Purpose
The Iu Mien Online Language Initiative exists to preserve and revitalize the Iu Mien language through broad collaboration among Iu Mien community organizations, community and academic language scholars, and the institutional support of William & Mary. Its resources are community-stewarded and freely available to all Iu Mien people, and anyone with access to the internet, at iumienwaac.org
The initiative reaches especially toward second- and third-generation Iu Mien Americans and the wider Southeast Asian diaspora. It seeks to democratize the language through community contributions, supported by a correctional admin system to protect accuracy and integrity — bolstering the work of existing scholars and organizations, never supplanting it.
Founded by Noah Saechao, funded through the Sharpe Community Scholars Action Research Internship (summer 2026).
Iu Mien Organizations
Primary partners. Mien International Enrichment Network (Director Jeff Thungc) · Iu Mien Literacy Projects (David Chao)
Regional implementation. Iu Mien Community Services, Sacramento · Iu Mien Association of Oregon · Iu-Mien American Association, Seattle · The Lao Iu Mien Culture Association, Inc. · Iu Mien Native Language Literacy (IMNLL), a volunteer group within LIMCA, Inc.
Scholars & William & Mary
Community scholars. Sumeth Prasertsud · Smith Panh
Academic scholars. Daniel Arisawa · Herbert C. Purnell (in memoriam)
William & Mary. Linguistics Department (Chancellor Professor Jack B. Martin) · Swem Library · Sharpe Community Scholars · Noah Saechao
Current objectives
Obtaining licensing from authors, implementing ethical data management and curation policies and protocols, further establishing the university partnership through obtaining more funding and advisement, finalizing other partnerships, governance, and protocol.
Acknowledgements
We recognize Iu Mien leaders and those who have come alongside us to better understand our language: much gratitude and honor to all those who have preceded us and could not directly participate, yet whose work we set as our foundation.