Each deep-woods murder is tinged with racial overtones. James Nichols, 28, of Pertigo, Wisc., the white hunter arrested for killing Cha Vang, told authorities that the “Hmong group are bad,” according to the criminal complaint against him for first-degree intentional homicide. Chai Soua Vang, who is serving multiple life sentences for the 2004 killings, claimed in his defense that he was the target of racial slurs and that members of the white hunting party fired first. Survivors of the shooting disputed that.
Tou Ger Xiong
Now Wisconsin’s simmering melting pot is threatening to boil over. The Hmong see Cha Vang’s death as an ethnic hate crime and retaliation for the 2004 killings. And they are afraid to return to the woods in northern Wisconsin, for fear that it could happen again. Last week, more than 500 people showed up for a town-hall forum on race relations in Green Bay conducted by the Coalition for Community Relations, a Hmong civil-rights group. “We’re here to stay,” says Tou Ger Xiong, 33, a leader of the group. “We’re no longer refugees, immigrants and aliens. We’re new Americans.” Xiong talked with NEWSWEEK’s Alice C. Chen about how his community is coping. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: What was your first reaction to Cha Vang’s death?
Tou Ger Xiong: I’m thinking why another [shooting]? I read one article and I suspected something.
I called people to tell everyone to remain calm. Our questions as community are not being answered but it’s important not to jump to conclusions.
What do you think happened in the woods?
[At first] I was curious whether this would be retaliation for the last time.
[When details were released,] it confirmed my worst fears that this guy was killed. He was shot, stabbed five times in the throat and once to his left cheek. A laceration was found behind his left ear. There were bullet wounds on his torso, neck, head and arms. He was laid in a depression with a log and debris over his body. There was a long stick sticking out of his mouth.
It may be an accidental meeting. Maybe it didn’t start as a hate crime, but it sure ended up different.
For someone who claimed self-defense, so many things don’t add up. [Nichols] didn’t turn himself in. He called his girlfriend. He brought the gun and drove across the state border to hide it in a locker. He exchanged it with another gun, came back, went to the hospital and claimed someone shot him. He told [several] versions of the story within days.
It shows there’s some malice involved. This guy is a criminal, convicted of burglary. There was KKK written in one home he broke into and derogatory remarks toward African-Americans.
Was this a hate crime?
I can’t believe people would say it’s not.
What’s the atmosphere in the Hmong community?
We’re on edge, angry. We’re frustrated and concerned that this is not being looked at as a hate crime. For the district attorney and attorney general’s office to pursue this as a regular homicide, it doesn’t address the issue of race.
This is America; racism exists in every corner of the country. I’d like a call to our white allies to talk about racism. Hate crimes and violence affect all of us.
Are people afraid to go into the woods?
Some have said they’ve given up hunting, it’s too dangerous. There are those who say, “It’s not going to deter me.”
We’re urging people to refrain from going out hunting.
How important is hunting to the Hmong community and how does this incident impact the culture?
Elderly men love the outdoors, they always did in Laos. There are tens of thousands [of Hmong hunters].
What’s sad is not so much that they can’t go hunting, but the fact that there’s fear. Can we trust each other and respect each other?
What happened at the town-hall forum?
We had many who shared personal stories of conflict while encountering white hunters in the woods. It was very therapeutic. There were tons of people in tears.
[We asked,] how many feel it was a hate crime? Almost every hand went up automatically.
Will further altercations occur? What can be done to prevent them?
I hope they don’t. I’m optimistic they’re preventable if we address race.
Cha Vang is not only a member of the Hmong American community, but a member of the Green Bay community. Like before, Chai Soua Vang was an American naturalized citizen. Cha Vang was a father and son. We should talk about him as a human being.
Why are you involved in this issue?
I came to this country when I was 6. I was beaten up in grade school, called a chink and gook. I was tripped and spit at. I grew up thinking, something’s got to be done.
The first year we moved here, we had 32 windows broken. Kids tried to burn our home down three times.
What do you want Americans to know about the Hmong?
The mainstream do not know much about the Hmong coming here as heroes who fought bravely during the secret war in Laos. They were ground soldiers hired by the CIA to fight for democracy in Southeast Asia. The U.S. provided guns, the Hmong were soldiers. [When the] Americans returned home, the new communist government said annihilate the Hmong in revenge for aiding the U.S. There was an exodus to Thailand refugee camps.
