How Japanese American Gardeners Shaped an Internment Camp Landscape: a Soil Chemistry and Archival Analysis

Abstract

This thesis explores the soil of a Japanese American internment camp, how internees changed it, and why. In acknowledging soil as a force in shaping events in camp and as artifact changed by them, I add new elements to the historical narrative of Japanese American internment. My analysis of the soil chemistry showing a legacy of camp life and an exploration of related archival material are unique additions to the story of World War II internment.