175 Campaign

Celebrating Wisconsin's Hmong Community

We are honoring Wisconsin's vibrant Hmong community and the determination of those who overcame adversity as they fled war-torn Southeast Asia in the wake of the Vietnam War to establish a new life in Wisconsin. Together, this community has built support systems to preserve their traditions and to help one another as they enrolled in schools, started businesses, and strove for independence. While their shared experience and history of perilous journeys, refugee camps, and discrimination will never be forgotten, these tragedies do not define them. The Hmong story is a story of survival and hope as they have become an important part of Wisconsin communities. Celebrate by exploring fascinating stories of Hmong visionaries, changemakers, and storytellers with ties to Wisconsin.

Pao Lor

Mai Zong Vue

Kristy Yang

Bouachao Xiong

Explore Related Press Books

As one of the most recent cultural groups to arrive in the Badger State, the Hmong have worked hard to establish a new life here, building support systems to preserve traditions and to help one another. Told with a mixture of scholarly research, interviews, and personal experience of the author, this latest addition to the People of Wisconsin series shares the Hmong’s varied stories of survival and hope as they have become an important part of Wisconsin communities.

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After a difficult and perilous journey that neither of his parents survived, five-year-old Pao Lor reached the safety of Thailand, but the young refugee boy's challenges were only just beginning. In this book, Pao Lor shares his inspiring coming-of-age tale about perseverance, grit, and hope. Included are discussion questions for use by book clubs, in classrooms, or around the dinner table.

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Designed for grades 3–5, this book tells the story of young Mai Ya Xiong and her family and their journey from the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand to a new life in Madison, Wisconsin. Their story is extraordinary, yet it is typical of the stories of the 200,000 Hmong people who left their homeland to ultimately make a new home in the United States

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Hand stitched journey quilt with a grey and periwinkley triangle border and straight borders. The interior depicts many brightly colored figures depicting the Secret War in Laos and the Hmong escape across the Mekong River and journeying to the U.S.A., made by Ge Yang.

Hmong In Wisconsin

Wisconsin Historical Museum Exhibit

Open through 2022

The Hmong came to the United States as refugees starting in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of these families found homes in Wisconsin, which now has the third-largest Hmong population in the country. As one of the most recent cultural groups to arrive in the Badger State, the Hmong have worked hard to establish a new life here, preserving traditions as they enrolled in schools and started businesses. In conjunction with the new Wisconsin Historical Society Press book of the same name, this exhibit shares how the Hmong people have become an important part of Wisconsin communities.

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Watch a Conversation with the Society

History is a story with many voices, always growing and evolving—a story we tell together.

Throughout time and place, humans have looked to the past to inspire the future. We study the stories of those who came before us to define who we are today, and who we want to become tomorrow. We have a conversation with our past to build a better future. There are countless chapters in this story — achievements that inspire us to be better, and tragedies that remind us not to go down the wrong path. Follow along as we share fascinating and diverse stories of people and places from Wisconsin history.