IOWA, USA — As Hmong New Year celebrations wrap up around the country for 2023, many who took time to reflect on the history that brought the community here. But they are also thinking about how we can build on it.
Hmong Iowans who have made history in the Hawkeye State like Doua Lor believe Hmong history is directly connected to where the community is heading in the future.
Lor, a refugee from Laos, is a veteran law enforcement officer with the Des Moines Police Department.
"Here I am 28 years later," he said.
Lor is a trailblazer for police departments in Iowa, something he had no idea he was doing when he swore the oath to protect back in the 1990s.
"I was the first Hmong police officer and the first southeast Asian police officer," Lor told Local 5's Chenue Her. "My dad was lucky enough... he was in his dying bed and he saw me being promoted through a video connection in the hospital."
Today, he is Sgt. Doua Lor, making him the only Hmong person ever promoted to that rank in Iowa. And he's worked hard to do good for Des Moines with his position. He's constantly learning.
"I could do Thai, Tai Dam, Hmong, English, and Lao," said Lor as he listed off the different languages he fluently speaks, adding how each has helped him in law enforcement with connecting with the community.
Through different youth and community programs, he's given back to the city and the youth, important for him as a husband, father and Hmong American.
Lor recalled meeting a young man recently who he worked with in the past and the man told Lor if it wasn't for the influence the longtime sergeant had in his life, the man felt he likely would've ended up in prison. It's that kind of impact that Lor sees his job can have.
Christine Her knows that side of Lor well. She leads youth and young artists as Executive Director of Artforce Iowa. She and her family have known Lor for most of her life.
"To me, he's not just Des Moines PD. To me he's like an uncle who does that," Her said.
Her and Lor both lead youth in Iowa because they understand it's crucial for the future.
As Hmong people around the country throw Hmong New Year celebrations like the big annual one in St. Paul, Minn., it's obvious to Her why the excitement for this time of year is high and the celebrations are seeing booming attendance numbers.
"For you to see that resurgence of Hmong pride, especially over the last couple of years, what's that been like for you to see?" Chenue asked Her.
"It's awesome. We're seeing more and more Hmong people in mainstream media and that's exciting. We've got Suni. We've got Brenda Song who's been in this forever and now she's getting her recognition as a Hmong American, so I think it just aids us to feel that we can be our greatest, wildest dreams," Her responded. "Hmong kids are saying 'I look like that person. I can be a news anchor. I can be an executive director of an arts organization. I can be a chef. I can be an Olympian. I can be a movie star.'"
Who understands more about the Olympian Her is talking about than John Lee and Yeej Thov, parents of USA gymnastics star, Sunisa Lee, the world's first ever Hmong Olympic gold medalist.
"I think nowadays, not only do we see our kids growing up to be successful, but we also have the parents who are supporting their kids," said Lee, who told Local 5 his generation didn't have much support from their parents when it came to extracurricular activities such as sports.
Lee and Thov think it's that support paired with investing in the future that has helped Hmong people continue to thrive.
"We've got all these other kids with big names moving up – motorcycle, boxing, Kpop, all of that stuff," Lee said.
"With Sunisa, I didn't force her. She was good at what she was doing and it was just fun. Pretty much, it was like we'll just support," Thov said. "All of my kids, John and I, we're pretty active so I always encourage all of my kids to sign up for sports. I'm a little pushy. John's chill. But with all of my kids, I encourage them to sign up for something because it's good for your college applications. That's what I tell them."
Their story has inspired Hmong people all over, much like Chef Yia Vang's story in Minneapolis.
"Mom taught me how to make purple sticky rice. She would take my hands and she would put it in the rice and she would tell me to make my fingers like this and you'd have to stir it up," he said, reminiscing about the impact his parents had on his journey to becoming who he is today.
Now, he's an award-winning chef and owner of Union Hmong Kitchen with multiple locations in Minneapolis. Chef Yia's past goes hand in hand with his future.
"We get to build on what our parents and their parents built on and hopefully one day our kids get to build on that. That's what being Hmong is about. We've always done that with or without the media," he said.
Progress takes time, as they've learned. And, with time, hopes for the Hmong community based on their own life experiences.
"A lot of people told me that Sunisa would never make it. I did a lot of fundraising throughout the years and they said 'She's just doing it. She probably won't make it'. But when she made then people started realizing that 'Oh, she can do it'. A lot of kids out there with a lot of talent, please support them," said Lee.
"I think one of the big hopes I have – our young kids as they're growing up, they become incredible operators, tacticians, dominant in whatever field they go in because we need that representation in there. Go and be the best. Don't just be the best Hmong dot, dot, dot. Go and be the best," Chef Yia explained.
Seeing how parents like Lee and Thov supported Sunia and hearing stories like Chef Yia's parents' influence on his career, Her believes these moments are what springs everyone forward.
"When I saw Christine, she was just a baby. We were going to church together. It's an eye-opener. It is about that. This is what I say again and again. Your sons and daughters do not have to be doctors and lawyers. Like Christine, she can lead people through arts and music. She can heal people and that's important and as a young leader, she can go that much and have that impact in the community. We can use more people like her in the community," Lor recalled.
As she was shown a video clip of Lor praising her, Her got emotional.
"That's so sweet. I'm going to try not to cry. That's sweet. I think in our community, right, we don't have a lot of elders who understand the arts. But, I feel very warm and it makes me feel good because you don't hear that very often, where elders are telling the younger generation 'Be an actor. Be a musician. We need that,'" Her said.
Lor's support for the younger generation continues in Iowa. After nearly 30 years as the first and only Hmong officer turned sergeant with DMPD, he was able to help recruit the department's second Hmong officer, a young man named Leng Lee from Storm Lake.
In part one of this story, which aired on Local 5 News in November, Iowan Sandy Yang spoke about her past and how her Hmong roots led her to the Hawkeye State and the work she does now. You can watch that story here.