Uprooted: Japanese American Farm Labor Camps During World War II

During the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans, some 33,000 individual contracts were issued for seasonal farm labor, with many Nikkei working in the sugar beet industry. Uprooted: Japanese American Farm Labor Camps During World War II introduces their story.

Uprooted features a selection of images from federal photographer Russell Lee’s documentation of Japanese American farm labor camps near the towns of Nyssa, Oregon; and Rupert, Shelley, and Twin Falls in Idaho. Visitors will learn about the farm labor camps through Lee’s photographs, interpretative text panels, and a short documentary film featuring firsthand accounts about life in the camps. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website