Stories from America's Concentration Camps (film)

Filmed presentation by members of Nisei VFW Post 8985, based in Sacramento, on the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. According to leader Kiyo Sato-Viacrucis , the group had been making such presentations for fourteen years to schools. Joining Sato-Viacrucis are members Kaoru "Kirk" Shibata, Robert Kashiwagi, H. Gary Shiota, Kinya Noguchi, Jim Tanaka, Yoshiro William Matsuhara. The group talk through the core story— Executive Order 9066 and the roundup of Japanese Americans, life in the concentration camps, volunteering for the army from the camps, and the aftermath of the war, ending with the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 —taking turns and often using photographs or other objects to tell the story. The group also tells the story of the formation of their group: how as Nisei veterans, they were not allowed to join existing Veterans of Foreign Affairs groups and thus had to form their own. The roughly 44-minute presentation is followed by a question and answer session from the adult audience.

Produced and directed by Steve LaRosa, Stories from America's Concentration Camps was funded by a grant from the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund . A teacher's guide titled "Lessons from Our Lifetime: Stories from America's Concentration Camps," was also produced.

Might also like The Bracelet (2001); Forsaken Fields (2001); Resettlement to Redress: Rebirth of the Japanese-American Community (2005)