Pair of fine silver (>92.5% silver content) slip-on earrings made in a traditional Hmong style. The U-shaped loops curve under the wearer’s earlobes, ending in spirals behind the ears; the front sides of the earrings are decorated with silver cones with beading on their bases. Free-sliding rings on the U-shaped loops hold seven pendants of spiral wire each ending in two flat arrowhead shapes. The earrings were made in refugee camps in Thailand by a Hmong refugee and relative of May Yang. Yang brought the earrings to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1981.

For details, view the earrings in our online collections database.

Wooden top made in June of 1983 by Sying Yang, a Hmong immigrant to St. Paul, when he was 13 years old.

For details, view the top in our online collections database.

Rice cake tub made by Xiong Pao Yang, a resident of St. Paul’s Mcdonough Housing Projects, in 1984.  The tub was used by Yang’s relatives in the St. Paul and Minneapolis area until 1995. The making of glutinous rice cakes is a communal event for Hmong families in which multiple relatives gather together in a single place.

For details, view the tub in our online collections database.

Bamboo and metal qeej (pronounced kheng) made by Shong Ger Thao of St. Paul, Minnesota in 1999.  A qeej is a free-reed musical instrument with multiple pipes.  Though Chinese in origin, the instrument is played by Hmong as well as Dong musicians.

For details, view the qeej in our online collections database.

Rice steamer (in Hmong,  lauj ncuab ncus mov or pot making rice) consisting of two parts:  a spittoon-like aluminum vessel and a woven bamboo basket in an elongated cone shape. Purchased in 1995 and used by members of the Hmong community in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

For details, view the rice steamer in our online collections database.

Man’s ensemble to be worn at Hmong New Year celebrations made by Mrs. You Mai Chang (Sai Yang) of St. Paul, Minnesota circa 1999.  The ensemble includes a jacket, vest, pants, sash, and hat.  The sash is a traditional Chinese accessory and was purchased by Mrs. Chang to accessorize the outfit.

For details, view the ensemble in our online collections database.

Adirondack chair kit produced by Joel Sisson’s Green Chair Project, a community construction initiative with an emphasis on outreach to inner city youth founded in Minneapolis circa 1993.  The plywood crate contains the wood parts needed to build an Adirondack chair and the jigs/templates used to assemble the chair and to cut additional parts.   The kit’s parts comprise a crate bottom with several attached jigs and templates; a crate lid with attached jig and template; side rails/rear feet; armrests; seat slats; backrest slats; a backrest support; seat supports; front legs; and armrest support brackets.

For details, view the kit in our online collections database.

Hmong paj (flower in English; pronounced “pa”) ornament made of plastic beads and embroidery floss. Ornaments of this type are typically hung in a doorway or from a ceiling. Made in St. Paul, Minnesota circa 1982 by May Yang.

For details, view the ornament in our online collections database.

Story cloth illustrating the participation of Hmong people in the Laotian Civil War (1953-1975), also known as the Secret War, and the subsequent Hmong genocide, resistance, exile in Thailand and emigration to the United States.  The scenes depicted on the cloth include the CIA-operated Laotian town of Long Chien as it appeared from 1967-1974; the flight of the Hmong from Laos into Thailand across the Mekong River; the refugee camp at Vinai; Hmong people studying English at Phanat Nikhom; and their arrival at and departure from a Bangkok airport.  The cotton cloth’s figures are embroidered; its border is appliqued.  Made in 1985.

For details, view the cloth in our online collections database.

Paj ndau (paj ntaub) or flower cloth, a traditional Hmong decorative textile.  The cotton cloth is square-shaped, reverse-appliqued and hand-embroidered.  Made in Saint Paul, Minnesota during the 1980s.

For details, view the paj ndau in our online collections database.