An exhibit shining a light on Japanese-American history in Arkansas opens soon. The exhibit, titled "Muttsu No Kazoku: Six Families’ Journey from Internment to Scott," will open at the Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott on March 16.
The exhibit tells the stories of six Japanese-American families who were farmers in California before World War II, then forcefully relocated and interned in Arkansas as anti-Japanese sentiment rose across the U.S.
Curator Curtis Smith says the exhibit came about after comparing the lives of Arkansas internees to those interned in western states.
“Digging a little deeper into it, we found more and more about the families that had moved here to the Scott area, it started to become much more detailed about them,” he said.
Once the focus of the exhibit became clear, Smith says they were able to connect with a family member from one of the original six families.
Park Interpreter Emilee Baker says these significant events are part of many over the last century in Arkansas history, but study of these events isn’t prioritized in schools.
“A lot of the events that happened during World War II get caught up in that nebulous time where we’re not ready to discuss that as history,” she said. “I guess we don’t like to think of living things as being a part of history.”
Baker says after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Japanese-Americans were forcefully relocated to internment camps, these six families were sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center, one of two camps in Arkansas. After their release, the families began farming in Scott, about 15 miles east of Little Rock and near the current location of the Plantation Agriculture Museum.
Reflecting on her own education, Baker says Arkansas kids don’t learn about how the state has impacted national history. She says exhibits like this are important to fill in those knowledge gaps.
“Arkansas had an important part to play in a bunch of different things throughout history,” Baker said. “If you're a kid and you don’t ever hear that Arkansas was important and Arkansas history is very valuable towards the conversation about national history and everything else, then you aren’t very inspired to look further into Arkansas history.”
"Muttsu No Kazoku" opens at the Plantation Agriculture Museum on March 16 with a day-long festival to celebrate Japanese culture and history in Arkansas. The exhibit will be on view Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
