Landscapes and lifescapes: Three generations of Hmong women and their gardens
Author(s):
Corlett, Jan Louise
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of California, Davis, 1999.
Pages:
401
Language:
English
Abstract:
Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, more than one and a half million Southeast Asian refugees have been resettled in the United States. Secondary migration after initial resettlement has contributed to substantial clustering of refugees, and according to the 1990 Census, California was home to nearly half of them. The Hmong people from Laos were among these refugees. They were not typical of other immigrants in that they arrived without basic literacy, numeracy, and job skills and lacked the urban experience of other Southeast Asians. This study explored the lives of three generations of Hmong women in California. Traditional culture was maintained through garden plots, needlework, Hmong New Year celebrations, and living in close proximity to Hmong relatives. American culture was encountered through health care providers, social service agencies, and public school systems. The teenage daughters were learning to shift between worlds: the American world at school, and the Hmong world at home. The gardens were refuges for the elderly women, familiar places where their skills were useful. For both elderly and middle generation women, the gardens were significant sources of food for their families. Hmong refugees brought many exotic plants to California that were widely used for seasoning foods, as well as for medicinal purposes. The present study identified plants growing in Hmong gardens, deposited a voucher collection in the Herbarium at the University of California, Davis, and analyzed the basic nutritional mineral composition of 25 selected species.