Hmong Story Cloth

A Hmong story cloth or Paj Ntaub, is a textile art that is embroidered and practiced by Hmong men and women to record and retell the stories of my Hmong community. And when I was little, I found one of my grandmother’s unfinished story cloths. It was raggedy, stained in one corner, and smelled of mold and mildew. The pink and green threads that were once so bright had become tangled and faded as it simply trailed of the embroidered art. On this story cloth, it told the story of desperate Hmong refugees crossing the Mekong river from Laos into Thailand. Regardless of so, the stained and unembellished cloth could no longer finish its own story as my grandmother’s hands became unable to handle the fine needle art. I picked it up knowing that I was holding my Hmong community’s history in my hands but threw it away without acknowledgement of who I was. Without realizing it though, I became the very person to continue embroidering its

Cultural competence is an important key feature as a humanitarian aid worker due to the job requiring one to interact with different cultures and ethnicities. Previously at UMR, I have taken Ethics of Sociology where I learned how different cultures, classes, races and ethnicities are viewed by society and how it affects their health. Along with this course, I took CLI: Community Collabortory where I specifically researched ways to increase the diversity and inclusivity on campus. I met with multiple organizations, such as the Diversity Council, to learn how to help students accept and participate in other cultures. In my capstone next spring, I plan to take Drugs and Society to continue to understand how different cultures, classes, races and ethnicities perceive drug use and treatment. Along with this course, I also plan to volunteer for the Diversity Council to learn the history of other cultures’