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St. Cloud State University
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Hmong professor honored for book
By Pratip Goswami
Published:
Monday, September 30, 2002
Dia Cha, SCSU professor of cultural anthropology, ethnic studies and Hmong culture was honored on Thursday at the Humanities Education Center in St. Paul for her book, “Dia’s Story Cloth.”
Stanley Romanstein, president of the Minnesota Humanities Commission, presented Cha with the award in the presence of Hmong community members. Mee Moua, the only Hmong Minnesota senator, made an introductory speech for the awards ceremony and emphasized the importance of enhancing the culture and the educational presence of the Hmong community in the United States.
Cha is the only female Hmong professor in the United States. She believes that her book will bring awareness to the young Hmong population about the trying times their grandparents went through in their passage to the United States. When asked what the award meant to her, Cha said that she was very proud to be the only Hmong professor to receive such an award.
Cha grew up listening to stories about the long and horrifying journey thousands of Hmong people undertook from China, Thailand, and other southeast Asian nations to the United States.
When asked about her childhood days, Cha said, “Growing up in the hostile atmosphere of the refugee camps was not easy and involved a lot of struggle and courage”.
Dia’s Story Cloth is based on the stories narrated by Cha’s aunt and uncle in the form of needlework on a piece of bedspread-sized cloth. The stitches depict her family’s flight from their enemies through forests, across turbulent rivers and tough border controls through Vietnam, China, Thailand, and eventually the United States.
Cha has written other books on Hmong folk tales. She is the only Hmong professor at SCSU, and a distinguished member of the local Hmong community.
She believes that her book will be especially beneficial for Hmong children and that the circulation of the book in two different dialects would help the Hmong community to learn about the “long journey”.
Dia’s Story Cloth is more a cultural message to the common people than a story, Cha said.
With hopes of reaching out to the masses, Dia’s Story Cloth has already won the heart of the Minnesota Humanities Commission.
