Curricula (Available Fall 2008)

“It is very important for young children to learn these lessons so that they can go forward and make a difference by ensuring fair treatment of everyone. ”
Linda K. Oda. Ed.D.
Davis School District, Utah

In fulfillment of its mission to foster greater understanding and appreciation of our ethnic and cultural diversities, the Japanese American National Museum remains committed to its goal to bring the Japanese American experience to every classroom in the United States. To achieve this goal, the National Museum recognizes the need to not only work directly with educators, but also to provide the opportunity for them to create the most effective curricula for their students.

The Enduring Communities project, in collaboration with our five partner anchor institutions—Arizona State University’s Asian Pacific American Studies Program, University of Colorado, Boulder; University of New Mexico; UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures; and Davis School District, Utah, will develop state-specific curricula where current educational materials seldom refer to the Japanese American experience.

Examples of state-specific issues the curricula will present:

  • The location of Poston Concentration Camp and Gila River Concentration Camp on Colorado River Indian and Pima-Maricopa land, respectively, in Arizona and the on-going relationships between the Japanese American and Native American communities.
  • The decision that Colorado Governor Ralph Carr made to welcome Japanese Americans to his state as “voluntary resettlers” from the West Coast during World War II
  • The cross-ethnic collaboration required in 2003 to build a marker commemorating the Japanese American World War II Department of Justice Camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Through on-going workshops, curriculum sharing, and collaborative sessions, the National Museum and its anchor partners are working to create educational curricula tailored to Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah learning standards for grades 4-12. The curricula will incorporate student-produced video oral histories that connect the World War II Japanese American experience to local, state, regional, and national issues. These materials are currently under development and will be available during the 2008-2009 school year.

For more information about the Enduring Communities curricula, contact ec@janm.org.