UPROOTED is an interactive multimedia experience about the multigenerational effects of Japanese American incarceration during World War II — from the West Coast to Chicago. The three families featured were selected from more than 100 oral histories of other resilient individuals for the depth and range of their collective experiences. You can view a selection of other interviews with Chicago-area Japanese Americans here.
Thanks to the many teachers and students who participated in surveys and interviews that informed the design of this web experience. This project is dedicated to Minoru Imamura, who passed away on February 24, 2021.
Written and produced by Katherine Nagasawa
Web design and development
Paula Friedrich
Illustrations
Cori Nakamura Lin
Video production assistance
Matthew Zhou
This project is part of a multi-pronged collaborative grant initiative undertaken by the Japanese American Service Committee and the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society with funding support from the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites program. In addition to this interactive web experience, the grant project resulted in the digitization and transcription of many pre-existing oral history interviews, the recording of new oral histories, the development of a curriculum and lesson plans, and teacher training workshops.
Project management
Emma Saito Lincoln and Mike Takada
Curriculum design
Jean Mishima and Marlynne Nishimura
Former oral history project coordinator
Anna Takada
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
This material received Federal financial assistance for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally funded assisted projects. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to:
Office of Equal Opportunity
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240