CU Boulder Japanese and Japanese American Community History Project: Home

The Japanese and Japanese American History Project documents the history of Japanese and Japanese Americans on the University of Colorado Boulder Campus. We tell their stories through oral histories, photos, video, and other forms of media.

The project is led by:

• Megan K. Friedel, (Assistant Professor/Head of Archives, University Libraries
• Adam H. Lisbon, Assistant Professor/Japanese and Korean Studies Librarian, University Libraries

History of the Project:
This collection of digital objects and oral history interviews started in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of Japanese American incarceration in the United States. Over the 2019-2020 academic year, Friedel and Lisbon worked with three student interns to connect with current students, alumni, and former faculty and staff from CU's Japanese and Japanese American communities and community organizations in order to collect personal materials such as:

• photos
• letters
• diaries
• ephemera
• oral histories
• other archival items that document their experiences on campus.

These materials become part of the CU Boulder Archives in the Rare and Distinctive Collections Unit of the University Libraries to be preserved for scholarship and as a part of university history in perpetuity, and selections will be digitized and added to the CU Digital Library. This project is a part of the Archives' commitment to document the histories of underrepresented communities on campus.
 

Our deepest gratitude to:

• The many participants who shared their stories with us.
• The CU Boulder Community Outreach and Engagement Program
• The Sakura Foundation
• Our Student Interns:
  • Crystal LaStrella
  • Kami McDaniel
  • Maria Aki