Plains Speakin.

I like it...

I love it...

I want some more of it...
--------------
Related: Minnesota and Wisconsin are now home to many Hmong, who allied with Americans in the Vietnam War. They resettled here, an aftermath of another war.

By Ryan J. Foley
The Associated Press

MADISON — More than 600 Hmong residents from across Wisconsin, including a group from Green Bay, today packed the Assembly parlor in support of a new proposal requiring state schools to teach about the Hmong people, saying racial suspicion of the new immigrants could be eased by a greater understanding of their past.

I would support mandatory education about the Hmong people in Wisconsin, like some states require mandatory Holocaust education. Here, often native Wisconsinites and Hmong immigrants only cross paths in the woods hunting. In a few years when presumably relations are closer, repeal the legislation and let school districts decide locally if they want to continue?

If education can help people understand each other, and help resolve issues we're currently facing, why not? Young Americans could learn more about the consequences of war: they don't just "end" with everybody going back to their respective corners, and folks might understand better why the Hmong are here. Hmong outdoorsmen through DNR training are already being taught the "why's" of our hunting/fishing rules and regulations, like bag limits and private property trespassing concepts here, and how it fits into the long-range conservation plan of state resources.

The bill failed in the previous legislative session, but a group of 10 Assembly Democrats said they hoped the fallout from the recent slaying of a Hmong hunter from Green Bay would give greater urgency to the effort. The death of Cha Vang, whose body was found Jan. 6 in a wildlife refuge near Peshtigo, has heightened tensions between Hmong and whites, especially in Wisconsin’s northwoods. A white hunter was charged last week in Vang’s death.

Two years ago, a Hmong deer hunter shot six white hunters to death after being accused of trespassing in the Wisconsin woods. He said the whites shouted racial epithets at him and opened fire first. He is serving life sentences. Some Hmong residents fear the latest killing was revenge.

“All of the difficulties that the Hmong face and experience in the U.S. are due to the fact that there is no formal teaching about the Hmong to the general public,” said Za Blong Vang, president of the Hmong Community of Wisconsin. He spoke at a news conference in Hmong but gave reporters an English translation of his remarks.
...
“Misunderstandings often lead to racial conflicts that undermine Wisconsin’s long history of inclusion and tolerance,” Seidel said. “Educating our children about the contributions the Hmong have made in our state will be the first step towards addressing acceptance.”

Wisconsin, Minnesota and California are home to the largest populations of Hmong, an ethnic minority from Southeast Asia. Many Hmong, including Za Blong Vang, fought alongside the U.S. in a so-called secret war against communists in Laos during the Vietnam War and have fled to avoid government persecution.