Here are the 7 main hill-tribes in Northern Thailand

• The Karen
• The Lisu
• The Lahu
• The Mhongs
• The Akhas
• The Shan
• The Palong
• Other hill-tribes I am less aware of..

Married to a Lisu woman, we will generally share more on the Lisu hill-tribe rather than the other hill-tribes we often meet but know less about.

The Lisu come from the higher planes of Tibet by the Salween river and the Chinese region of Yunnan.
It seems they first arrived in Thailand in Chiang Rai about 6 or 7 generations ago although that can be debated as some would have come in Thailand by other borders between Myanmar and Thailand.

The hill-tribes may be separated in 2 groups usually living at different altitudes:

The Hill-tribes living at higher altitudes:

The Lisus
The Mhong
The Lahus and
The Akhas

(There are still some hunter-gatherers tribes or spirits.
The Phi Tong Luang, Phi (Spirit) Tong Luang (yellow leaves) was the last tribe of nomadic hunter-gatherers. (A friend of mine has lent me quite a good book years ago, I'll try to share about the Phi Tong Luang later))

It seems that when first arrived, the Lisu and other hill-tribes were allocated some lands to live and farm from.
The Lisu are also living on the higher planes in Thailand with much more difficult access to the lower lands, the Thais, the towns, health, schools, and amenities.

Going to town was also dangerous. A bad fall, some animals like wild elephants or even tigers or cats or even thieves could attack at times..

Even though a lot was done in the past few years, and accesses are a lot better, there are still places during the rainy season very difficult to reach these days!

Some villages get depopulated and sadly deserted when the youngsters go to school for further studies in bigger towns.
Later once their studies ended, some would rather choose to stay in these bigger towns or closer.

The hill-tribes generally living at lower altitudes and closer to the Thais, amenities and towns

The Karen
The Palong and
The Shan

The Karen, Palong and Shan seemed to be located on lower planes, and are farming accordingly to the best altitude of their crops..
The Karen were and still are the best with elephants grooming, caring and training to use for work or else..
The Karen farmers often breed different animals, water-buffalos, buffalos, and some cows imported from India for milk added to different crops.