CULTURE PROFILE| << | CHAPTER |
| MONTAGNARDS
— THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE
CULTURE PROFILE |
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CONTENTS | PREFACE | INTRODUCTION | LAND | PEOPLE | ECONOMY | HISTORY | RELIGION | DAILY LIFE & VALUES | LANGUAGE & LITERACY | EDUCATION | CROSS-CULTURAL CHALLENGES | BIBLIOGRAPHY | ||||
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The Montagnards have a long history of tensions with the mainstream Vietnamese... |
History Relations with the Vietnamese and the U.S. MilitaryIn the mid 1950s, the once-isolated Montagnards began experiencing more contact with outsiders after the Vietnamese government launched efforts to gain better control of the Central Highlands and, following the 1954 Geneva Convention, new ethnic minorities from North Vietnam moved into the area. As a result of these changes, Montagnard communities felt a need to strengthen some of their own social structures and to develop a more formal shared identity. The Montagnards have a long history of tensions with the mainstream Vietnamese that is comparable to the tensions between American Indians and the mainstream population in the United States. While mainstream Vietnamese are themselves heterogeneous, they generally share a common language and culture and have developed and maintained the dominant social institutions of Vietnam. The Montagnards do not share that heritage nor do they have access to the country’s dominant institutions. There have been conflicts between the two groups over many issues, including land ownership, language and cultural preservation, access to education and resources, and political representation. In 1958, the Montagnards launched a movement known as BAJARAKA (the name is made up of the first letters of prominent tribes) to unite the tribes against the Vietnamese. There was a related, well-organized political and (occasionally) military force within the Montagnard communities known by the French acronym, FULRO, or Forces United for the Liberation of Races Oppressed. FULRO’s objectives included freedom, autonomy, land ownership, and a separate highland nation. Despite a long of history of conflict between the Montagnards and the mainstream Vietnamese, it should be kept in mind that there are many instances of friendship and intermarriage and efforts to cooperate and correct injustices between the two groups. A mixed population of people is emerging with a bicultural, bilingual heritage and an interest in finding common ground and mutual acceptance between the two groups. The 1960s saw contact between the Montagnards and another group of outsiders, the U.S. military, as American involvement in the Vietnam War escalated and the Central Highlands emerged as a strategically important area, in large part because it included the Ho Chi Minh trail, the North Vietnamese supply line for Viet Cong forces in the south. The U.S. military, particularly the army’s Special Forces, developed base camps in the area and recruited the Montagnards, who fought alongside American soldiers and became a major part of the U.S. military effort in the Highlands. Montagnard bravery and loyalty earned them the respect and friendship of the U.S. military forces as well as sympathy for the Montagnard struggle for independence. |
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