INT101 H109 Dakota, Polish, Hmong: Cultures That Shaped Winona

As part of the Hmong Youth Cultural Awareness Project, Hmong students in Minneapolis conducted interviews with elders and parents in the community. The results were edited and compiled into this written account.

In the 1860s and 1870s, after the Dakota had fought a disastrous war with the whites who had taken their land, Samuel Pond recorded his recollection of the indians "to show what manner of people the Dakotas were... while they still retained the customs of their ancestors." Pond's work, first published in 1908, is now considered classic.

A collection of thirty-six narrative accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862. As a group the narratives offer a unique spectrum of views of the 1862 conflict, one far different from that presented by Euro-Americans and one that parallels in part the factionalism that existed in the Dakota community.

This book describes the culture of the Kashubian community of southeastern Minnesota, illustrated with over 200 vintage images. It salvages a history that has almost been amalgamated into the swirling melting pot because of the difficulty of their language, the spelling of their names, and the lack of recognition of their efforts.

Polish Americans have been part of Minnesota history since before the state's founding. Taking up farms along newly laid rail networks, Polish immigrants fanned across the countryside in small but important concentrations. John Radzilowski tells the story of the Polish Americans, many of them political refugees, who created and sustained community institutions across Minnesota. This deft overview, filled with intriguing details, shows how Polish Americans established their own cultural identity within the state.

The Hmong are one of the most recent immigrant groups, and their remarkable and moving story is told in Hmong in Minnesota. Chia Youyee Vang reveals the colorful, intricate history of Hmong Minnesotans, many of whom were forced to flee their homeland of Laos when the communists seized power during the Vietnam War. Vang offers a unique window into the lives of the Minnesota Hmong through the stories of individuals who represent the experiences of many.