Dia Cha is a notable

Laotian American Laotian Americans ( lo, ຄົນອາເມລິກາລາວ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans. The major immigrant generation were generally refugees ...

author and academic who has written books for both children and adults.

Early life

She was born in the early 1960s in Southeast Asia. She and her family members immigrated to the USA as refugees After the Vietnam War. In 1975, Dia and the surviving members of her family, were forced to flee the advancing communist movement,

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The gro ...

in their takeover of her home country of

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. She soon found herself a refugee in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. She eventually settled in the United States in 1979, where she was able to begin formal studies in the ninth grade. In 1983, she graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, ranking thirtieth in a class of 251 students. In 1987, she joined the Institute of Foreign Studies and spent a semester studying at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

In December 1989, Dia received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colorado. In December, 1992, she was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in applied anthropology from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

. After additional studies, she received the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

. Dia Cha is considered to be the first Hmong women to receive her PHD. In the 1990s, Dia wrote ''Dia's Story Cloth'' which is now considered to be one of the utmost popular books on Hmong story clothes''.'' Along with Norma Livo, she co-wrote ''Folk Stories of the Hmong'' and ''Teaching with Folk Stories of the Hmong: An Activity Book''. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in "Bamboo Among the Oaks" as well as the "Paj Ntaub Voice" Hmong literary journal. Additionally, she was an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud State University, in

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

. There, she taught courses in

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

, Southeast Asian communities, Asian American studies, and

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ton ...

studies. , she was CEO of Your Consulting Services, Inc.

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Dia Cha page at St. Cloud State University

Dia's Story Cloth

2005 Hmong Oral History Project Interview
* http://www.hmongstudies.com/ChaHSJ6.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Cha, Dia Laotian writers Hmong writers Laotian emigrants to the United States American people of Hmong descent 1962 births Living people Laotian anthropologists Hmong anthropologists American anthropologists American writers of Laotian descent American writers of Hmong descent