Hmong Continuum

I've been on hiatus as work became busy and I can't even begin to backtrack the great cultural works I've witnessed over the past month.

Instead, I share this great video from the NY Times on contemporary Hmong life.

I first learned about the Hmong through Anne Fadiman's book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The book's moving prose focuses on one family and the challenges they encounter in Merced County, particularly after their daughter is diagnosed with epilepsy. Fadiman details the nomadic and rebellious history of the Hmong, their C.I.A.-supported war against  Communism in Laos, and their spiritual and cultural practices that conflict with western medicine.

Fadiman spoke recently to a standing-room-only auditorium filled with  medical professionals at SF General. Her reporting on the this book began over 22 years ago. Since then, both the medical community and the Hmong community have evolved.

Cultural competence, or "cultural humility," a phrase used by a spiritual counselor at SF General, is now emphasized in medical school to be more sensitive to different points of view a patient may have on their illness.

This video produced by the NY Times demonstrates how the next generation of Hmong are integrating American culture, like hip hop, with their traditions.