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Portrait of a Hmong girl in Laos, 1920s. Courtesy Noah Vang, St. Paul
1893
The Kingdom of Laos became a “protectorate,”or colony, of France, as part of what was known as French Indochina.
The Hmong of Laos—perhaps as many as 30,000—were heavily taxed and oppressed by French and Laotian authorities.
Xieng Khouang Province was the region of greatest Hmong influence in Laos.
Other provinces that had concentration of Hmong includes Luang Prabang, Phongsaly, Sam Neua, and Xayaboury.
1900s
The French and Laotian authorities were letting Hmong leaders, especially from the Moua, Lee, and Yang clans, deal directly with Hmong issues.
The Laotians wanted one kilo of opium per household. . . . They even took our livestock and money. . . . Some of the parents had to sell their children to pay for the taxes. Some parents were so upset they committed suicide by taking poison.
PA SENG THAO, in Paul Hillmer, A People’s History of the Hmong, 2010
Since the beginning, the King of Xieng Khouang had always given the authority to the Chao Mouang [Mayor] of Ban Bane to administer the Hmong people in the Nong Het area. When the Hmong people increased in numbers and became prosperous, an old Chao Mouang of Ban Bane decided to nominate a Hmong person to be the Phutong (local official) to help him administer the Hmong people in the Hmong villages.
The Hmong Phutong worked very hard. He quickly settled every small dispute so that the villages could make their living peacefully. The Hmong people were very happy. They like the Phutong very much and honored him like a father.
TOUBY LYFOUNG, in Dr. Touxa Lyfoung’s Touby Lyfoung: An authentic account of the life of a Hmong man in the troubled land of Laos (1996)
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