Medicine on the Move: Hmong Healthcare Practices and the Construction of Transnational Identity

Hmong people fleeing Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War carried with them their knowledge of medicinal plants and healing practices. As the refugees resettled into a global diaspora, this knowledge crossed geopolitical, linguistic, and cultural borders, transforming in each new context where it was practiced. These traditions reinforced the health sovereignty of diasporic Hmong communities while helping them navigate the traumas of war and displacement. Over time, the circulation of plants and knowledge through transnational family networks has helped Hmong herbalism emerge as a global phenomenon. The internet and social media have facilitated knowledge exchange, enabling both the transmission of traditions and the adoption and diffusion of new practices and remedies. The dynamism of healing traditions was showcased during the COVID-19 pandemic, as communities acquired new plants and repurposed existing practices to deal with a novel health threat. The currents of change and conservation in medical practices reflect contrasting aspects of the ongoing process of formulating a transnational Hmong identity. Drawing on fieldwork in the U.S., France, French Guiana, and Thailand, I explore the transformations of Hmong healthcare practices as they have become globalized traditions and analyze their links with community resilience and identity.