New Twin Cities-based initiative helps authors self-publish books in Hmong

NINA MOINI: Books written or translated into Hmong are relatively rare. It's estimated there are no more than 1,000 different book titles in Hmong. A new initiative is trying to change that in an effort to sustain and revitalize the language. It's called the untamed roots collective, and this weekend, it's launching self-published books in Hmong for more than a dozen authors.

Kha Yang Xiong is an author and leader of the project and joins me now in the studio. Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming today.

KHA YANG XIONG: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH], that means hello.

NINA MOINI: Hello. Kha, what important work you're doing, and I wonder what it was in your life that led you to commit this time and effort to the Hmong language, and making sure that it was reflected in literature for generations to come.

KHA YANG XIONG: So I was noticing that my siblings and my children, they were losing their Hmong. And so when I was doing my doctorate, I decided to study the experience of the Hmong students through the K-12. And so from my study, I learned that because my study was in Colorado, the students were not connected. They had huge language loss.

And so I thought, what can I do as one person? How can I change that story? And so in my little sphere of influence, I was like, one day at a time. And so that's why I started publishing books for Hmong students so that they can see themselves reflected in books, and they can be proud of who they are.

NINA MOINI: And then what brought you to Minnesota, and then were you surprised at the vibrance and the strength of the Hmong community here?

KHA YANG XIONG: Oh, my goodness. So my mom lives here and I wanted to spend more time with her. She's elderly and not as strong as it used to be. And so I came here and I just made so many friends and the connection is just unbelievable. And so with that, once some of my teacher friends found out that I had self-published, they were like, hey, we want to do that too.

And so just started from that and then it just grew. It just grew and then my friend Pang Yang from the nonprofit Minnesota Zej Zog, she's like, hey, I have books I want to publish. And so she was like, well, there is a little bit of funding, would you guide us? We're going to get a group of Hmong teachers together. Would you guide us and lead us through this work? And so that's how it started.

NINA MOINI: We had her on the show before as well and she introduced us to it which was so great. But some people may not know that written Hmong is relatively new, can you explain that?

KHA YANG XIONG: So the Hmong have been on the run. We've been running, and so it's been centuries. And so not that we don't have a written language, so much has been lost.

NINA MOINI: When you're fleeing due to war.

KHA YANG XIONG: Yes, war and persecution. So recently, just in the '50s, a group of missionaries, with the help of many Hmong, they created the writing system based on the Latin Roman alphabet. And so it was spread and now that's what we're using in the States. It's called the RPA, the Romanized Hmong Alphabet. And so that's what's used more commonly.

NINA MOINI: So when you're talking about sustaining language for generations to come, what do you think the connection is between literature specifically and helping to fight language loss because language loss is very painful? I've experienced that myself with my parents. It's like you really want to know and you want to keep things going and strong, but it probably helps to have the writing. So how do you see that connection?

KHA YANG XIONG: I mean, before I came to Minnesota, I was like, I'm very strong in Hmong and I feel very bilingual, I can stand in the middle. And then once I started writing, I was like, whoa, I'm not that strong. And I feel like there is so much I can still learn.

And it's because we don't have enough access to the language, the culture, the traditions that we would have if we were living in Laos. That daily interaction, listening to the beautiful language, metaphors that we didn't pick up. We have the basics, but we don't get that deep beautiful language. And so that piece is lost.

And so with books, we can bring that all back. And so books just does amazing things. And so I think this is that key connection.

Our parents were so busy working, they're just surviving. And so they do the best that they can, I mean, they want the best for us. You're here and you have to learn English and you have to survive. And so people are working, people are going to school, trying to better their lives. And so then we realize, wow, we've lost a lot of language and culture and traditions.

NINA MOINI: And that's why literature is so helpful, because books live on, these words live on the page forever, and people can reference them and go back to them. I wonder with these 12 or so other authors and books, I mean, what is it like for these authors to be able to publish their books? Have they faced barriers?

KHA YANG XIONG: So many. I mean, I have a teacher and she said, I've waited 30 years to publish this story. Her book is a traditional Hmong Kwv Txhiaj, It's like a song poetry. And then another teacher said, in second grade they told me I would never read. And these stories stay with us. And she was like, this won't ever happen to another child.

And so there's so many stories. The authors are also doing their individual launch, so every time I attend these launches, it just brings me to tears. Their dreams are being fulfilled.

NINA MOINI: It's fun to watch. The launches you're talking about, tell us about the launch event specifically this Saturday. We've got a couple minutes. I want to make sure everybody knows what's the plan for Saturday and then how can folks access these books.

KHA YANG XIONG: So Saturday we're going to be at Metro State from 1:00 to 4:00. All the authors will be coming. They're going to showcase their books.

So Minnesota people come and buy. School districts, please come and buy sets. I mean, these are made with love and they're coming from insider's view. And it's not assuming, it's the insider's lens. And so you are getting the authentic experience.

And they're created by teachers, for students, for families. And so I encourage everyone to come out and support us. Books range from K all the way to college level. We have mostly children's books, but a few novels, and so it's just amazing. And I encourage everyone to come and meet the authors and listen to their stories.

NINA MOINI: Whether you're of Hmong descent or not, just bringing people together at Metro State this weekend. Before we let you go, Kha, what's your advice to anyone else? Just quick words of advice to anyone else who feels like I will never get to accomplish that goal that I've been working toward, and maybe they were told they couldn't. What would you say?

KHA YANG XIONG: Do what's in your heart. Don't let anybody stop you. Do what you love and go for it.

NINA MOINI: Good advice, Kha. Thank you very much for stopping by Minnesota Now, and congratulations. Thank you.

KHA YANG XIONG: Thank you so much.

NINA MOINI: That's Kha Yang Xiong, one of the leaders of the Untamed Roots Collective, a group of authors self-publishing books in Hmong. Their launch event, again, is this Saturday at Metro State University in St. Paul.