Sacramento's Hmong American community reflects on 50 years since arriving to U.S.
SACRAMENTO – For AAPI Heritage Month, CBS Sacramento is taking a closer look at the sacrifices and contributions made by Hmong Americans.
The first Hmong refugees began arriving in the U.S. from the country of Laos in the late 1970s.
Sacramento County is home to one of the largest groups in the country.
During the height of the Vietnam War, the CIA recruited and armed Hmong men and boys to fight a secret war against communism.
Details of this covert operation were revealed in the infamous Pentagon Papers, made public in 1971.
It's estimated that 30,000 Hmong soldiers were killed in combat. Fifty thousand civilians died in the war and tens of thousands escaped and resettled in the United States.
Today, Sacramento County is home to the third-largest group in the nation, with an estimated 32,000 Hmong Americans. And in San Joaquin County, there are 7,000 Hmong Americans.
Gaonoucci Vang and Nicholas Moua are first-generation Hmong Americans.
"To be Hmong American is, I feel like it's kind of like a privilege," Moua said.
"I have so much pride in being Hmong American. I think it's such a unique and beautiful experience," Vang said. "And because we are first generation, we have the opportunity to really immerse ourselves in what it means to create culture as Hmong American."
They are part of the Hmong Innovating Politics group, better known a HIP.
The Sacramento-based non-profit aims to lift the community and empower its youth through education, social and civic engagement.
"I feel the way the Hmong American history is documented that the Hmong people started at the inception of the Secret War, but our history goes beyond that," Vang said.
Over 4,000 years to be exact, and their language is so distinct that it has several dialects.
For the younger generation, navigating two cultures can be a constant balance.
"There's always this dual identity, especially now in this generation where asian americans are becoming more accepting; where I've lived through this generation of perpetual foreigner, always having to prove my Americanism," Vang said.
Through the years, their customs and traditions have become part of the social fabric in California.
"Our culture is still being documented and noted down in history," Moua said.
As they reflect on 50 years since Hmong immigrants first arrived in the U.S., Vang and Moua are redefining what it means to be Hmong.
"Our language is an incredibly important part of our heritage and culture, but it's not the base of it, right. It's also about the community to hear, living our culture, spreading our culture," Vang said.
"You know, being displaced from Laos, and not really getting to carry much of the traditions with us back into America, and at the end of the day, I'm still Hmong," Moua said.
The Sacramento Hmong community celebrates its new year in November.
The event at Cal Expo attracts tens of thousands every year.
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