Michele Schermann

Listening to Neglected Voices: Hmong and Public Lands in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Natural resource managers and policy-makers need to understand the cultures and perspectives of ethnic minority communities in order to serve them effectively. In this exploratory study, we focus on Hmong Americans, perhaps the least-studied and -understood Asian ethnic group in the United States. The Hmong, who lived in the mountains of Laos, were relatively isolated until they were secretly recruited and armed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1960s to fight the communist Pathet Lao and their North Vietnamese allies (Warner 1998). When the Americans abruptly withdrew from Vietnam and Laos and the pro-American Royal Laotian government collapsed in 1975, the Hmong fled persecution and annihilation from the new communist regime.Natural resource managers need to understand the cultures and concerns of ethnic minority communities in order to serve them effectively. The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group that is heavily involved in natural resource-related activities but has been largely overlooked by social scientists. We conducted a series of five focus groups with Hmong Americans in Minnesota and Wisconsin, exploring their experiences and perspectives on public lands. Our participants revealed deep cultural and personal connections with the natural world and the importance of public lands to many Hmong. But we also heard about profound problems and concerns. Perceptions of racism, discrimination, and harassment from public land managers and other agency personnel, recreationists, and private landowners are common. Participants had many suggestions for improvement and insights regarding the special needs of new refugees who arrived in the United States in recent years.

Use of the North American guidelines for children's agricultural tasks with Hmong farm families

This literature review synthesizes available studies on Hmong agricultural practices, patterns of childhood growth and development of Hmong children in the context of injury prevention, and potential application or adaptation of the North American Guidelines for Childrens Agricultural Tasks (Lee and Marlenga, 1999) for Hmong children working in the U.S. Data from qualitative interviews, focus groups, case studies, and surveys were collected, categories were determined, and themes were identified. Field tools and practices, gender roles, and reasons for farming were examined, as well as physical and cognitive development of Hmong children and Hmong parenting techniques to describe factors related to farm task assignment of children. Current agricultural practices of Hmong in the U.S. can be described as generally small-scale operations that use mainly hand tools, manual labor, and local direct-marketing techniques. Specific practices include thinning, weeding, and hoeing; carrying tools, buckets, or baskets; setting plant supports; and watering. Hmong children appear to be given greater amounts of responsibility at earlier ages than North American children. Hmong parenting practices, as would be used in task assignment, are somewhat more authoritarian-based and lead to psychosocial skills that are more group-oriented than individual-oriented. Hmong children were found to be shorter than children in the U.S. of the same ages. This review suggests that the NAGCAT cannot be literally translated and disseminated to Hmong farming families as an injury prevention intervention. Further information is needed about what farm tasks Hmong children do and how Hmong parents assign those tasks to children.

Listening to neglected voices: Hmong Americans and public lands in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Natural resource managers and policy-makers need to understand the cultures and perspectives of ethnic minority communities in order to serve them effectively. In this exploratory study, we focus on Hmong Americans, perhaps the least-studied and -understood Asian ethnic group in the United States. The Hmong, who lived in the mountains of Laos, were relatively isolated until they were secretly recruited and armed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1960s to fight the communist Pathet Lao and their North Vietnamese allies (Warner 1998). When the Americans abruptly withdrew from Vietnam and Laos and the pro-American Royal Laotian government collapsed in 1975, the Hmong fled persecution and annihilation from the new communist regime.Natural resource managers need to understand the cultures and concerns of ethnic minority communities in order to serve them effectively. The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group that is heavily involved in natural resource-related activities but has been largely overlooked by social scientists. We conducted a series of five focus groups with Hmong Americans in Minnesota and Wisconsin, exploring their experiences and perspectives on public lands. Our participants revealed deep cultural and personal connections with the natural world and the importance of public lands to many Hmong. But we also heard about profound problems and concerns. Perceptions of racism, discrimination, and harassment from public land managers and other agency personnel, recreationists, and private landowners are common. Participants had many suggestions for improvement and insights regarding the special needs of new refugees who arrived in the United States in recent years.

Orphan Boy the Farmer: Evaluating Folktales to Teach Safety to Hmong Farmers

ABSTRACT Many Hmong refugees continue their cultural tradition of farming in the United States. The purpose of this project was to evaluate culturally based storytelling as a method to convey farming safety information to Hmong families. Hmong have an oral tradition; spoken stories are used to teach about heritage, as well as personal and social values, and end with a lesson or moral that can apply to their lives. Stories from “Orphan Boy the Farmer” illustrate hazards, behaviors, consequences, and control strategies related to farm work typical of Hmong farming in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The message of the 3 stories is that the successful farmer works safely and keeps his children safe from injury. Three stories were read, in Hmong, at 6 events in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Data were collected from 118 participants using focus group discussions. Transcripts were translated and analyzed to identify ideas and reactions to the stories expressed by participants. Findings indicate that storytelling was an appealing delivery method for most of the participants of this study. Participants were able to recount story content pertaining to farming safety and relate messages to their experiences dealing with hazards; unanticipated findings uncovered barriers to adopting safe practices. Several aspects of the storytelling performance influence its effectiveness. Development of folktale content and implementation of storytelling performances are described.

Characteristics of children's agricultural tasks in Hmong farming communities

Abstract Hmong farm children perform different work tasks, have different roles and responsibilities, and are thus exposed to different hazards than most North American farm children. Hmong children perform tasks in four time-related phases: pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, and product marketing. Standard health and safety educational materials, including the North American Guidelines for Childrens Agricultural Tasks, are not widely accepted by Minnesota Hmong farmers. This qualitative work is a precursor to the creation of culturally and contextually appropriate materials and guidelines to address the health and safety needs of Hmong children working on their familys production acreage. Methods used include literature review, focus groups, semistructured interviews, and field observations.

Culturally Appropriate Environmental Education: An Example of a Partnership with the Hmong American Community.

A partnership with the Hmong American community produced “The Wildlife and Wilderness Exploration Show,” a DVD that puts a modern twist on traditional Hmong storytelling. Key educational messages in the DVD were identified through interviews with Hmong natural resource professionals. The messages are delivered in entertaining segments in the DVD, which was created through collaboration with the Hmong arts and theater community. In contemporary Hmong American culture, DVDs are a popular form of entertainment and cultural learning, making the format appropriate for new refugees and elders with limited English proficiency, as well as the broader and multigenerational Hmong community.

Needs Assessment of Employers in Swine Production Facilities Regarding Employee Health and Safety

The pork production industry has increasing numbers of large producers using cost saving technologies which have the potential to pose health and safety hazards for employees working in these environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the needs of hog production employers related to providing a safe and healthy environment for employees, complying with federal and state health and safety regulations, and sources of outside assistance which are most helpful to these employers. A mailed survey assessing variables associated with demographics of producers, injury and illness experience, and strategies used in the prevention of injuries and illness, was sent to subscribers of National Hog Farmer magazine. In all operations and those with 10 or more employees, producers were most concerned about employees experiencing back/neck injury and slips or falls. Moving and handling animals was the most frequently reported task associated with injury or illness. Veterinarians and pork industry magazines were reported as the most useful sources of employee health and safety information for all producers. Producers report a need for training materials on first aid, animal handling and care techniques, air quality monitoring, and lung function testing for employees. Employee health and safety protection is part of doing business. This study provides important information for individuals and institutions promoting employee health and safety in the pork production industry.

A pilot project to develop culturally and linguistically-appropriate pesticide/chemical education materials for Hmong produce growers

Annalisa Hultberg, MS; Michele Schermann, RN, MS; Palee Yang, RN1Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USAThe purpose of this projec...

Farm Alarm: Coping with Stress Using Theater for Agricultural Health and Safety Education

Farm stress is a major health and safety issue for farm families. The goal of this project was to assist people living and working in agricultural communities to develop strategies to protect themselves or others against the negative effects of stress using innovative educational modes and facilitating linkages with local resources.

A Survey of Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Activities and Knowledge Among Minnesota’s Extension Service Educators

Extension educators in 83 of 87 Minnesota counties were surveyed by phone to identify the level of current programming for children about farm safety and health, the program-related needs of the educators, and whether they were familiar with the North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT). The survey results revealed that over 12,000 children in Minnesota were involved with farm safety and health educational programs through the University of Minnesota Extension Service during the year 2000. Additional resources educators requested included demonstration ideas, videos, and public service announcements. Thirty-four (41%) of the extension educators had heard of the NAGCAT and seven (8%) of them had been promoting the NAGCAT in their counties.