In the wake of criminal charges against Hmong hunter Chai Soua Vang for the murder of six hunters in Northern Wisconsin, Hmong-white relations in the state are being closely examined.
The number of Hmong hunters has grown significantly in the past five years. While there are already approximately 14,000 Hmong hunters in Wisconsin, more Hmong immigrants, mostly from Laos, settle in Wisconsin each year. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, at least half of all immigrants are expected to become hunters.
The influx has led to a wide distribution of hunting tickets among Hmong hunters as they often do not understand the Department of Natural Resource’s rules and regulations.
It can be difficult for Hmongs to understand the differences in the laws between their home country and the United States, officials say.
Language is also a major communication barrier between the Hmong hunters and DNR officials.
“Most of those hunters can’t speak English,” Joe Bee Xiong, executive director of the Hmong Friendship Association in Eau Claire, said. “If you give them the booklet, they can’t read it. Even if it’s in their own language they can’t read it. You have to teach them by visualizing [the information].”
The Hmong written language is a relatively new language — the most common form of it has only been in use since the ’60s. This creates a problem as the Hmong often are not able to read signs and guidelines, even if they are written in their language.
This has led to many Hmong hunters accidentally entering private property, much like what happened in the case of the recent northern Wisconsin shootings. This can lead to disputes among Hmong and white hunters.
Mike Bartz, Northern Regional Director for the DNR, pointed out that because of the language problems, the DNR appointed a Hmong liaison to reach out to the community. Kou Xiong, the liaison, has been in the department for the last eight years and works externally with the Hmong community and internally by conducting hunter-safety courses with Hmong hunters.
However, many feel Wisconsin does not have enough staff to handle the large Hmong community.
“I think we need more staff to educate the Hmong people,” Joe Bee Xiong said. “We only have one half-time person as a liaison, and we have more than 14,000 Hmong hunters in Wisconsin.”
The recent murders have created concern about tensions between Hmong and white hunters. Some claim tensions are high as the white hunters are angered by the Hmongs’ lack of knowledge about property rights and guidelines.
Bartz, however, doesn’t believe tensions are unusually high.
“I don’t think that [tensions] occur at any higher rate than between non-Asian hunters and white hunters,” Bartz said. “They don’t happen with any more frequency than we see typically.”
In light of the recent incident, many worry that if there was not anti-Hmong sentiment before, there will be now. Bartz, however, says though there are some negative comments being made, they are not representative of the general sentiment in the state.
“I can tell you that subsequent to the homicides, most of the hunters that we contacted in the northern region understand that this was the act of an individual and it’s not reflective of the Hmong community in Wisconsin,” Bartz said.
