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SEA 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
EXHIBITS
EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
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Wed - Thu: 9 am - 3 pm

Friday - Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm

422 University Avenue W Suite 14
St. Paul MN 55103

hello@xiagallerycafe.com

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© 2025 by XIA Gallery & Cafe

1946-1954: Indochina War takes place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia between the Việt Minh and France.

1955-1975: Vietnam War takes place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia between communists in North Vietnam and anti-communists in South Vietnam.

1960: U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey urges Congress and President Eisenhower to pass legislation to provide aid towards refugee relief.

1961-1975: The Secret War begins in Laos. The CIA recruits ethnic minorities, including the Hmong, to participate in covert military operations against the spread of communism.

1975: Minnesota Governor, Wendell Anderson, creates the Indochinese Refugee Resettlement Office to streamline the work of volunteer organizations and federal agencies. Vietnamese and Hmong refugees begin arriving in Minnesota.

1976: Kim Long restaurant opens on University Ave, becoming one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in St. Paul.

1977: The Hmong Association of Minnesota is founded.

• One of the earliest Vietnamese “Year of the Snake” Tết celebrations is held at the St. Augustine Parish Center in St. Cloud.

1978: The first Hmong Soccer Tournament is held at Harriet Park.

1979: Cambodian refugees begin settling in Minnesota.

• The first Hmong New Year is held at the St. Paul Salvation Army.

1980: Lao refugees begin arriving in Minnesota.

1982: The Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society is formed.

• The first Minnesota Hmong International Freedom Festival is organized.

1983: The Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota is founded.

• Hmong farmers earn membership to the St. Paul and Minneapolis Farmers Markets.

1987: The Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota is founded.

1990: The Science Museum of Minnesota features the exhibit “Odyssey: Tradition in Transition”, showcasing a visual history of the Hmong journey coming to the U.S.

• The Hmong American Partnership is founded.

1992: Choua Lee is elected on the St. Paul School Board, becoming the first Hmong-American elected official.

1993: The United Cambodian Association of Minnesota is founded.

• Xang Vang and St. Paul Mayor, Norm Coleman, ask the City Council to allocate over $200k to develop University Ave and Frogtown for the Southeast Asian community.

Conditions That Led to Southeast Asian Immigration to Minnesota

Cultural Preservation, Collective Healing & Growing Representation

1994: The Hmong American Institute of Learning published the literary journal, Paj Ntaub Voice, edited by Hmong-American writer, Mai Neng Moua, to build a community of Hmong artists.

1996: Hmong-American activist, comedian, and motivational speaker, Tou Ger Xiong, creates Project Respectism, a performance program that promotes pride in one’s heritage as a response to racism.

1998: Hmong community protests against racist comments made by KQRS radio show host, Tom Bernard, resulting in KQRS publicly apologizing, but not from Bernard himself.

• The Center for Hmong Arts and Talent is founded.

• The Lao Women’s Association is founded.

2000: The Wattanak Dance Troupe is founded by Sodanny Eir and Yousedy Peov to preserve Folk and Classic dance styles of the Cambodian repertoire.

2001: 700 new Hmong Americans are sworn in as naturalized citizens as a result of the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000.

2003: Bao Phi becomes the first Vietnamese-American man to appear on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.

• The first Hmong LGBTQ+ organization, Shades of Yellow, is founded.

2004: Hmongtown Marketplace is founded in St. Paul off Como Ave by Toua Xiong.

2005: 3HMONGTV news outlet is founded by Mitch Lee.

2006: 19-year old Fong Lee dies after being shot several times by Minneapolis officer Jason Andersen.

• The Hmong community, with support from the Black community, rallies in support of Fong Lee and advocates for Andersen to be found guilty of this unjust murder.

2007: Members of the Minnesota Cambodia Buddhist Society consecrate a temple on their own land in Hampton.

2008: Kao Kalia Yang publishes her first book “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir”.

2009: Hmong Village Marketplace opens on the east side of St. Paul.

• The Asian Economic Development Association is founded in response to the building of the Green Line light rail transit.

2011: Hmong American Farmers Association is formed.

• The SEAD Project is founded with the mission to be a creative hub for Southeast Asian diaspora communities.

2013: Revival of Minnesota’s Boun Pha Vet Celebration, a traditional Lao Buddhist celebration.

2014: The Hmong Cultural Center Museum is founded.

• The Funny Asian Women Kollective is founded by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, May Lee-Yang, and Naomi Ko to combat the dehumanization of APIDA women using comedy.

2015: A ceremony is held for the building of the Secret War memorial on the state capitol grounds in St. Paul.

• The Hmong Museum is founded to preserve history, art, material, and knowledge.

2016: Transforming Generations is founded, providing culturally relevant services for Hmong victims and survivors of gender-based violence.

• MN8 is founded, providing advocacy and direct services for eight Cambodian-American refugees facing deportation.

2018: Bryan Thao Worra is announced as the inaugural Lao Minnesota Poet Laureate by the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota.

2019: Gia Vang is the first Hmong-American television anchor in the Twin Cities, co-hosting KARE-11 Sunrise.

2020: Anh Thu T. Pham becomes the first Asian American managing director at Theater Mu, a nonprofit that produces Asian American performances.

• Sunisa Lee wins the all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first Hmong-American Olympian.

2021: Deryck Hak writes and stars in the solo show “Between”, a coming-of-age story about a queer Cambodian-American navigating his way between cultures.

2023: Governor Tim Walz proclaims September 23rd as Cambodian Heritage Day.

• The first Cambodian Heritage Day celebration in Minnesota is hosted by the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

2024: The Cambodian American Partnership of Minnesota is founded.

• The first Vietnamese-American state court judge in Minnesota, Viet-Hanh Winchell, is sworn in at the Washington County Courthouse in Stillwater.

• Katie Ka Vang, Hmong-American playwright and screenwriter, receives the Joyce Award fellowship to develop Hmong Futures, a theater project reflecting on the stories of the Hmong diaspora and the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asians in the U.S.

• Governor Tim Walz approves a bill to fund community grants for celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hmong and Southeast Asian communities in Minnesota.

2025: Koom Recovery is founded by Xianna Mouayang and Yeng Moua to help Hmong and Southeast Asian people who are seeking substance abuse educational resources, peer support, and other resources.

• The XIA Gallery & Cafe is showing 10 exhibits throughout the year, featuring artists of Hmong, Khmer, Lao, and Vietnamese descent.

Social Service Programs, Economic Development & Establishing Cultural Traditions

SEA 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
EXHIBITS
EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
Contact & Hours

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