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Estelle Ishigo photographs, 1928-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Ishigo, Estelle
Title
Estelle Ishigo photographs
Dates
1928-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
.25 cubic ft. (1 box)
Collection Number
10368
Summary
Photographs of drawings by Estelle Ishigo showing life inside an internment camp for Japanese Americans near Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1942-1945.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were forced to sell their property and move to what the Supreme Court later called "concentration camps." They were never adequately reimbursed for their losses, and it took many years for them to collect even token amounts.

Estelle Ishigo, a Caucasian, met her future husband Arthur Shigeharu Ishigo, a San Francisco-born Nisei, when they were both students at Otis Art School in Los Angeles, California. They were married in 1928 in Tijuana because Caucasians were not allowed to marry non-Caucasians in California at that time. In 1942 she accompanied her husband to the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp between Cody and Powell, Wyoming, where they were interned for nearly four years. When the Ishigos were released in 1945, they moved to a house trailer near Los Angeles, California. Arthur Ishigo worked at the Los Angeles airport for ten years until he died in 1957. Estelle Ishigo then moved from place to place working in odd jobs and supplementing her income with her art work. Her book of recollections and sketches called Lone Heart Mountain was published in 1972.

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Content Description

The Estelle Ishigo photographs were gathered for use in her book Lone Heart Mountain and many of them were published there. The original drawings and sketches were created by Estelle Ishigo while she was interned with her Japanese-American husband at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp between Cody and Powell, Wyoming. Some were originally intended for use in the camp newspaper, the Heart Mountain Sentinel, and for an official project report for the U.S. government. She continued to sketch Japanese-American community life in their new home after the war in a trailer camp, still surrounded by barbed wire, in Lomita, California.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of this entire collection are available at http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~42~42.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Estelle Ishigo Photographs are arranged in 2 series. The first contains copy prints of Estelle and Arthur Ishigo family photographs. The second series comprises photographic prints of drawings made by Estelle Ishigo while living in the Heart Mountain camp and in a trailer camp in Lomita, California.

Related Materials

Related Materials

Collections for Estelle Ishigo can also be found at the Japanese American National Museum, and at the University of California, Los Angeles Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The Estelle Ishigo photographs were donated to the American Heritage Center by Bacon Sakatani in one shipment on May 27, 1993.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by John Earl Hanks in December, 1997. The electronic finding aid was encoded with links to digitized material in September 2010 by Ben Goldman.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.

Personal Names

  • Ishigo family.

Corporate Names

  • Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming.

Geographical Names

  • Wyoming -- History, 1919-1945.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Sketches.

Occupations

  • Artists

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Ishigo, Estelle: Lone heart mountain.

Processed by John Earl Hanks
2010

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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