The Hmong American community in Wisconsin is commemorating a milestone: 50 years since the first Hmong refugee families resettled in the Fox Valley following the U.S.-aligned “Secret War” in Southeast Asia.
To honor the anniversary, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center hosted a vibrant cultural celebration this week, featuring traditional music, dance, cuisine, and a performance of The Latehomecomer, a stage adaptation of Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang’s acclaimed memoir, as reported by WLUK-TV (FOX 11 News).
Today, Wisconsin is home to the third-largest Hmong American population in the U.S., following California and Minnesota. Appleton alone is home to approximately 3,000 Hmong residents. The next chapter in this growing legacy will begin this fall with the opening of the Hmong American Immersion School (HAIS)—a public charter school aimed at integrating Hmong language, history, and identity into the educational experience.
“It’s the first Hmong charter school in northeast Wisconsin,” said Dr. Thai Xiong, Impact Director at HAIS, in an interview with WFRV-TV (We Are Green Bay). “Back then, little was known about Hmong culture, and we want that visibility to grow.”
The celebration also served as an early kickoff to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, which begins each May. Organizers emphasized the importance of honoring not only cultural traditions, but also the educational and civic impact the Hmong community has had since arriving in the United States five decades ago.
As the community reflects on 50 years of history, the launch of HAIS signals a future rooted in cultural pride, visibility, and intergenerational learning.
Support our June Membership Drive and receive member-only benefits. With less than three days left in our fundraising drive, we are running out of time. We are just 57% of our goal of $10,000 in new donations and monthly and annual donation pledges and 48% of our goal of gaining 25 new recurring donors by the end of the month. We need your help during these challenging times. Please help to ensure quality content in amplifying the voices of the AAPI community.
We are published by the non-profit Asian American Media Inc and supported by our readers along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, Report for America/GroundTruth Project & Koo and Patricia Yuen of the Yuen Foundation.
You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed. Contact us at info @ asamnews dot com for more info.
