Hill tribe is a term used in Thailand for all of the various tribal peoples who mostly inhabit the high mountainous Northern and Western regions of Thailand, including both sides of the remote border areas between Northern Thailand, Laos and Burma. These areas are known for their thick forests and mountainous terrain. The six major hill tribes within Thailand are the Akha, Lahu, Karen, Hmong/Miao, Mien/Yao and Lisu, each with a distinct language and culture.
The hill tribes have traditionally been primarily subsistence farmers who use slash and burn agricultural techniques to farm their heavily forested communities. Popular perceptions that slash and burn practices are environmentally destructive, government concerns over borderland security, and population pressure has caused the government to forcibly relocate many hill tribe peoples. Traditionally, hill tribes were also a migratory people, leaving land as it became depleted of natural resources or when trouble arose.
A 2013 article in Bangkok Post said that "Nearly a million hill peoples and forest dwellers are still treated as outsiders—criminals even, since most live in protected forests. Viewed as national security threats, hundreds of thousands of them are refused citizenship although many are natives to the land."
The Hmong
The Hmong are believed to have been the original inhabitants of the Yellow River Valley in ancient China. The expansion of the neighboring Chinese from the north caused a disruption in the Hmong culture and forced them to migrate southwards to escape oppression and persecution. Over the centuries, many wars have been waged against the Chinese. Greatly outnumbered, the Hmong suffered heavy casualties.
The futile efforts to establish themselves as an independent people apart from the expanding Chinese led to their mass exodus further south of China, and eventually into Southeast Asia. From here, they made their way into the territories of the European colonies that later gained independence and became known as Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar. While the Hmong came to inhabit the hillside of Thailand, the country had always maintained its sovereignty from the colonists.
Today, the Hmong are located in the Thai Highlands, although some are found elsewhere within the country. Among the hill tribes, the Hmong are becoming well integrated into Thai society as well as being among the most successful. The current population of Hmong in Thailand is estimated to be roughly 151,080