#NeverAgain Lesson 3
Stories We Don’t Hear, Part II —Japanese Latin Americans
GRADES: 8 – 12
TIME ESTIMATE (not including extension): one hour
IN THIS LESSON STUDENTS WILL…
…discuss that all historical stories are told by someone who chooses what to include AND what to leave out.
…learn about the incarceration of Japanese Latin Americans who became citizens of no country after being deported by their countries’ governments under pressure from the U.S. government.
BACKGROUND
Another story we rarely hear about is the cooperation between the U.S. and 13 Latin American governments (particularly Peru) to surveil, imprison and deport people of Japanese descent to the U.S. during World War II. Declassified memos have shown the U.S. wanted to create a pool of individuals who they hoped Japan would exchange for U.S. prisoners (even though the U.S. proposed to send to Japan people who were not citizens of that country). Many of those brought to the U.S. for incarceration owned valuable land and businesses in Latin America that were then confiscated. In this excerpt, Japanese Latin Americans and their family members share their stories.
DEFINITIONS
Lesson 3 Definitions are provided for terms and usages in the audio that may be unfamiliar to students
Prisoner of War
Hostage exchange
Justification
INTRO (5 minutes)
Introduce today’s audio excerpts which are about a specific story we may not have heard — the deportation and incarceration of Japanese Latin Americans at the demand of the U.S. with collaboration from their own governments. Explain to students that after listening to and discussing the audio, you will be using a continuation of the theatre games from last week to continue exploring the idea of the stories we don’t hear and what they mean.
AUDIO (10 minutes) Speakers in this excerpt:
Satstuki Ina – born in Tule Lake maximum security prison camp
John Tateishi – spent his early childhood at Manzanar concentration camp
Sita Bhaumik – descendent of a Japanese Latin American grandfather who was incarcerated
Mike Ishi - child of incarcerated parents
Flora Ninomiya – incarcerated as a child at Topaz concentration camp
DISCUSSION (15 minutes)
Satsuki Ina says she was “born in captivity”. What does that phrase mean to you?
What did John Tateishi understand (or not understand) about what was happening? What does dichotomy mean? What dichotomy did being incarcerated cause him to see?
Sita speaks about her grandfather being incarcerated in Columbia at the request of the U.S. government–is his story a familiar one to you?
Why do you think Mike Ishi’s grandmother would talk about the incarceration but his mother would not?
Why does Flora Ninomiya feel is it important to tell her story?
If you have had students read other experiences of incarceration, ask them to make connections with the speakers they heard today.
ARTS ACTIVITY (30 minutes) Change the Story (PDF)
RESOURCES #NeverAgain Lesson Images
EXTENSION (Action Civics Project)
Check-in and discuss last week’s work. Review the project plan elements on Action Civics Project Handout #3 – researching what about your story you don’t know. Make sure to discuss not only “how we can get wisdom from crowds” (including online) but also “how to handle the downside of crowds” to keep ourselves physically and emotionally safe. Make sure to have a plan for reviewing this week’s work with each student, to ensure they are making progress.