10 Camps, 120,000 Lives, 120,000 Stories

My map highlights the diversity within the community of inmates at camp during the World War II Japanese American Incarceration. The US government considered all people of Japanese ancestry–whether citizens or undocumented–to be threats, without understanding the variety of backgrounds that these people had.

 

Similarly, many people in the US consider Asian Americans to be a single group, or a monolith. Like the inmates in 1942, Asian Americans in 2023 come from different places around the country or the world, have different immigration statuses, and are of different ethnicities, economic backgrounds, identities, and more.

 

I am highlighting the values of dignity and community with my map. I am honoring the many stories of those who were at camp, and celebrating the diversity within the community. It is a community rich with cultures, experiences, perspectives, and dreams. I am representing people who have different aspirations, ethnicities, immigration histories, community roles, family roles, personal situations, and more. I also included perspectives that aren’t typically represented, such as children, disabled people, and members of the LGBT+ community.

 

My map is focused on people. I am showcasing as many types of people as possible, to visually convey the large number of diverse people who were at camp. I also featured maps of the US, a camp, and a single block to put this scene into perspective. The barracks are stylized as a mechanically drawn blueprint, which contrasts with the liveliness of the colorful, hand-drawn characters and the objects they interact with in camp. For the background, I chose to add a canvas texture because canvas was one of the few materials that inmates had at camp.