Checks and Balances

 

 

       Aleut evacuation and internment during World War II

 

 

PRINT RESOURCES

 

Aleutian Sparrow / by Karen Hesse. New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, c2003. 

Based on the true story of the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in the summer of 1942, a young Aleut girl tells what life was like when her small home of Kashega was taken over and she, along with her family and community, were put into internment camps in her own country.  Recommended for grades 7 - 12, this book is available through WCLS in both print an audio formats.

 

When the Wind Was a River : Aleut Evacuation in World War II / by Dean Kohloff. Seattle : University of Washington Press,  in association with Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, 1995.

 "This book by the late Dean Kohloff, associate professor of history at Valparaiso University, is an engrossing account of the Aleut evacuation and internment. Independent research is combined with materials from Kirtland and Coffin and the CWRIC in a highly readable introduction to this searing chapter in history." - Marla Williams

 

Although this book is written at an adult reading level, it could be excerpted. It is available through interlibrary loan (see WorldCat) or from Western Washington University Libraries. 

 

DVD/CD-ROM RESOURCES

 

Aleut Story.Marla Williams/Sprockethead Productions, 2005.

 "Aleut Story was developed, researched, filmed and edited for national television over five years. Thousands of pages of historical documents, public testimony, congressional debate, personal memoirs, photographs and scholarly texts were reviewed. Filmed entirely on location, the project took the film crew to the Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands, to the historic sites of federal duration camps at Funter Bay and Killisnoo, and Anchorage, Juneau, Seattle and Washington, D.C. But the real strength of this film is the chorus of first person voices." - Marla Williams, Aleut Story Film Team

 

This film can be purchased for $225 http://www.visionmaker.org/catalogeducation.html or borrowed via Interlibrary Loan (via WorldCat). 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

 

          Premium - available through WCLS (card required)

Forgotten Internees. Hattis, Ruth. The Progressive, May 1992. Vol 56, Iss. 55, Pg. 16. Source: ProQuest

Abstract: Residents of the Aleutian Islands were evacuated by US troops in 1942 out of fear that the Japanese would take them as prisoners; however, they were confined to internment camps for up to three years against their will. Attempts to incorporate the Aleutian internmentinto the curriculum of Alaska's schools are discussed, as well as efforts by those interned to obtain reparations from the US government.

The article is retreivable from ProQuest with a WCLS library card. Link

 

          Government Documents

 

Executive Order 9066, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in February of 1942, resulted in the establishment of the internment camps for both Japanese Americans and Aleuts.  The full text of the act can be obtained at http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=74&page=transcript. 

 

Personal Justice Denied : Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.  Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1982. This is available as a print book (see WorldCat and Amazon.com), and also online as an electronic book (click title). Part two, War and Evacuation in Alaska, contains a complete testimony of the Aleut internment and the events leading up to and surrounding it.  Included are first hand quotes and an analysis of the government's intentions.  Although this is technically a book, it is also a government publication.

 

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 provided restitution to Japanese-Americans and Aleuts who were subject to internment during World War II, and acknowledged the injustices perpetrated by the United States Government. The full text of the act can be found here.

 

H.R. 442 : A bill to implement the recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. This is the house bill which precipitated the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, cited above.

 

          General

 

The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area and Visitor Center Web site contains photographs and a highly readable overview of the history of the Aleutian Islands during WWII. One section, Evacuation and Internment, 1942-1945, describes the experience of those affected, and includes photographs and direct quotations:

 

"In response to Japanese aggression in the Aleutians, U.S. authorities evacuated 881 Unangax from nine villages. They were herded from their homes onto cramped transport ships, most allowed only a single suitcase. Heartbroken, Atka villagers watched as U.S. servicemen set their homes and church afire so they would not fall into Japanese hands."

 

 Cultural Change in the Aleutian Islands is a social studies unit developed in 1981 under a grant from the U.S. Office of Indian Education. Chapter X, World War II in the Aleutians, provides a first-hand account of the conditions in the internment camps via a reprint of an article from the Anchorage Daily News (May 12, 1980). The author of the article interviews Michael Lekanof, an Aleut who was 10 at the time of internment.

 

It is important to note that this resource was written in 1981, before the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (Restitution for World War II internment of Japanese-Americans and Aleuts) became law.  At the time of writing, a government investigation into the treatment of both Japanese-Americans and Aleuts was just beginning. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was the culmination of the investigation. If the students wish to follow the legislative process, they can read the original House bill and view the full text of the Act  (see government documents section, above).

 

Aleutian Prilibof Islands Association provides a modern perspective of the Aleuts, and also contains a history section with an historical timeline.

 

The Aleut Story Web site, the official Web site of the film cited above, provides a wealth of resources, including photographs, links, an interactive map, and a photo gallery. 

 

The complete text of The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Fredrick Douglass can be found online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html or in print form in Frederick Douglass : selected speeches and writings / edited by Philip S. Foner. The latter is available from WCLS.

 

Constitutional Issues:

Civil Liberties, Individuals, and the Common Good

 

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A note on the research: While the topic of Aleut evacuation and internment has not been popularized and often is overlooked, there have been many passionate individuals who have acquired and consolidated primary source material in the form of quotes, personal accounts and photographs. Many of the materials can be found in books, Web sites, and in a well-reviewed documentary film, Aleut Story. In the early 1980s, a government commission was formed to research the events surrounding the internment of civilians. The commission's report, listed below in the Government Documents section, analyzes in detail the events surrounding the establishment of the internment camps (part two focuses on the events in Alaska). After the commission's report was released, the government made a formal apology to those affected and established a process of reparations (see The Civil Liberties Act of 1988, also cited in the Government Documents section).

 

I tried to keep in mind the variation in reading level when finding these sources. While some of them may be a bit advanced, there are many resources (in particular, some of the Web resources) with photographs and shorter paragraphs which will be accessible to everyone.  The novel Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse (cited below) is based on a true story and is written at a mid-fifth grade level.

 

Time spent researching: 6 hours

 

Teacher is Michael Fox, Librarian Heather Smith

Meeting Notes:

Priority: Finding materials with as low a reading level as possible for struggling readers.

Teacher would like to find a resource that has "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" by Fredrick Doublas

Teacher has heard of a film..."Aluet Story" was on KCTS

Teacher shared an article from The Seattle Times February 28, 2006 titled "Aleuts tell their stories of internment, and a Seattle filmaker listens" Director Marla Williams-Seattle Based

The article refers to SprocketHeads LLC-an Alaska based film company

Start Research by looking for information on the interment of Aleuts...if there are not enough resources after 2 hours of searching, touch base with me and we will see if it would be better to focus on Japansese interment...the newspaper article on the movie emphasizes that this is a story very little talked about...

 

Primary documents are an important part of CBAs...finding photos or access to digital objects is great avenue to support different learning styles.

 

Court cases and government policies that provide precedents are part of this unit...so if you can find anything like that it would be GREAT!

 

"The major focus of this lesson is to examine the protection of individual rights during times when the security and protection of the country are threatened."

 

General understanding important so an overview would be great.  Some overview material of World War II might be welcome as well...but you might save this for last because they could get overviews from encyclopedias...

 

Identifying points of view and bias in text is also part of this assignment.