Hmong in Wisconsin
The following excerpt comes from Hmong in Wisconsin, released this spring by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press as the latest addition to the People of Wisconsin series. Here, author Mai Zong Vue shares the story of Sia Vang, one of the first Hmong refugees to relocate to Wisconsin from Thai refugee camps following the Secret War in Laos.
As I drove to Appleton to meet with Sia Vang at his video store, I thought a lot about my years in Kaukauna and Appleton. I knew and worked with Vang’s older cousin and had helped his uncle a few times due to my father’s connections as a clan leader. But I could not remember any interaction with Vang himself besides at community picnics we had both attended at High Cliff State Park, where the elders had shared good food and laughter and parents had a chance to share stories about the cultural barriers they had met at work. When I arrived midmorning, the store had just opened, and both Vang and Mao Thao, his wife, were there. I stood by the cashier counter while Vang did his paperwork on the other side. A former CIA employee, he chose his words carefully and said
