If the Vietnam War forever changed the social psyche and cultural landscape of America, it also forever altered the numerous lives and families in Southeast Asia. From the highlands in Laos to the low plains in Cambodia, from the war-torn cities in Vietnam to the refugee camps in Thailand, many have lost their loved ones, forced to leave their homelands, and eventually sought refuge in the United States. America’s political and military involvement in the region has begun long before the Vietnam War, notably during the Spanish-American War at the turn of the nineteenth century that had made the Philippines its territory. The diverse origins and different backgrounds of Southeast Asian Americans reflect the complex and at times controversial history of immigration, settlement, and refugee experiences in this land of the free. Some found their new homes in the North Star State, Minnesota, providing a unique and unusual angle to look at their lives apart from the better known narratives of East Asians or those from the coasts. Indeed, Minnesota is home to the fourth largest Southeast Asian American community in the United States, with a population of approximately 125,000. It is the goal of Beneath the North Star: Southeast Asian Americans in Minnesota, an ongoing digital project, to collect, document, and present their stories.