Static particles...

I’m trying to make static particles trail behind the emitter. For example, if I have a character with long hair move, I don’t want their hair to stay stationary relative to the head; I want it flow behind. How can I do this? Or do I have to manually animate it with curve fields?

yes, pretend you’re in space. No air, no flow. You have to set up a wind force effect. Create an IPO to vary the force, and parent the blower to her head if you want it to flow all the time.