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Hmong Pages
The cover of the first issue of Hmong Pages, published on July 1, 2010. Photograph by Cheu Lee; used with the permission of Cheu Lee.
Hmong Pages is a St. Paul-based newspaper created by, for, and about Hmong people. To reach a wide audience of individuals, it features articles written in both English and Hmong. The monthly publication seeks to raise awareness about Hmong people throughout the Twin Cities and is distributed across the metro area.
St. Paul resident and Hmong refugee Cheu Lee began taking pictures of Hmong neighbors in his community in 1982 and developed a passion for documenting their experiences through his lens. His photography work led him to become interested in photo journalism and in journalism more broadly.
In 1998, Lee began collaborating with his former math professor, Richard Wetzler, whom he had met at Lakewood Community College (renamed Century College in 1996). Together, he and Wetzler created Hmong Times, an independent newspaper company.
After the success of Hmong Times, Lee left the paper in 2000 to begin a new publication, Hmong Pages. He aimed to translate the photography skills he had developed in the 1980s to the front covers of Hmong Pages while also serving as its editor-in-chief. His primary goal was to feature articles written in the Hmong language as well as English so that both younger and older generations of Hmong could read the newspaper. Hmong Times articles, by contrast, had been written only in English.
Lee published the first edition of Hmong Pages on July 1, 2010, and established a process of working with a team of writers and graphic designers to prepare the product before it went to press each month. Through his editorial work, he met political figures like Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, Minnesota Senator Mee Moua, and General Vang Pao, the exiled commander of the CIA-backed Secret Army that had fought in the Civil War in Laos. Lee found unique stories of the Hmong diaspora through the people he encountered, which in turn informed his journalism. He met Julienne Xiaaj, a dancer and Hmong Minnesotan, on a plane ride to California when Xiaaj was traveling to perform in a dance competition.
To operate, Hmong Pages relies on income generated from the sale of advertisements sold to local companies. With the help of the restaurants, grocery stores, and community spaces that display it, the newspaper has become widely read. Once a month, when a new issue is printed, a distribution company transports bundles of papers to locations across the Twin Cities.
In the 2010s, Hmong Pages continues to represent the everyday lives and concerns of Hmong people, both in Minnesota communities and across the United States. It covers broad topics, from celebrated war veterans and human rights advocates to drug scandals and murders. Reporting on a variety of stories helps Lee keep readers up to date with the latest news stories that matter to Hmong people today.

Bibliography
Aanews. “May Song Vang Dies From Cancer.” Asian American Press, August 11, 2013.
http://aapress.com/ethnicity/hmong/may-song-vang-dies-from-cancer
Burke, Garance. “Mourners Salute Hmong Leader Vang Pao; Army Denies Arlington Burial.” Minnesota Public Radio, February 4, 2011.
www.mprnews.org/story/2011/02/04/vang-pao-funeral
Lee, Cheu. Interview with the author. September 24, 2018.
Thao, Dai. “Monthly Mag Chronicles Hmong Gender Politics in St. Paul’s Ward 1 Council Race.” Twincities.com, September 26, 2013.
http://blogs.twincities.com/cityhallscoop/2013/09/26/monthly-mag-chronicles-hmong-gender-politics-in-st-pauls-ward-1-council-race/
Related Resources
Primary
OH16
Hmong Oral History Project
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: The project consists of nine interviews with Hmong men and women from the Twin Cities metropolitan area who moved to Minnesota as refugees from Laos or Thailand.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10468865
OH86
Hmong Women’s Action Team Oral History Project
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: The project chronicles the contributions and experiences of Hmong women with ties to Minnesota. Members of the Hmong Women’s Action Team, a group of Hmong women community leaders and activists, interviewed each other and their mothers and grandmothers, and in one case a daughter.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10468879
Secondary
Lee, Gary Yia, and Nicholas Tapp. Culture and Customs of the Hmong. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010.
Vang, Chia Youyee. Hmong in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008.
——— . Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
Web
Minnesota Historical Society. Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees: Hmong.
http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/communities/hmong
Minnesota Historical Society. Hmong Timeline.
http://www.mnhs.org/hmong/hmong-timeline
Related Images
The cover of the August 2013 issue of Hmong Times. The issue featured details on the funeral of May Song Vang, also known to the Hmong people as Niam Maiv Ntxhoo or Niam Nais Phoo Vaj Pov. Vang, the youngest wife of General Vang Pao, had died on August 1, 2013. Photograph by Cheu Lee; used with the permission of Cheu Lee.
Rights: © Cheu Lee

First issue of Hmong Pages
The cover of the first issue of Hmong Pages, published on July 1, 2010. Photograph by Cheu Lee; used with the permission of Cheu Lee.
All rights reserved
Articles

Hmong Pages cover featuring an article on the funeral of General Vang Pao
The March 2011 issue of Hmong Times, which featured a story about the life and death of General Vang Pao. General Vang had died on January 6, 2011. Photograph by Cheu Lee; used with the permission of Cheu Lee.
All rights reserved
Articles

Hmong Pages cover featuring an article on the funeral of May Song Vang
The cover of the August 2013 issue of Hmong Times. The issue featured details on the funeral of May Song Vang, also known to the Hmong people as Niam Maiv Ntxhoo or Niam Nais Phoo Vaj Pov. Vang, the youngest wife of General Vang Pao, had died on August 1, 2013. Photograph by Cheu Lee; used with the permission of Cheu Lee.
Rights: © Cheu Lee
All rights reserved
Articles

Cheu Lee
Hmong Pages founder and editor-in-chief Cheu Lee outside his office at 736 Robert Street, St. Paul, December 10, 2018.
All rights reserved
Articles

Cheu Lee in his office
Cheu Lee, founder and editor-in-chief of Hmong Pages, in his office, December 10, 2018.
All rights reserved
Articles

Hmong Pages office
The exterior of the Hmong Pages office at 736 Robert Street, St. Paul, December 10, 2018.
All rights reserved
Articles
Related Articles
Turning Point
On July 1, 2010, founder and editor-in-chief Cheu Lee publishes the first edition of Hmong Pages. The front cover features an article on interracial marriage within the Hmong community.
Chronology
1998
2000
2010
2011
2013
Bibliography
Aanews. “May Song Vang Dies From Cancer.” Asian American Press, August 11, 2013.
http://aapress.com/ethnicity/hmong/may-song-vang-dies-from-cancer
Burke, Garance. “Mourners Salute Hmong Leader Vang Pao; Army Denies Arlington Burial.” Minnesota Public Radio, February 4, 2011.
www.mprnews.org/story/2011/02/04/vang-pao-funeral
Lee, Cheu. Interview with the author. September 24, 2018.
Thao, Dai. “Monthly Mag Chronicles Hmong Gender Politics in St. Paul’s Ward 1 Council Race.” Twincities.com, September 26, 2013.
http://blogs.twincities.com/cityhallscoop/2013/09/26/monthly-mag-chronicles-hmong-gender-politics-in-st-pauls-ward-1-council-race/
Related Resources
Primary
OH16
Hmong Oral History Project
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: The project consists of nine interviews with Hmong men and women from the Twin Cities metropolitan area who moved to Minnesota as refugees from Laos or Thailand.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10468865
OH86
Hmong Women’s Action Team Oral History Project
Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: The project chronicles the contributions and experiences of Hmong women with ties to Minnesota. Members of the Hmong Women’s Action Team, a group of Hmong women community leaders and activists, interviewed each other and their mothers and grandmothers, and in one case a daughter.
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10468879
Secondary
Lee, Gary Yia, and Nicholas Tapp. Culture and Customs of the Hmong. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010.
Vang, Chia Youyee. Hmong in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008.
——— . Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
Web
Minnesota Historical Society. Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees: Hmong.
http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/communities/hmong
Minnesota Historical Society. Hmong Timeline.
http://www.mnhs.org/hmong/hmong-timeline