We have had a very tumultuous past filled with war, persecution and flight.  It is also filled with hope, new beginnings and growth.  Everyone has their own unique stories to tell.  Our mission at the Tai Studies Center is to “preserve and promote Tai culture.”  In order to do this we must capture the stories of peoples’ lives before they are gone from our lives.  We not only want to preserve our stories but record our language, Tai Dam, however, the stories can be in any language.

We will be celebrating and honoring Tai Women at the Tai Village Festival on Aug. 31st & Sept. 1, 2024. We will be celebrating elder women stories, past and present, from the United States, France, and other Western countries. 

We want to include stories of the special Tai heroine in your family at the event. Stories will be accepted through the end of February 2024. Fill out the form if you’re interested!

• Where were you born? Can you describe the area?
• What is your earliest memory? Can you describe the scene for us?
• What do you remember most about your childhood? What were the sights and sounds? What do you miss most?
• Did you go to school? What was school like?  If you didn’t go to school what did you do?
• How did you meet your husband/wife? How old were you when you got married?
• What were your parents’ names? What about your siblings?
• Have you been in contact with them and/or been back to visit them?  What are their living conditions like today?
• Describe the places you’ve lived
• What was life like in the different areas where you lived? Can you describe what daily life was like? Can you compare the way of living in each location?
• What were some stories your parents told you?

We will be archiving these stories for future generations and used mostly for research and education.

Here is an example of a story that has been edited.