of the Hiawatha Valley Farm Cooperative, a pioneering Hmong farming initiative in Winona County in the early to mid-1980s, Pao Lor’s essay on the significance of the Hmong Minnesotan community to his identity as a Hmong American and finally and quite saliently, Nengher Vang’s analysis of the evolution of Hmong Minnesotan politics from the 1970s to the present day including the community impact of Operation Metro Surge.

Newly published scholarship in the special issue includes articles from scholars working in such fields as History, Education, Asian American Studies, Social Work and Public Health. This scholarly research will be widely disseminated through the Hmong Studies Journal’s website, the journal’s social media pages and to thousands of academic and public libraries through dissemination agreements with major scholarly database aggregators including EBSCO, ProQuest, Gale/Cengage, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Asia-Studies Full-Text.

An internet-based journal, the Hmong Studies Journal is the only peer-reviewed academic publication devoted to the scholarly discussion of Hmong history, Hmong culture, Hmong people, and other facets of the Hmong experience in the U.S., Asia and around the world. The Hmong Studies Journal has now published 31 online issues in 28 volumes with more than 200 scholarly articles since 1996.

Hmong Studies Journal 50 Years Of The Hmong Experience In Minnesota A Special Issue Content
Research Articles

Hiawatha Valley Farm Cooperative And Its Enduring Impact On Hmong In Minnesota by Chia Youyee Vang and Mao Justice Vang

A Bibliographic Guide To Historical Research On Hmong In Minnesota by Mark Pfeifer

The Evolution Of Hmong American Politics In Minnesota – Intersections Of Local And Transnational Engagement by Nengher N. Vang

An Outsider’s Perspective: Influence Of The Hmong Minnesotan Community On My Journey by Pao Lor

Building Health Equity For Minnesota’s Hmong Community: The Role And Impact Of The Hmong Health Care Professionals Coalition by Yeng M. Yang

Suburbanization And The Persistence Of High Racial Segregation: Hmong and Other Southeast Asian Americans in the Twin Cities Metro Area from 1990 to 2020 by Yang Sao Xiong and Mark Pfeifer

Nowhere Else In The World: Hmong Minnesota’s Role In The Creation Of School-Based Hmong Language Education Programs by Vicky Xiong-Lor, Pang Yang and by Jenna Cushing-Leubner

Bridging Spiritual Healing With Occupational Identity: Perspectives of Hmong Shamans by Mai Moua and Alysha Skuthan

It’s A Constant Push And Pull: Conceptualizing Youth And Place Among Young Hmong American Women In Minnesota by Kao Nou L. Moua

From The Valley’s Embrace To The Land Of 10,000 Lakes: Hmong Texts in the Diaspora by Thérèse Moua-Jasperson