Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Southeast Asian Hill Tribe Textiles and Hmong American Textiles Collection

This collection consists of materials acquired through research, begun in 1976 and led by principal investigators Drs. Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst, on the production, use, and meaning of textiles produced by Laotian Hmong, both those living in Southeast Asia and those in Michigan. The collections at the MSU Museum contain examples of clothing produced for everyday and ceremonial use, textiles produced for sale, tools used in production of cloth, "story cloths" (depicting traditional tales, Hmong daily and ceremonial life, and the experiences of war, migration, and resettlement that the Hmong have recently endured), and other items related to Hmong traditional life. The collection also includes field notes, photographs, and audio-recorded interviews with Hmong living in Michigan.

Support for research and subsequent exhibition, education, and publication activities was supported primarily by grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Fulbright Commission.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Dr. Marsha MacDowell, Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Dr. Yvonne Lockwood, Sue Julian, Doug Gilzow, Annette Hafner, Foung Vang, Yen Leng Hang

Exhibitions

"Michigan Hmong Arts," Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, January 8 - February 5, 1984; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, Michigan, Sept. 12 - Oct. 18, 1998.

"Stories in Thread: Hmong Pictorial Embroidery," Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, Michigan, December, 1996 - January, 1997; Calvin College Center Art Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan, March - April, 1997; South Seattle Community College Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March, 2001.

Publications

Marsha MacDowell. Stories in Thread: Hmong Pictorial Embroideries. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1989.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. Hmong Folk Arts: A Guide for Teachers. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1994.

Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst, eds. Michigan Hmong Arts. East Lansing: Michigan State University Museum, 1983.

Marsha MacDowell, "Old Techniques of Paj Ntaub, New Patterns of Expression," in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, eds. 1993 Festival of Michigan Folklife. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1993.

Jungle Animal paj ntaub, Cha Vang, Hmong, Thailand, 1986

Farm Scene paj ntaub dab neej, Moa Yang, Thailand, 1986

Paj ntaub, Lee Vang, Lansing, Michigan, c. 1982