Did you know? Nebraska’s cultural diversity has included people of Japanese descent for more than 100 years. In the early 1900s, Japanese immigrants came to the North Platte River valley in western Nebraska, drawn by the work available in the newly-developing sugar beet fields. These immigrants started families and settled into communities throughout the valley.
Our very own Executive Director Sandra Reddish has extensively researched Nebraska’s Japanese settlement history. She wrote an essay on the topic for NET Nebraska, which she narrates in this excellent mini-documentary in the “Nebraska Stories” series. Several artifacts and archival documents from the museum’s collection were featured in this film.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes image from October 2014 during the making of this mini-documentary, when the museum’s kitchen became a makeshift film studio.
If, after watching the video, you have further questions about the local history of Japanese people in western Nebraska, pay us a visit or give us a call!