Pom Kuv Hauv Koj • Seeing Me in You
A Culturally Sustaining Resource for Educators Working with Hmong Students and Families
About the Project
Pom Kuv Hauv Koj (Seeing Me in You) is a project rooted in art, oral history, and community-based learning, designed to support educators working with Hmong students and their families. Developed in partnership with Hmong community members and educators, this course is guided by a commitment to culturally sustaining pedagogy and relational teaching.
Cultural Insights
- Learning More About Hmong Students, Christopher Thao Vang
- Hmong American Experience: The Definition of Success in America, Joseph A. Klinge
- Hmong Cultural Guide, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
- Implementing the Hmong Culture into Classrooms, Chee Vang
- Hmong Culture Club as a Place of Belonging, Bic Ngo
- All That Talk Talkshow Episode 15: Patriarchy in the Hmong Culture, Ya Pao Cha and Seng Alex Vang
- An Introduction to Hmong Culture by Ya Pao Cha
- Medium follow writings by Yia Vue
The Vietnam (Secret) War
- The Hmong and the Secret War
- Valley PBS. (2017). The Hmong and the Secret War: The Hmong American Story. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/video/the-hmong-and-the-secret-war-zwwpgu/
- Minnesota Experience: America’s Secret War, PBS (2019, May 27).
- Minnesota Remembers Vietnam: America’s Secret War – Twin Cities PBS (tpt.org)
- Twin Cities Public Television. (2017). Minnesota Remembers Vietnam: America’s Secret War.
- The CIA, the Hmong, and the Secret War – Minnesota Remembers Vietnam (mnvietnam.org)
- Hmong Pioneers
- SPNN Documentary. (2016). Hmong Pioneers: Honoring the First Wave.
- Memories of the Secret War
- Hmong, The Vietnam War, Laos and Thailand, Encyclopedia of World Cultures: East and Southeast Asia
- Fleeing Home: Hmong Memories of the Secret War, CCX Media
- The Hmong People’s Involvement in the Vietnam War, Classroom
- History Channel. (2000). Air America: The CIA’s Secret Airline. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qzCJrfTgms
- Fresno Unified School District. (2005). Hmong Voices: A video series documenting the experiences of Hmong-Americans during the Secret War in Laos.
- Fresno Unified School District. (2005). Hmong Voices: A video series documenting the experiences of Hmong-Americans during The Secret War in Laos.
- Optimum Films, Inc. (2007). Secret Wars: An exit strategy in action.
Community Resources
- The Hmong Institute
- Center for Hmong Studies
- Hmong Youth and Parents United
- Hmong Cultural Center of Butte County
- Hmong Museum
- Hmong Cultural Center is the “primary Hmong and Asian American organization in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that provides community outreach activities related to multicultural education for the purposes of promoting positive race relations in the Twin Cities community.” (Source: Hmong Cultural Center)
- Hmong National Development is an organization that “works with local and national organizations, public and private entities, and individuals to promote educational opportunities, to increase community capacity, and to develop resources for the well-being, growth, and full participation of Hmong in society.” (Source: Hmong National Development)
- Internet Resources Links
Film / Video / Audio
- Spoken Word “Being a Hmong American,” Sunnyside High School (Fresno, CA) students
- Hmong American Experience: Life Between Two Worlds, Nakita Vang
- One Point Five, Chilli Lor & Kevin Yang
- PBS Wisconsin Education: Maa Vue
- Hmong Educational Playlist
- Paul Lo, From Hmong Refugee To California Judge
- Black Singer Soars in Hmong Language
- Documentary Re-Examines Controversial Hmong Shooting
- Thailand Begins Forcibly Repatriating Hmong
- Small Towns and Immigration
- Profile: Wisconsin hunting season opens amid racial tensions
- Disappearing World (Granada TV, Brian Moser & Jacques Lemoine, 1972)
- Our Secret Army (CBS News, Mike Wallace & Barry Lando, 1979)
- Becoming American: The Odyssey of a Refugee Family (Ken Levine & Iris Film & Video, 1982)
- Hmongland Publishing. (2011). Journey from Pha Dong: A Decision in the Hills.
- Skylight Films. (2011). Hmong Resettlement in the USA: The Best Place to Live.
- Michigan State University. (2017). Growing Up Hmong at the Crossroads.
- Timeline – World History Documentaries. (2018). Disappearing World: The Meo (Anthropology Documentary). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aykbu-ImfKM&t=243s
- Collective Eye Collection. (1984). Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America.
- Center for Asian American Media. (2008). The Time is Right for Mee.
Books About Hmong History
- Yang, K. (2017). The making of Hmong America: Forty years after the Secret War. Lanham, MD. Lexington Books.
- Vang, C. Y. (2010). Hmong American: Reconstructing community in diaspora. Chicago, IL. University of Illinois Press.
- Hillmer, P. (2010). A people’s history of the Hmong. St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Historical Press.
- Cooper, R. (1998). The Hmong: A guide to traditional lifestyles. Sigapore. Times Editions Pte. Ltd.
- Her, V. & Buley-Meissner, M. Hmong and American: From refugees to citizens. St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Historical Press.
- Quincy, K. (1988). Hmong: History of a people. Cheney, Washington. Eastern Washington University Press.
- Moore, D. (2003). A free people: Tracing our Hmong roots. Cincinnati, Ohio. Master Communications, Inc.
- Goldfarb, M. (1982). Fighters, refugees, immigrations: A story of the Hmong. Minneapolis, MN. Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
- Cha, Y. P. (2010). An introduction to Hmong culture. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland & Company, Inc.
- Aaamot, G. (2006). The new Minnesotans: Stories of immigrants and refugees. Minneapolis, MN. Syren Book Company.
- Dommen, A. J. (1965). Conflicts in Laos: The politics of neutralization. New York, NY.
- Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. Champassak, Sisouk N. (1961). Storm over Laos: A contemporary History. New York, NY. Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.
- Morrison, G. L. (1998). Sky is falling: An oral history of the CIA’s evacuation of the Hmong from Laos. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland & Company, Inc.
- Vang, C. T. (2016). Hmong refugees in the new world: Culture, community and opportunities. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland & Company, Inc.
- D.C. Everest Area Schools. (2001). The Hmong and their stories. Weston, WI. DC Everest Schools Publication.
- Long, L. D. (1993). Ban Vinai: The refugee camp. New York, NY. Columbia University Press.
- Hamilton-Merritt, J. (1999). Tragic mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992. Bloomington, IN. Indiana University Press.
- Lee, G. Y. & Tapp, N. (2010). Culture and customs of the Hmong. Denver, CO. Greenwood.
- Lee, M. N. (2015). Dreams of the Hmong kingdom: The quest for legitimation in French Indochina, 1850-1960. Madison, WI. The University of Wisconsin Press.
- Vang, C. Y. (2021). Prisoner of wars. Philadelphia, PA. Temple University Press.
- Vang, M. (2021). History on the run: Secrecy, fugitivity, and Hmong refugee epistemologies. Durham, NC. Duke University Press.
- Cha, Y. P. (2020). Keeb kwm haiv neeg Hmoob. St. Paul, MN. HER Publisher.
- Thao, C. (2018). The Hmong migration. St. Paul, MN. HER Publisher.
- Yang, M. (2018). Leaving Laos. https://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Laos-May-Y-Yang/dp/1981229310
Books About Hmong Literature and Arts
- Vang, L. & Lewis, J. (1990). Grandmother’s path, grandfather’s way: Oral lore, generation to generation. Rancho Cordova, CA. Zellerbach.
- Thao, G. (2018). The Hmong journey: Hmong txoj kev taug. St. Paul, MN. Hmong Educational Resources Publisher.
- Malinson, J., Donnelly, N., & Hang, L., 1988. Hmong batik: A textile technique from Laos. Seattle, Washington. Mallinson/Information Services.
- Torimaru, T. (2008). One needle, one thread: Miao (Hmong) embroidery and fabric piecework from Guizhou, China. Honolulu, Hawaii. University of Hawaii Art Gallery.
- John Michael Kohler Arts Center. (1986). Hmong art tradition and change. Sheboygan, WI. John Michael Kohler Arts Centre of the Sheboygan Arts Foundation, Inc.
- Johnson, C. (1992). Myths, legends and folktales from the Hmong of Laos. St. Paul, MN. Macalester College’s Linguistic Department.
- Yang, K. K. (2008). The latehomecomer: A Hmong family memoir. St. Paul, MN. Coffee House Press.
- Gerdner, L. A. (2015). Preserving historical & cultural treasures: Hmong story cloths. Arglen, PA. Schiffer Publishing, Inc.
- MacDowell, M. (1989). Stories in thread: Hmong pictorial embroidery. Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State University Museum.
- Lee, C. T. & Coburn, J. R. C. (1996). Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella. Fremont, CA. Shen’s Books.
- Lor, H. (2020). The sound of qeej. St. Paul, MN. HER Publisher.
- Vang, P. D. (2020). Staring down the tiger: Stories of Hmong American women. St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Books about Hmong American Experiences
- “Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America” by Sami Scripter
Hmong American Themed Children’s Books
Websites
- Hmong Educational Resources
- Hmong Studies Journal
- Hmong History, Culture, and Religion
- Hmong ABC is the first bookstore of its kind. It sells many wonderful Hmong arts, crafts, videos, and a large selection of books on Hmong.
- Science Museum of Minnesota – Automata Storytelling Device
Language (Multilingual) Resources / Teacher Resources
Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Resources (Arts Integration)
- Learn About Hmong
- Learn Hmong Lessons & Traditions
- Minnesota Remembers Vietnam Educator Resources
- Hmong Embroidery is a virtual textiles museum displaying many traditional and modern paj ntaub (or story cloths). The exhibit aims to educate people about the many different types of Hmong embroidery and the symbolic meanings attached to the motifs commonly used in Hmong embroidered art works. This website was developed by Hmong Archives and Hmong Cultural Center through collaborative effort with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Asian Pacific Endowment of the Saint Paul Foundation.
- Center for Hmong Arts & Talent is an arts organization that is dedicated to “strengthening the Hmong community by connecting them to the engaging and empowering benefits of the arts.” In addition, CHAT “value the arts as a source for individual empowerment and as a means for social change by communicating messages that affect the larger community as a whole.” (Source: Center for Hmong Arts & Talent)
Other Suggested Readings (News Article / Academic Journal Articles)
- To Be Midwestern and Hmong, June 2016 The Atlantic
- Leaves Imitate Trees: Minnesota Hmong Concepts of Heredity and Applications to Genomics Research in Journal of Community Genetics (2017)
- The Centrality of Ethnic community and the Military Service Master Frame in Hmong Americans’ Protest Events and Cycles of Protest, 1980-2012 in Hmong Studies Journal (2016)
- The Qing Response to the Miao Kings of China’s 1795-7 Miao Revolt in Hmong Studies Journal (2016)
- Hmong American Leadership and Unity in the Post-Vang Pao Era in Hmong Studies Journal (2015)
- Tebchaws: A Theory of Magnetic Media and Hmong Diasporic Homeland in Hmong Studies Journal (2015)
- Chao Fa Movies: The Transnational Production of Hmong American History and Identity in Hmong Studies Journal (2014)
- Constructing a Governing Rationale: Developing Lao Hmong Refugees at Wat Tham Krabok in Hmong Studies Journal (2014)
- Can you “Stand your Ground” if you are Hmong? Revisiting Wisconsin v. Vang in Light of Florida v. Zimmerman in Hmong Studies Journal (2013)
- It’s Called “Going Out to Play”: A Video Diary Study of Hmong Girls’ Perspectives on Running Away in Health Care for Women International (2013) Understanding Hmong Women’s Beliefs, Feelings, Norms, and External Conditions About Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Public Health Nursing (2013)
- YouTube and the Hmong Qeej in Hmong Studies Journal (2013)
- Review of American Hmong: A Memoir Play — a solo performance by Teng Yang in American Quarterly (2012)
- “I Salute the Spirit of my Communities”: Autoethnographic Innovations in Hmong American Literature in College Literature (2004)
- Occult Racism: The Masking of Race in the Hmong Hunter Incident: A Dialogue between Anthropologist Louisa Schein and Filmmaker/Activist Va-Megn Thoj in American Quarterly (2007)
- What if your Fairy Godmother were an Ox? The Many Cinderellas of Southeast Asia in Lion & the Unicorn (2000)
- More than a Pretty Cloth: Teaching Hmong History and Culture Through Textile Art in Theory & Research in Social Education (1997)
Additional Online Resources (Hmong Media)
Health Related Websites
Hmong & Southeast Asian American Nonprofit Organizations
I am a Program Specialist for the Orange County Department of Education supporting a Southeast Asian Model Curriculum Project (spearheading the Hmong History and Cultural Studies Model Curriculum Project). I also serve as the Language and Culture Specialist / NRC Director for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies for the Carrying Culture Curriculum Development Project. I love teaching, learning and finding new ways to engage with students and support teachers. I am also passionate about cross cultural exchange, cultural competency and working with diverse populations.
I earned a Ph.D., in Education with a Curriculum Studies Specialization from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and MA in Education: Curriculum & Instruction, and a B.A. in Liberal Studies/Multiple Subject Teaching Credential all from California State University, Chico. I authored a bilingual children’s book titled “The Hmong Journey: Hmoob Txoj Kev Taug.” Moving to Honolulu and living at the East-West Center for graduate school allowed me to not only immerse myself in the multilingual multicultural community there but also to network with leaders and make friends from all over the Asia Pacific region.
In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my family which includes 8 siblings, 11 nieces, and 10 nephews. My hobbies include reading, hiking, and food adventures. Born in Thailand, but I pretty much grew up in northern California.
About the Learning Module
Originally developed as a virtual professional development course for California educators, Pom Kuv Hauv Koj—a Hmong phrase meaning Seeing Me in You—invites participants to reflect on culturally sustaining pedagogy and multilingual teaching strategies through the lens of the Hmong American experience.
Designed and led by Dr. Ger Thao, a specialist in curriculum studies and multilingual education, the course combines hands-on art integration, Hmong community voices, and active-learning techniques to equip educators with tools to better support their Hmong and other multilingual learners.
This resource includes session materials, sample lessons, art-based activities, and links to oral history, language, and cultural content. It offers a meaningful entry point for educators seeking to center student voice, community knowledge, and culturally rooted teaching practices in their classrooms.
Learn more about Dr. Ger Thao. Explore the archived course and related resources below.