HUARI was founded by leaders in the Hmong community in 1978 to study, develop and implement the means and the methods to enhance Hmong integration into the greater Rhode island populace.

The Hmong United Association of Rhode Island is committed to the principle of investing in people. This belief came about from experience and studies of different models that have worked in other parts of the country and communities. After twenty five years, we are much better off now than when we had first got off the plane in 1976. However, there are many things needed to be accomplished, achieved for the Hmong to fully participate in their new home the US. The organization is a place to allow the community to come together to discuss issues affecting it and deliver a plan of action to correct and address these matters in a timely manner.

Our association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community base organization representing by many clans of ethnic Hmong.

Strategically, our organization is functioning like a family tree, a total of eleven (11) members consisting of President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, and seven (7) board of directors. Each board of director, including the four (4) officers are representing by many clans. There is a total of eight (8) clans* in our organization. Each clan elected a clan leader and one or more board of directors who oversee their respective members.

The clan leader reports to the board of directors of their clan and structurally, it works well within our organization because their constituents or members only listen their clan leaders or board of directors. Strategically, if the association needs manpower or serving the community, there is no hesitation of helping nor volunteering from the community at large.

Originally we believed that all Hmong people belongs to one parents. The "clan" arises or born from this parents, and their first child born without feet, head, hand, nor body parts so they sliced the child into eighteen (18) pieces and each piece thrown away represented or designated a clan. This is how a clan is born. Historically, Hmong can not married with sharing same last name anywhere in the universe, and therefore, the clan is solely for the purpose of marriage. In another word, THAO clan can not married another THAO of same last name. Other than this marriage prohibition, all Hmong are one big family and closely related. This believed has kept Hmong people in a tight knit community in all around the world and wherever you travel, if you meet a Hmong person, or family, you can not go hungry nor be treated strangely, but will be greeted in a friendly manner always.

*Many clans together are forming or joining into one clan leader representing by a board of director and a clan leader. For example, the LEE clan joined membership with the THAO clan because only three (3) Lee families reside in the states of Rhode Island.

The eighteen (18) clans: CHANG, CHWB, FANG, HANG, HER, KHANG, KONG, KUE LEE, LOR, MOUA, THAO, VANG, XIONG, YANG, etc.