Teacher Workshop Examining Incarceration of People of Japanese Ancestry Set for Oct. 20

BISMARCK, N.D. – A free workshop, “Teaching Untaught Histories,” will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck. The curriculum to be presented, The Untold Story of the Department of Justice Incarceration of People of Japanese Ancestry, is for middle and secondary social studies and humanities educators. A $150 stipend, refreshments, and light lunch will be provided.

In the 1930s and 1940s, numerous people living in the United States were identified as “enemy aliens” and placed on a secret government list called the Custodial Detention List. This workshop will consider how being placed on this list impacted the lives and communities of people of Japanese ancestry. It take a close look the political policies and climate that led to the incarceration of both citizens and aliens of Japanese ancestry within hours of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the National Japanese American Historical Society, San Francisco; the National Park Service, the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and United Tribes Technical College.

This project was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant. The mission of the Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco, California, is to educate the public about the contributions of Japanese Americans to American Society.

For more information, visit njahs.org.or contact Erik Holland, curator of education, 701.328.2792. For more programs sponsored by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, go to history.nd.gov/events.