The Montagnard Dega Project: cultural music, art & dance

I am really interested in learning about the music, art & dance of the Montagnard culture and how moving to the U.S. affected it. Is their art influenced by American art? And, is American art now influenced by Montagnard art? How has their culture evolved since relocating to the U.S.?

The Montagnards have adapted to American culture in many ways, from how they dress (they wear typical American clothing instead of the traditional bright-colored, handmade, embroidered Montagnard attire) to intermarriage with other ethnic groups (because of the shortage of Montagnard women in the U.S.). 

Here is a quote taken from the article, TRAN QUANG HAI : MUSIC OF THE MONTAGNARDS OF VIETNAM, PART 2 in which it describes many of the Montagnard instruments and how they have evolved:

"The "evolution" of music since the 1960s lets us see transformations in the
usage of musical instruments. The young generation prefers the guitar to
the 13-string zither, the gông, plastic pipes to the dding clarinet, the
western harmonica to the traditional mouth-organ, the dding nam or the
komboat."

This shows the American influence on the young Montagnard generations because of their choice of an American standard guitar over the traditional Montagnard 13-string zither instrument. 

Another example of American influence on Dega music is Mondega's "For the People."  Modega is a Montagnard refugee turned hip-hop artist. He became so popular because he can relate to other first generation South East Asian refugees in the U.S. 

The Montagnards have also been influenced by American culture in dance. I still have more research to do on this topic, but it seems that the traditional Dega style of dance is still present, but it's performed in a more American setting (such as a competition or recital compared to some sort of ritual).

 

But the Montagnards are still practicing their own traditions, such as weaving. Many of the women refugees take part in this time-consuming, yet beautiful tradition. Again, I have a lot more research I would like to do on this topic.

In order to learn more about these topics I'd be really interested in possibly meeting with some of the youth of the Montagnard community. I think that would really help me see how American culture has influenced their traditional culture, and what the younger generations have grasped from American art, and what they have held on to from their own culture.