All posts filed under: History

MIA Erasure, My Reflection

Published by Bryan Thao Worra

To much fanfare, the exhibit Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 opened in Minnesota at the Minneapolis Institute of Art this month and will run until January 5th, 2020. It’s billed as a way to look at “the innovative ways artists talked back, often in the streets and other public venues. The exhibition presents nearly 100 works by 58 of the period’s most visionary, provocative artists.” For Southeast Asians of Vietnamese, Hmong, Laotian, and Cambodian descent, and active military veterans, you can even see the exhibit for free. It’s been a long time since I’ve been given free admission to an art exhibit to witness the complete erasure of my community’s perspective and reactions to the Vietnam War, the Secret War, and the Killing Fields. For Minnesotans, who arguably have one of the most deeply tangled relationships with Southeast Asia than almost any other US state, this ought to be a stirring and profound exhibit: one filled with so many heartbreaking memories and reflections on themes and issues addressed over four decades ago, …

The SEAD Project: Spring Language Courses Open for Registration!

Published by Saysomphorn Sisavatdy

Do you know what the best part of a diaspora is? Rough question, maybe. Never fear—I’ve got a great answer. At least, enough to be forgiven for asking such a crazy question, I think. It’s when the displaced try to reconnect with their roots! There’s lots of avenues this can take. Let’s discuss a very direct one—the gift of communication. In a world that relies more and more on not just being able to communicate—but to do it well, it’s time we figured out a way to do this with our own family members, right?! Say it with me, “Sabaidee Pa-ta! Kanoi sih pah Pa-ta bpai gin khao!” Cause, food. What’s a better example than our national favorite topic? Unofficial, but I dare the person to correct me on this. Never mind all the reasons your Lao is iffy. Some of us didn’t have the opportunity to use it—so we lost a lot of it. Some of us never learned to read/write because, gosh darnit, why didn’t our parents bring the Lao language learning books with …