Laotian Americans

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are 232,130 Laotian Americans, although national Laotian American organizations estimate there are at least 100,000 more. The discrepancy may be due in part to ethnic Chinese or Vietnamese Americans from Laos identifying as Chinese or Vietnamese Americans on the census form, and the tendency of Hmong and Yao people from Laos to disclaim the Laotian identity. The word Laotian is used broadly to refer to national origin; the Lao people are the largest ethnic group in Laos. Laos is a landlocked country in southeast Asia that was formerly a French protectorate. A lengthy civil war after independence in 1953 ended with the victory of the communist faction, which remained in power in 2012.

Most early Laotian immigrants arrived in the United States as “boat people”—refugees fleeing [Page 1330]the country en masse by boat—in the 1970s and 1980s, many of them having first fled to refugee camps in Thailand during the civil war or in its immediate aftermath. By 1980, the Laotian American population was just under 50,000. Many settled on the west coast, in California, Washington, and Oregon.

The Laotian population is very well distributed, with significant communities in Minnesota; Texas; Illinois; Wisconsin; Kansas; Virginia and the Washington, D.C., area; New York and New Jersey; Ohio; Oklahoma; Iowa; Utah; Colorado; Florida; Delaware; North Carolina; Michigan; Alabama; Louisiana; and all of New England. The largest communities are in Wausau, Wisconsin (the Hmong are 11 percent of the population, the largest ethnic minority); the San Francisco area; Sacramento; Seattle; Minneapolis; Dallas; San Diego; Fresno; Providence; Elgin, Illinois; and Los Angeles. The federal government continues to assist with the resettlement of refugees.

Laotian Americans face particular health concerns, including one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country and an epidemic of lung cancer, which kills 87 percent of Laotian American men. Laotian Americans are the number one carriers of the Hepatitis B virus, an inflammatory liver disease transmitted by body fluids, in the United States. Though Hepatitis B rarely leads to death, chronic Hepatitis B leads to liver cancer, the second-highest cause of death among Laotian Americans.

The largest Laotian cultural festival is the celebration of the Lao New Year. It takes place in April, with vendors, food, music, and dance. These dancers are in Lao traditional garb. The Lao New Year is the most widely celebrated festival in Laos and is also celebrated in the United States, Canada, France, and Australia. The U.S. Census reported 232,130 people identifying as Laotian Americans in 2010.

The Laotian American National Association (LANA) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1999, growing out of talks at the 1997 National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese. LANA is principally an organization for distributing information to the Laotian community, facilitating professional and social networking while disseminating information about relevant government policy and legislative actions [Page 1331]and other community concerns. It represents the interests of the Laotian American people in coalitions with other immigrant groups, civil rights groups, and Asian American organizations.

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