Laotian Americans

History of Laos

Laos is an underdeveloped country and home to an estimated 5.9 million people, as of 2007, who mostly practice subsistence agriculture. A mountainous country landlocked by Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and China, it is home to an ethnically diverse population. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang (or “Land of a Million Elephants”), which existed from the 14th to 18th centuries. The country has been ruled by competing monarchies and foreign powers such as Thailand, Japan, and France.

In 1954, Laos gained full independence with the end of France's colonial rule of Indochina; however, years of civil war ensued, and in 1975 the communist Pathet Lao regime took control of the country. Consequently, many Laotians sought refuge in neighboring Thailand and other countries, where they were placed in refugee camps. Through resettlement programs, many Laotians gained entry to the United States as refugees. Today, Lao People's Democratic Republic is founded as a socialist multiethnic nation.

Migration and Settlement

Laotian Americans' ethnic makeup is diverse, with ethnic groups that have their own distinct languages, beliefs, and cultural traditions. The three major subgroups are named after their traditional residence patterns: the lowlanders (Lao Loum, also referred to as Lao), the midlanders (Lao Theung), and the high-landers (Lao Soung). The lowlanders are the largest of the many ethnic groups and are linguistically and ethnically close to neighboring Thailand. The midlanders are considered to be of Austro-Asiatic (Mon-Khmer) origin and are regarded as the original inhabitants of Laos. They have the greatest cultural and linguistic differences, with groups including the Kmhmu, Lamet, Katang, Makong, Loven, and Lawae. The highlanders are considered an ethnic minority group and include the Hmong, Mien, Akha, and Lahu—all linguistically different. Indigenous to southern China, they migrated 200 years ago to escape Chinese oppression and have resided in the highlands of Laos as subsistence farmers practicing slash-and-burn cultivation. For the purpose of this entry, Laotian Americans include all people with roots in Laos, including Hmong Americans. However, statistics presented in this entry exclude Hmong Americans because data reported by the U.S. Census Bureau are separate for them.

Due to changes in immigration laws, the number of Asian Americans has increased greatly since the 1960s. The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 opened the gate for the flow of migration of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Laotians were predominantly part of the second wave of refugees, who tended to be farmers and villagers and to be less educated and poorer than the first-wave immigrants. From 1979 to 1981, they arrived in great numbers—approximately 105,000.

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