Where The "Land Of Snows" Meets The "Big Sky": A Study Of The Tibetan-U.S. Resettlement Project In Montana

Abstract

Leaving your country, family, and heritage, and stepping off an airplane into a foreign country can be an exciting, yet overwhelming, experience. One thousand Tibetan refugees have experienced this, as they entered the United States in 1990-1993. This was part of the Tibetan- U.S. Resettlement Project. The Tibetans have been placed in cluster communities around the United States, one of them being Missoula, Montana. The reasons for the development of the Resettlement Project can be explained by examining the history of Tibet. By looking at the past we are able to understand the difficulties the Tibetans have been experiencing with China. The relocation of Tibetans from their native land into the United States will affect their lives forever. Through the formation of the Tibetan-U.S. Resettlement Project, the Tibetan plight for freedom has been aided. How the U.S. government chooses to respond to the issue of Tibet will affect the future of Sino-American relations. The future of Tibet and the Tibetans is uncertain; but what remains certain is their continuing fight for independence.