1.1A Senate resolution
1.2honoring Dr. Yang Dao, a revered member of the Hmong community in
1.3Minnesota.
1.4WHEREAS, Dr. Yang Dao was born on September 7, 1943, in Xieng Khouang province of
1.5the Kingdom of Laos to Mr. Yang My No and Mrs. Heu Keu and was one of five siblings; and
1.6WHEREAS, Dr. Yang Dao, who speaks and writes fluently in Hmong, Lao, French, and
1.7English and possesses excellent command of Vietnamese and Thai, received his Doctorate of
1.8Philosophy degree in social science at the University of Paris (also known as La Sorbonne), France,
1.9in April 1972, making him the first known Hmong person to earn a doctorate; and
1.10WHEREAS, from July 1972 to March 1974, Dr. Yang Dao worked as the director of the
1.11human resources department for the Royal Lao Government; and
1.12WHEREAS, in April 1974, Dr. Yang Dao was appointed by his Majesty King Sisavang
1.13Vatthana of the Kingdom of Laos to be a member of the National Political Consultative Council,
1.14which functioned as a National Laotian Congress; and
1.15WHEREAS, after the communist Pathet Lao took over Laos in May 1975, Dr. Yang Dao,
1.16along with hundreds of thousands of people from diverse Lao ethnic groups, took the road of exile
1.17with his family from Laos to refugee camps in Thailand; and
1.18WHEREAS, in July 1976, Dr. Yang Dao migrated with his family from Thailand to France,
1.19where he taught French language and French modern society to international students in Paris; and
1.20WHEREAS, Dr. Yang Dao moved to America with his family in 1983 after he accepted a
1.21Southeast Asia specialist position at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where he taught
1.22anthropology of Southeast Asia, focusing on Hmong history, culture, and traditions; and
1.23WHEREAS, currently a retired faculty member at the Department of Asian Cultures and
1.24Literatures of the University of Minnesota, Dr. Yang Dao's academic career in Minnesota also
1.25included teaching at Hamline University and Metro-State University; and
1.26WHEREAS, Dr. Yang Dao's academic body of work includes The Hmong-French Dictionary
1.27in 1964; The Hmong of Laos in the Vanguard of Development (in French) in 1975; The Fabulous
1.28Adventure of the Poppy People (in French) in 1978; The Dragon, the Master of Sky and his Seven
1.29Daughters (a Hmong legend, in French) in 1978; The Refugees of Origins from Southeast Asia (in
1.30French) in 1980; The French-Hmong Dictionary in 1980; The Hmong in the West (in English) in
1.311982; Minority Cultures of Laos (in English) in 1992; Hmong at the Turning Point (in English) in
1.321993; Hmong/Miao in Asia (in English) in 1998; and Hmong History, Culture and Spirituality at
1.33A Glance Through Speeches (in English, French, Lao and Hmong) in 2023; and
1.34WHEREAS, Dr. Yang Dao is a renowned speaker who has spoken on Lao-Hmong history
1.35and Hmong Literature at national and international conferences, from the French University of
1.36Political Sciences and French Nationale Assembly in Paris, France, to American colleges and
1.37universities, the Institute of Nationalities of Beijing in China, the Normal Trade Relations of
1.38U.S.A.-Laos in Vientiane, Laos, and the University of Chiengmai in Thailand; and
1.39WHEREAS, as a prolific musician, Dr. Yang Dao was the first Hmong in Southeast Asia
1.40to write and compose modern Hmong songs from 1965 to 1980; and
1.41WHEREAS, from 1991 to 1995, Dr. Yang Dao was a board member for the first Hmong
1.42Public Television Kev Koom Siab (Path to Unity), for which Senator Foung Hawj was the producer;
1.43and
1.44WHEREAS, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Dr. Yang Dao and
1.45his wife Ly Mo have five children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren; and
2.1NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Minnesota that it
2.2honors the exemplary life and legacy of Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong Minnesotan.
2.3BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is directed to prepare an
2.4enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by the Secretary's signature and that of the
2.5Chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and transmit it to Dr. Yang Dao.

Tom BotternSecretary of the Senate

Erin P. MurphyChair, Senate Committee onRules and Administration

Susan PhaState Senator, District 38

Foung HawjState Senator, District 67

Tou XiongState Senator, District 44