How Hmong farmers are building collective power in Minnesota

PINTEREST

Hmong American farmers have changed the face of Minnesota agriculture.

Minnesota's frigid winters are about as opposite of the tropical climes where the Hmong came from as refugees, yet not only have the transplanted people from Laos and Vietnam been able to adapt, they have planted roots in the state and thrived.

In a state where non-white farmers face considerable barriers, the Hmong American Farmers Association looks toward land ownership.

By Cirien Saadeh

REPRINTED FROM PRISM

Lillian Hang works at the Hang Family Farm in Vermillion Township, Minnesota, alongside her children, siblings, and parents, growing a mix of vegetables and herbs local to the area and those the family brought with them 30 years ago when they moved to the U.S. from Southeast Asia. From carrots, onions, and potatoes to lemongrass, Thai basil, mustard greens, and bitter melons, the Hangs and other Hmong American farm families who’ve come to Minnesota as immigrants from Thailand, Laos, and other areas of Southeast Asia have helped reshape the state’s agriculture and contributed significantly to the growth of local farmers markets over the last 30 years. And they’re continuing to innovate, growing new crops that might not be expected to thrive in Minnesota’s notoriously frigid climate.

“Mom and Dad are testing with sweet potatoes … Japanese sweet potatoes, the purple sweet potatoes, as well as these cream-colored sweet potatoes. For the longest time, people said, ‘You cannot grow those in Minnesota. It’s too cold,’” said Hang.

But even as Hmong farmers like the Hang family have made an impact locally, many continue to face barriers to land ownership that have left their farms struggling to put down roots. There are approximately 400-500 Hmong farm families in the State of Minnesota. Many also worked and lived as farmers in their home countries, and in the U.S, some own their farms and work the land themselves as family farm workers. However, according to a 2015 report from the Minnesota State Legislature, 99% of farm owners in Minnesota are white, though the number of Hmong (and other Asian community)-owned farms is increasing. 

A 2020 report from the Minnesota State Legislature names several challenges to ethnic farm ownership in Minnesota: financial barriers and access to capital and resources; systemic and institutional racism; land availability and cost; access to health insurance and the cost of health care for farmers; education, training, and resources; broadband access; climate change; market access; a lack of “culturally appropriate resources;” navigating regulations; and a statewide focus on larger farms.

The Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), of which the Hang Family Farm is one of more than 100 members, has been working to change that.

“We are a membership-based nonprofit organization that was created in 2011 to kind of adjust the injustice that Hmong farmers face around lack of access to land, markets, trainings, research, and also credit and capital,” said Janssen Hang, co-founder and executive director of HAFA. “The inception really started out of an act of self-determination.”

Many Hmong farmers live in Minneapolis-St. Paul or the surrounding metro area, but land available for ownership is scarce, and that imposes real limits on how farmers are able to plan and execute their work from season to season.

“The other week my parents were planting garlic. Garlic you need to plant it prior to the summer’s harvest. So, if you are renting land from year to year, you have to spend all the money and it’s expensive. You spend all the money to plant garlic, but man, no one wants to be in a situation where next year they are saying, ‘Oh, am I going to get that money? Is the farmer going to let me harvest the garlic that I invested so much money into?’” said Lillian Hang.

Working collectively has been at the forefront of HAFA’s strategy to increase family farmers’ control over their own futures.

“Farming is not an individual activity,” said Lillian Hang. “You really need a group of people dedicated to farming.”

In 2013, an anonymous donor purchased a 155-acre farm in Vermillion Township, located halfway between St. Paul and Rochester, Minnesota. The farm was then leased to HAFA and members have sub-leased plots and collectively managed their use of the farm and its plots since then, splitting the land into five-to-10-acre plots.

“The farm is about building intergenerational and community wealth,” said Janssen Hang.

The land’s relative permanence allows the farmers to build their businesses, and the collective management means that all members have a support structure for their work and for that work to be sustainable.

Hmong refugees find a home in Minnesota.

“What we do is we would actually model sustainable practice on the farm, from cover cropping, contour planting, looking at the efficacies of soil and water quality here. We actually have a designated area for our pollinator habitat, and actually have a bee apiary on the farm here,” said Janssen Hang. “The other thing is that, programmatically, we also run an alternative market program.”

Many Hmong farmers sell their goods at the Minneapolis and St. Paul farmers markets, despite the farm being located in a rural part of Dakota County, south of the Twin Cities. Janssen Hang notes that Hmong farmers make up 50% of the farmers at the St. Paul and Minneapolis Farmers Market, but he says that lack of access to resources, training, credit, and capital turned the vital Hmong family farmers into “second-class citizens.”

According to Janssen Hang, developing an alternative market program is necessary so that the Hmong farmers are not so dependent on the whims of the farmers markets. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul farmers markets run year round, but the number of markets that operate between October and April is very limited.

In addition to challenges with the markets, HAFA’s farmers are also contending with possible loss of land from a state infrastructure project. The Sahan Journal has reported that Dakota County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation are currently exploring the possibility of transforming a local highway into a more traditional freeway, and the proposed plan would include the acquisition of four-to-seven acres from the HAFA farm for freeway redevelopment. This would mean two of the family farms would lose access to their land. Currently, the county’s research is still preliminary.

In the meantime, HAFA members are trying to raise the money to purchase the Vermillion Township farm outright, and they are in the midst of a $5-million capital campaign. HAFA received $2 million from the state in 2020, and it has just over $9,500 left to raise.

According to Lillian Hang, the effort to buy the farm outright is still worth it even with Dakota County looming.

“Whenever any of the aunties, or uncles out of town come and visit us, the first thing mom and dad say is, ‘Hey, let me take you to our farm. Let me take you to our farm,”’ she said. “And I love it. Because, they call it our farm, even though their name is not on the ownership. It’s like, ‘This is ours, almost. And the way they say it, it’s almost like, ‘This is part of me.’”

About the author: Cirien Saadeh, PhD is an Arab American community journalist, community organizer, and college professor teaching Social Justice and Community Organizing at Prescott College. 

Hmong and Lao fear they're Trump's next target for deportation

MILITARY.CCOM

Hmong veterans scame to the US as refugees after the Vietnam War.

ASAM NEWS

Some 4,500 Hmong and Lao people in the United States face deportation under a new repatriation agreement being negotiated between the Trump administration and the Lao government, reports the Star Tribune.
The talks follow a spike of 279% in deportations since 2017 of Cambodians under Donald Trump.

“Any repatriation agreement resulting in the deportation of Hmong-Lao community members will be viewed as a direct attack on my constituents and their family members,” Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to the Star Tribune.

Asian American groups denounced the latest news.

“We reject the continued deportations of immigrants and refugees without regard for human rights and due process. We condemn efforts by the United States government to continue deporting Southeast Asian Americans, many of whom are former refugees,” Bo Thao-Urabe, Executive and Network Director for the Coalition of Asian American Leaders, said to the Milwaukee Independent. 

“We fundamentally believe that regardless of past mistakes, everyone must be given the opportunity, resources, and support networks to turn their lives around and become productive citizens. We believe in transformation and know that many individuals are pivotal members in their local communities. They must be afforded the same due process rights as every other American."

The deportations target immigrants who have not become citizens and who have committed crimes despite having served their sentences successfully. Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported just five Hmong and Laos.

Sunday Read: Asian Pacific American council cautions against misperceptions of Hmong

YOUTUBE

The weeklong Hmong New Year celebration in Fresno is one of the biggest Hmong events in the United States..

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), concerned that the Fresno shootings may taint the entire Hmong community, issued the following statement on the mass shooting that occurred Nov. 15. 

“We urge decisionmakers, law enforcement and the public, to resist jumping to conclusions, or making broad assumptions about the Hmong community without the benefit of all of the facts in light of this terrible tragedy.

"The Hmong community and the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are integral parts of America's diversity. We are Americans, not foreigners, and our experience with gun violence is not unique because of our immigrant roots. Our focus should be on how to support each other during this difficult time.

Friends and family say the victims had no ties to gangs and are worried the shootings are being dismissed as gang-related or promoting stereotypes.

“We don’t want this to be a stain on the people,” said Bobby Bliatout, 42, the child of Hmong refugees who is now campaigning for the seat of Congressman Devin Nunes, R-Fresno.
Two weeks have passed since the shooting and the tight-knit Hmong community is still in mourning. Hmong National Development (HND)’s CEO & President, Bao Vang stated, “HND extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of all the victims of the mass shooting in Fresno, .... In this time of mourning, HND strongly supports work of local leaders to unite and heal our community.”

Fresno has one of the largest communities of Hmong in the country numbering around 30,000. Another 25,000 Hmong live in the nearby Sacramento area.

Four people were killed in the shooting and six others wounded at a home where family and friends gathered to watch a football game. The suspects are still at large and their motives have not been established.

Fresno authorities established a gang task force to identify the gunmen behind a mass shooting, even though there was no evidence to link the shooting to local gangs. No motive has surfaced. Police are still searching for the shooters.

“It hurts that the mention of a gang task force stains our community once again, pushing and strengthening our stereotype that is not true,” said Bliatout, community leader in Fresno and CEO of a local nonprofit community clinic.

He emphasized that the victims were career-minded professionals.

Hmong singer Xy Le was among the victims of the shooting in Fresno.

Pao Yang, the head of the non-profit The Fresno Center, acknowledged that two of the shooting victims are well known singers in the Hmong community. Singers Xy Le, 23 was fatally shot and JN Vang was wounded and is recovering.

“They come out and perform to our mental health clients, you know, every year,” said Yang. “A lot of these folks are scheduled to perform at the Hmong New Year,” which begin next month and culminate with a week-long festival at the Fresno Fairgrounds that attract thousands.

The other victims who died are: Phia Yang, 31; Kou Xiong, 38 and Kalaxang Thao, 40.

Hmong, a rural people who originally come from the border region of Vietnam and Laos. During the Vietnam War, they fought on the side of the US. The Hmong were granted refugee status and allowed to immigrate to the US when the North Vietnamese won the war.

Most Hmong refugees moved to Minnesota, California and Wisconsin. In California, they settled in the Central Valley, where sponsors hoped they could find work given their agricultural background.

There are about 300,000 Hmong in the U.S. — California has the most of any state, while Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota has the most of any metro area.

The Hmong community in Fresno has flourished, Arias said, with children growing up to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and elected leaders. The community has done better than other ethnic groups in graduating from high school and avoiding gangs, said Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias to Minnesota Public Radio.

Hmong Americans struggle with poverty more so than most other Asian American ethnic groups, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate dean of the University of California, Riverside, School of Public Policy. But the community also has a strong sense of solidarity and high rates of political participation, he said.

Arias told MPR it appears no group of Americans can escape the terror of mass shootings.

“The sad irony of this tragedy is they were doing the most American of traditions: Watching a Sunday night football game over a barbecue,” he said.

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Asian languages spoken widely in 18 states

Graphic: Business Insider

I love walking the streets of New York City and San Francisco. I could sit in one spot and the world would pass by -- tourists and residents speaking a cacophony of foreign languages.

Nothing emphasizes the US's immigrant heritage than the ton of languages people speak at home. English and Spanish, of course, are the two main languages spoken across the country. But the third most spoken language in each state, may be surprising to you.

Waiting at a crosswalk in San Francisco, one can imagine being in Manila with all the Tagalog being spoken. In California, where I'm based, the Filipino dialect Tagalog is the most frequently spoken language after English and Spanish. 

The US Census Bureau's American Community Survey annually asks more than 1 million Americans questions about their lives, families, and backgrounds. One question asks respondents what language they mainly speak in their homes.

Using individual-level responses from the 2017 American Community Survey assembled and published by the Minnesota Population Center's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series program, Business Insider found the most common language spoken at home in each state, excluding English and Spanish.

In neighboring Nevada, Tagalog is also the most spoken language at home. That wouldn't be a surprise if you've wandered through the tourist attractions and The Strip and you saw the number of Filipino employees employed by the casinos. Filipinos are the largest Asian American ethnic group in Las Vegas.

Nationally, the estimated number of Tagalog speakers is 1,753,712, according to the Census Bureau.

Another Filipino dialect, Ilocano, is the major language in Hawaii. During the heyday of sugarcane and pineapples, huge number of Filipinos from the Ilocos region, north of Manila were brought in by the plantation owners to join the Japanese and Chinese workers who were already in the fields. Today, 85% of the Filipino population in Hawaii is Ilocano and with the Tagalog speakers, Filipino Americans make up the largest Asian ethnic group in the state.

Other Asian languages that are spoken widely are:

• Not surprisingly, Chinese is the language from Asia that has the most speakers. The largest Asian ethnic group, which includes Taiwanese, number over 5 million, of which 2,155,939, speak one of the Chinese languages. The states where they are the most commonly spoken language at home other than English and Spanish are New York, Washington, Arkansas, Missouri, Utah.

• Korean-Americans are the fifth-largest Asian immigrant group in the US and have 1,104,145 Americans speak Korean at home. They are almost entirely from South Korea, The states where Korean is the most commonly spoken language at home other than English and Spanish are Virginia, Alabama and Georgia.

• Gujarati is the most common Indian language in New Jersey. Its speakers originally came from the western Indian state of Gujarat. In the US, there are 419,964 Gujarati speakers.


• Vietnamese is the most commonly spoken language at home other than English and Spanish in Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kansas, Iowa and Mississippi thanks to over 1.5 million Vietnamese speakers. Over half of all Vietnamese-Americans live in either California or Texas.

• Although many Nepalese people have settled in Nebraska, where Nepalese is the language spoken at home for relative to other immigrant communities, the actual number is unclear. The biggest single Nepalese group is in New York City, with 9,000 people. Nationwide, there are 202,218 Nepalese speakers.

German is the most commonly spoken non-English, non-Spanish language in nine states, with French most common in six states and D.C.