The Legacy of Unjust and Illegal Treatment of Unangan

• Main Author: Arnold, Carlene J.
• Other Authors: Hoopes, John W., West, Dixie L., Johnson, Jay T.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Kansas 2011
• Subjects: Native American studies; Alaska natives; Aleutian islands; Internees; Internment; Unangan; World war ii; Kiska; Attu; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/9804; http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11929

This thesis discusses the relocation of Unangan during World War II, and the effect that it had on them. It uses personal interviews and secondary sources to provide the Native American and scientific communities with historical information about the Unangax prior to WWII. I hope to offer the school systems new ideas for educating Unangan and other students about the Unangan past and present. At the same time, telling my story about reconstructing my roots may provide inspiration for others like me to find their roots. In 1942, Japan bombed and invaded the Aleutian Islands in Alaska as a diversionary tactic. After the Japanese took control of Attu and Kiska, they took the people of Attu to Hokkaido, Japan as prisoners. Within days after the invasion, other Unangan were taken from their homes and relocated to canneries, mining camps and a Civilian Conservation Corps site in Southeast Alaska, under the orders of United States government officials. The internment began a story of the Unangan removal and relocation that remains largely unknown to most of the world. This sad incident resulted in the death of approximately ten percent of the Unangan population. The government seems to have ignored the Unangan basic human rights, causing them to suffer from lack of food, heat, plumbing, and medical attention. This multidisciplinary thesis will draw upon official government and military documents, journals, books, documentary films, oral histories, and personal interviews. It will benefit from perspectives offered by the Unangax themselves in the context of accounts by government officials, attorneys, historians, filmmakers, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and others. The thesis will address the significance of World War II internment in Unangan history, giving special attention to how it is regarded by the Unangan internees and their descendants today.