Academic Resources: Research Tools
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Databases: Films Database
The Split Horn: Life of a Shaman in America
- Topics: Hmong healing; shamanism; migration
- Brief Summary: Taggart Siegel and Jim McSilver, document the 17 year journey of Paja Thao, a Hmong shaman, and his family transplanted from the mountains of Laos to America's heartland. Paja Thao plays an important spiritual role in a community of Hmong refugees in Appleton, Wisconsin. As his children turn to cartoons, computer games and Christianity, Paja struggles to keep his family connected to their 5,000-year-old shamanic traditions.
- Date of Release: 2001
- Length: 58 minutes
- Where to get it: Alchemy Films or Filmmakers Library
- Use with (other films or texts): The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
