Provides an introduction to the history, culture, and resettlement experiences of the Montagnard people of Vietnam for community service providers assisting these refugees in the United States. People from the hill tribes of Vietnam, known as the Montagnards, first arrived in the U.S. in 1986 and settled primarily in North Carolina, where subsequent waves of refugees joined them. This report covers: (1) the geography of the Central Highlands of Vietnam and Cambodia where the Montagnard lived as well as the origins of the people; (2) the economy of the hill tribes; (3) the history of the once-isolated Montagnards as they came into contact in the 1950s with the Vietnamese government and in the 1960s with the U.S. military, which recruited them into the war effort; (4) their animistic beliefs, which some have incorporated into the practice of Christianity; (5) daily life and values, including family and gender roles, food and dress, and art, music, and literature; (6) education and knowledge of English; (7) resettlement issues, including driving, alcohol, housing, shortage of women, work and finances, health care and mental health, and schooling; (8) relationships between early and recent arrivals; and (9) the Montagnard experience in North Carolina.
