The Unstable Start of the Japanese Internment Experience: Reconstructing the Puyallup Assembly Center
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Julia Smith
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
5-8-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
5-8-2024 1:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Anthropology
Abstract
Between April and September 1942, over 7,500 Japanese Americans from western Washington were assembled and incarcerated in hastily erected buildings at the site of the State Fairgrounds in Puyallup. The State Fair resumed in 1946 on the just-as-quickly-deconstructed camp grounds. The Puyallup Assembly Center—and assembly centers altogether—are underrepresented in the Japanese Internment experience in large part because they were transitory spaces. Digital reconstruction of the center’s hastily built facilities using ArcGIS and historical aerial images provides a glimpse into the incarcerees’ experience, including their access to vital but limited resources such as food, lavatories/cleaning facilities, and healthcare. Assembly Centers started the internment process, placing Japanese Americans into an ephemeral emotional and physical state on unstable grounds unfit for housing them. The Puyallup Assembly Center was intended to be a transient holding place in preparation for permanent facilities, but it was wholly inadequate for doubling the population of Puyallup overnight. In a space that today receives over 2 million visitors annually, it is important to remember the lives of those deeply affected by their time held here. This research contributes to the narrative of assembly centers’ role in the Japanese Internment experience. By utilizing ArcGIS and aerial imagery to reconstruct a transformed historical landscape, we gain a greater comprehension into the first stepping stone of the incarcerees’ daily lives in incarceration, a neglected piece of PNW history.
Recommended Citation
Pugh, Anna J., "The Unstable Start of the Japanese Internment Experience: Reconstructing the Puyallup Assembly Center" (2024). 2024 Symposium. 40.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2024/ps_2024/p2_2024/40
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Unstable Start of the Japanese Internment Experience: Reconstructing the Puyallup Assembly Center
PUB NCR
Between April and September 1942, over 7,500 Japanese Americans from western Washington were assembled and incarcerated in hastily erected buildings at the site of the State Fairgrounds in Puyallup. The State Fair resumed in 1946 on the just-as-quickly-deconstructed camp grounds. The Puyallup Assembly Center—and assembly centers altogether—are underrepresented in the Japanese Internment experience in large part because they were transitory spaces. Digital reconstruction of the center’s hastily built facilities using ArcGIS and historical aerial images provides a glimpse into the incarcerees’ experience, including their access to vital but limited resources such as food, lavatories/cleaning facilities, and healthcare. Assembly Centers started the internment process, placing Japanese Americans into an ephemeral emotional and physical state on unstable grounds unfit for housing them. The Puyallup Assembly Center was intended to be a transient holding place in preparation for permanent facilities, but it was wholly inadequate for doubling the population of Puyallup overnight. In a space that today receives over 2 million visitors annually, it is important to remember the lives of those deeply affected by their time held here. This research contributes to the narrative of assembly centers’ role in the Japanese Internment experience. By utilizing ArcGIS and aerial imagery to reconstruct a transformed historical landscape, we gain a greater comprehension into the first stepping stone of the incarcerees’ daily lives in incarceration, a neglected piece of PNW history.
