Evacuees of Alaska
6/1942
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
In June 1942, during World War II, Japan bombed Dutch Harbor and occupied Attu and Kiska Islands (in the Aleutian Islands in southeastern Alaska). Japanese forces took the Aleut/Unangax̂ people from the village of Attu hostage, sending them to Japan as prisoners of war. The U.S. Federal Government removed 881 Aleuts/Unangax̂ from their homes in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, and relocated them to four internment camps in southeast Alaska.
This photograph shows people being evacuated. The original caption reads: "Evacuees of Alaska. The Japanese invasion of North American outposts made necessary the removal of entire populations of several Alaska islands. Principal victims were the Aleuts, near relatives of the Eskimo, who had for countless centuries eked out a precarious living by fishing and hunting in the Aleutians and other islands of the Bering Sea area."
Conditions at the internment camps were primitive and became so poor that disease and other causes resulted in a 10-percent death rate. Upon their return to their homes in 1944 and 1945, some Aleuts/Unangax̂ found their villages leveled, while others found their homes and property had been vandalized, looted, or destroyed by American troops.
This photograph shows people being evacuated. The original caption reads: "Evacuees of Alaska. The Japanese invasion of North American outposts made necessary the removal of entire populations of several Alaska islands. Principal victims were the Aleuts, near relatives of the Eskimo, who had for countless centuries eked out a precarious living by fishing and hunting in the Aleutians and other islands of the Bering Sea area."
Conditions at the internment camps were primitive and became so poor that disease and other causes resulted in a 10-percent death rate. Upon their return to their homes in 1944 and 1945, some Aleuts/Unangax̂ found their villages leveled, while others found their homes and property had been vandalized, looted, or destroyed by American troops.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of the Navy.
National Archives Identifier: 175539934
Full Citation: Photograph 80-G-12161; Evacuees of Alaska; 6/1942; General Photographic File of the Department of Navy, 1943 - 1958; General Records of the Department of the Navy, Record Group 80; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/evacuees-alaska, October 13, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.