The Hmong had a folktale, that expressed how they became mountain dwellers. For a multitude of years they lived high in the mountains, where they were very independent and maintained very little contact with those who lived in the plains. They had this belief that it would make them sick. As mentioned by Yoost and Crawford (2017) culture is symbolic in many ways; signs, sounds, clothing, tools customs, rituals, and other items were able to represent meaningful concepts to people (p.395). The Hmong had cultivated their lifestyle in a way that they would be able to freely express themselves and live out their traditions any way they wanted. Their peaceful life in the mountains ended when Laos was no longer seen as a neutral party. There was a
