Mai Na Lee
associate professor of history and Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
Mai Na Lee (also Mai Na M. Lee; c. 1971) is an associate professor of history and Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. She holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a researcher for the Hmong Studies Consortium. Lee is the first Hmong American to earn a doctorate in the field of history. Her book is Dreams of the Hmong Kingdom: The Quest for Legitimation in French Indochina, 1850–1960, which details the historical politics of Hmong in Laos.
Early life and education
Born in Pha Nok Kok, in the sub-district of Muang Pha, Xieng Khouang, Laos, Lee crossed the Mekong River to Thailand with her family in 1979, and came to the United States as a Hmong refugee in 1980 around the age of 11. Her family was first resettled in Wisconsin, and later moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota to be closer to relatives and resources tailored to Hmong people. She grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is a member of the Hmong Lee (also spelled Ly) clan.
As an undergraduate she decided to be a historian once realizing little Hmong history was recorded. In 1994 she graduated Carleton College as a Cowling Scholar with a major in East Asian History and a concentration in Women's Studies.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131443652. VIAF identifies the subject as 310725887. The Library of Congress control number is no2014127354. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1850, 1960 and 1979.
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