Grade Level: 4–12

Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) is best known for her portraits of migrant laborers, Dust Bowl refugees, and those unjustly incarcerated during World War II. Working in a documentary style, Lange recorded actual events and people, highlighting the humanity and resilience of those she photographed. She hoped to transform how we see one another and believed her work could inspire social change. 

A young girl holds her hand to her heart, looking up toward a flag we can't see. She is at school, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with her classmates. Look closely at her expression; what do you think she is feeling?

After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US government imprisoned more than 100,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast in incarceration camps. Most were US citizens, and many were children. 

Dorothea Lange took this picture of Hideno Nakamoto when the little girl was seven years old. Soon after, she was forcibly relocated to a camp with her mother and sister. Although government officials hired Lange to document the process of forced relocation, her photographs were rarely shown during the war due to their critical nature. 

See  

Take a quiet minute to look closely at the photograph. What do you notice about the central figure, Hideno Nakamoto? How would you describe her appearance, pose, and expression? What might she be holding in her left hand? 

What is happening around her? How would you describe the other children?

Feel

How does this photograph make you feel? How might the children in this photograph be feeling? Why do you think so?

Wonder  

Lange was against the forced relocation of Japanese Americans to prison camps, but she felt it was important to record what was happening. What story does this photograph of young Hideno Nakamoto and her classmates show about the experience of Japanese Americans at this time in history?

Create  

Lange made very careful decisions about what to include, and what not to include, in her photographs. Use your imagination to draw, write, or discuss what might be happening beyond the frame.

• What might be going on around Hideno just a few feet away?

• What might be happening down the street?

• What might be happening in Hideno’s town?

For more images, please visit the Library of Congress (loc.gov) and the National Archives (archives.gov). Both websites hold vast collections of Lange’s photographs of the Japanese American experience of forced relocation and incarceration.