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|  | Migration, Immigration, and Refugees: The Hmong of St. Paul
By Roy Magnuson
This lesson illustrates the key concepts and principles of immigration, refugees, and migration, using some of the experiences of the Hmong. Some of the ideas for this lesson are adapted from statistical uses that I first observed at Macalester College in St. Paul. The heart of the lesson has been used for several years in my Asian American history class at Como Park Senior High in St. Paul. This version was originally prepared for the Advanced Placement Geography 1997 Summer Institute.
Key Objectives
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which data relating to immigration, migration, and refugees is used in human geography. While this lesson is based on the experience of the Hmong, I've indicated ways in which other region-specific events can be substituted.
Geographic Skills
Students will use census tract data as a means of comparing, contrasting, and ultimately increasing their understanding of immigrant and refugee communities. The degree of map creation and data gathering may vary by instructor and class, as may the style of maps or graphs utilized. Related areas of human geography touched on by this lesson include urbanization (housing patterns, central business district, diffusion), political boundaries, and issues of minority groups in sovereign states.
Evaluation
The style of evaluation can vary by instructor. I use student-produced maps and essays. I also inform students that the ability to use census tract data as a source of information and conclusions will be a feature of future tests. Key concepts and vocabulary are also to be considered fair game for future tests and assignments.
Key Terms and Concepts - Assimilation
- Central business district
- Diffusion
- Emigration
- Forced migration
- Hmong
- Immigration
- Internal migration
- International migration
- Intervening obstacles
- Laos
- Migration
- Mobility
- Pull factors
- Push factors
- Refugees
- Residential districts (low-class, middle-class, high-class)
- Vietnam War
- Voluntary migration
Introduction and Background
A basic background of the conflict in Southeast Asia of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s is needed to introduce this lesson. There are many sources that deal with the so-called "Secret War" (Tragic Mountains, by Jane Hamilton Merritt, is one), and a number of bills introduced in Congress between 1995 and 1997 deal with current issues of Hmong refugees, so I will give only a cursory piece of background here.
The Hmong are an ethnic minority in Laos, where they have lived in the mountains as a means of maintaining cultural independence and integrity. There they practice a form of slash-and-burn agriculture that has caused them to be somewhat mobile (this point links to agricultural geography). The location of Laos, especially its proximity to Vietnam, is crucial to the Hmong story.
The Hmong were important to the U.S. war effort in Southeast Asia for a number of reasons. They cut off supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, rescued American pilots who were shot down over Laos, and directly engaged North Vietnamese troops in and around the Plain of Jars in Laos. Many factors were working against the Hmong in the years after the war. The most important was the fact that the involvement of the Hmong was a CIA operation and kept secret from the U.S. public.
While the Hmong were a primitive culture in terms of schools, written language, and wealth, they turned out to be ferocious fighters. They were led by Vang Pao (later General Vang Pao), who was the primary contact with the United States government. The Hmong were paid by the CIA and were promised that if the U.S. lost the war, they would be taken care of and allowed to come to the United States.
Shortly after the collapse of South Vietnam in April 1975, the Hmong began to fear retribution from the Pathet Lao, the communist regime in Laos. By 1976 Hmong who had been allies of the U.S. were being severely persecuted and many began to cross the Mekong River into Thailand (here, the concept of borders comes into play).
Eventually, the American government began to accept Hmong as refugees, and many began coming to the U.S. The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, was willing to accept Hmong refugees. Many individual churches sponsored families, as did the Catholic Charities, the Lutheran Social Services, and other groups. Soon, family reunification began to occur, and St. Paul was growing into the second largest settlement group of Hmong in America (behind Fresno, California, in the 1990 Census). This brief history brings us to the lesson.
Lesson Materials
St. Paul by Census Tract Outline Map.
This map shows the borders of St. Paul subdivided by numbered census tracts. Note: Most of the maps provided here have some mapmaking flaws. This one, for instance, does not have a scale; one inch is close to one mile. North is to the top.
A-4: Census Tracts in St. Paul, 1990.
This map includes some major streets and the Mississippi River for identification purposes.
St. Paul Public Library Locations.
This map is included because it puts in the main freeways and shows the location of the central business district, indicated by the crosshatching by the central library.
Tract Tables Numbered from 301 to 428.
I was introduced to this mapping concept by Matt Jackson, a former Macalester student. Matt's map was for Ramsey County, which includes St. Paul. When I produced my own map, I focused on St. Paul. It was easier to download Ramsey County when I made the statistical tables component, so I just did the county for the "by racial and ethnic composition" portion. (Thanks for the concept, Matt, wherever you now are.)
These tables contain population distributions from the 1990 Census. The statistics are organized by census tract and ethnicity, along with total population. The columns are consistent with the first page throughout. A Series of Maps: St. Paul by Census Tract, 1990.
These maps use a one-dot-equals-one-person format to represent the distribution of the various ethnic groups in St. Paul in 1990. Dots are randomly distributed within each census tract, a fact not noted on the map (another mapmaking error). This is most significant in tracts where there are roughly only six to 16 dots. They may represent only two families, but when randomly scattered they appear to represent more (although it is possible that there are 16 single-occupancy residences in a tract). You may want to make transparencies to show on an overhead projector so that the entire class can see the maps.
Teaching the Lesson
Background
Use a wall map or an overhead projector to show the geographic significance of Laos during the conflict in Southeast Asia. Briefly discuss the actions of the Hmong as allies of the U.S. during this time and the troubles that they faced after the U.S. pulled out and left them on their own in Laos and the communist regimes began seeking revenge. (This is a good time to explain that while most of the Hmong were anti-Communist, not all were, and the Hmong who had allied with the Pathet Lao did not face the same persecution.)
This leads to a discussion of push and pull factors, migration, immigration, emigration, refugees, and intervening obstacles. (The example of the Vietnamese boat people fits in here, too, as does a brief discussion of the Khmer Rouge and Cambodian events.) I have had good luck using diagrams with pluses and minuses for push and pull factors, but each teacher easily handles these terms in his or her own way.
Using the Census Maps for Discussion
The technique of using a map with part of the legend concealed to promote thinking and questioning comes from David Lanegran at Macalester College in St. Paul.
- I start by discussing the census process in general. One hopes that students already have basic knowledge of the subject, such as that the U.S. does a census every 10 years in order to reapportion the House of Representatives. Lots of human geography connections can be made here. Usually I make a connection to the Judeo/Christian/Islamic influence in America and segue into the reason for Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem - that is, the census for Roman taxation purposes.
- Then I introduce the transparencies of St. Paul. Showing the census tracts and the maps depicting streets, highways, and the Mississippi River gives the students a sense of where things are. For most people, a bit more information about St. Paul's development will help the examples make sense. Specifically, St. Paul's Asian population prior to 1977 was extremely small. The influx of Southeast Asians in the aftermath of the conflict in Southeast Asia dramatically changed the racial and ethnic makeup of the city. Because this phenomenon is not unique to St. Paul, it can be linked to other region-specific lessons. While this lesson focuses on the Hmong, the maps include other Asian ethnic groups for purposes of comparison and discussion. A map of the dispersion of African Americans is also included.
- I usually show the Vietnamese population map first. I cover up the legend that indicates that one dot equals one person and that the ethnic group represented is Vietnamese, because I want to see if the class can figure this out on their own, through asking questions or through my hints and prompts that the dots represent people. Then I uncover the legend, and they see what the dots mean.
- I recommend showing the Hmong, Asian American, and African American maps as the last three. The more knowledge of immigration and city patterns of housing a class has, the easier it is to draw out conclusions as to why people live where they do. When you show the Hmong transparency, two very heavily populated areas will jump out. These are public housing projects.
- Insights to be drawn from the maps: Note the concentration of immigrants in public housing and the concentration of immigrants and African Americans in the neighborhoods near the central business district. Here is your link to another human geography model.
A Few St. Paul-Specific Facts:
- Tract 301 in the northwest corner of the city contains the married student housing section of the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, also known as the agricultural campus. Many of the Asian residents there are or were students (or children of students) rather than refugees. You will see that there are no Hmong in this tract.
- Numbers 329 and 305 are the main public housing tracts.
- The central business district is tract 342.
- The Mississippi River forms much of both the western and southern boundaries and separates downtown from four census tracts.
- Tract 374, which appears uninhabited, contains the waste treatment plant, industry, railroad tracks running from downtown to points south (ultimately, Chicago), and open space. Homeless people inhabit this space quite regularly, but nobody surfaced in the census; this is another possible branching-out point.
- Adopted children make up a large part, but not all, of the Korean population.
- There is some distribution in census tracts that reflect middle- and upper-income housing.
- Tracts 307.02 and 318.02 border the 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) complex. Employment there may be a reason for residence in some cases.
Next Steps
The discussion/transparency segment takes up one to two one-hour class periods. There are many choices for follow-up activities. Students may use the statistical data and the maps to create a hand-shaded chloropleth map. This is an excellent introduction for the concepts used in making this style of map, and it's non-threatening to the student because the data and the map are provided. I would recommend that the students take one of the more represented populations, divide the number represented into five shaded areas going from light for lowest representation to darker for heavier representation. Students would be responsible for the legend and other map data that has been omitted in these maps.
Students also can use this as a kickoff to making chloropleth maps from their own research of census tract data, easily adapting the concept to any area of the U.S.
Evaluation
You may use a variety of methods and tools to evaluate students' understanding of the concepts covered in this lesson.
- Students' individual maps
- Students' explanations for choices they made to determine the composition of their maps
- Students' independent data gathering and mapping on census tracts of their choice
- Students' completion of a compare-and-contrast map and essay in which they use their home census tract and one that is located elsewhere
- An essay explaining the concepts of migration
- An assignment in which students make and justify predictions for St. Paul and its new immigrants
- Multiple-choice questions that are specific to both the Hmong part of the unit and the geographic themes that are presented.
-- Roy Magnuson
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