2015 marks the 40-year anniversary of the Hmong migration from Laos and Thailand to the United States. During the Vietnam War, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency and the Hmong army formed a secret alliance to fight Laotian communists and the North Vietnamese. In retaliation for their alliances, when Laos fell to the communists, the Hmong were forced to flee or face annihilation.
Forty years later, to commemorate this special anniversary, the Hmong community has come together to sponsor Hmong Story 40, an exhibition of photographs, stories, fine art, and artifacts that showcase the Hmong experience. Hmong Story 40 also includes the Storytellers Project, an opportunity for students and staff to document the stories of Hmong refugees in their communities.
The guidelines for submitting an oral history story are simple:
- Written stories should be unpublished work such as a narrative, essay or poetry. Written work should be no more than 3,000 words.
- Poetry submissions may contain up to five poems.
- Stories may also be submitted in video / multimedia documentary format and should be no longer than 10 minutes in length.
- Submissions must include the following contact information: Name, Address, Phone and Email, School or College (if applicable), and brief bio up to 300 words. If under 18, please complete the parental consent and include teacher or school staff endorsement and contact information.
Submissions will be judged by categories: Youth & Middle School (under 14); High School (Ages 15-19); College Students; Community Members/Adults. All stories will be published to the Hmong Story 40 website. The top 20 stories will be recognized with $250 individual awards and will be published in a booklet.
We are excited about this publishing opportunity for EGUSD students. Oral history interviews are a wonderful way for students to be involved in the process of “doing” history (as opposed to “studying” history). There is a very good chance that in interviewing Hmong refugees, students will learn about the viewpoints of individuals whose stories might not otherwise appear in their textbooks.
In addition to submitting a story to the Hmong Story 40 project, we invite you to send us copies. We would love to showcase Hmong- and Mien – oral history stories on the Time of Remembrance website. We will be adding a page under the Vietnam War Resources tab. We welcome both student-created and teacher-created stories.
Deadline for submitting oral stories to the Hmong Story 40 project: Friday, June 12, 2015
(The Hmong Story 40 website states on the downloadable flyer that the deadline is December 5, 2014, they haven’t updated the flyer or website to include the round 2 deadline of June 12, 2015).
Deadline for submitting oral stories to the Time of Remembrance website: Open
Gail and Kathleen
