About These Resources
The resources on the page showcase some of the available collections at the American Heritage Center related to the AAPI community. Visit the AHC's main LibGuide to learn more about how to use and search for more of our primary source materials. You can also check out our finding aids on Archives West to find related resources. Get in touch with the AHC's Reference Services to look at collections and Toppan Rare Books at 307-766-3756 or ahcref@uwyo.edu.
The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or content in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials. Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections, as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement on potentially harmful language and content.
AHC Archival Collections
"Heart Mtn. 17, Fence" from the Bill Manbo Papers.
Andrew J. Mayeshiba Papers, Collection 12615
The collection contains correspondence to Andrew J. Mayeshiba while he was interned at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp.
Bill Manbo Papers, Collection 09982
The collection contains 30 color slides of scenes from the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, dated 1942-1944, two photos from a Cody, Wyoming studio, and a letter from Bacon Sakatani, 7-6-1993 which gives an inventory of the slides. Online content is available.
Richard Loo Papers, Collection 08577
Loo was a Chinese-American actor best known for his numerous portrayals of Japanese soldiers in World War II movies. The collection contains scripts and related materials for television and motion pictures in which Loo appeared, as well as correspondence, photos, and news clippings.
Susan McKay Papers, Collection 400036
The collection contains research materials, audio tapes and transcripts of interviews, and other materials from McKay's research on the Heart Mountain Japanese Relocation Center near Cody, Wyoming during World War II and the resulting publication, "The Courage Our Stories Tell: The Daily Lives and Maternal Child Health Care of Japanese American Women at Heart Mountain", published in 2002.
Grace Thorson Brown Papers, Collection 11453
The collection contains material mainly relating to Brown’s experiences while teaching at Heart Mountain. Newspaper clippings pertaining to Japanese Relocation in general and specifically to Heart Mountain are included. The collection also contains photographs of teachers and students at Heart Mountain, as well as student newspapers and some employment records.
Estelle Ishigo Photographs, Collection 10368
The collection includes photos of drawings and sketches created by Estelle Ishigo while she was interned with her Japanese-American husband at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp between Cody and Powell, Wyoming. She continued to sketch Japanese-American community life in their new home after the war in a trailer camp, still surrounded by barbed wire, in Lomita, California. Online content is available.
Robert Bartlett Rhode Papers, Collection 10453
Boxes 2 and 3 in the collection contain research notes about the Chinese immigration in Wyoming and the Rock Springs Massacre for Robert Bartlet Rhode’s book “Booms and Busts on Bitter Creek." Online content is available.
John S. Bugas Papers, Collection 12525
John Bugas's collection include his father's firsthand account of the Rock Springs Massacre. Online content is available.
Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, Collection 400008
Box 3 in this collection includes correspondence with the Union Pacific Railroad about Chinese workers in Rock Springs after the massacre, as well as a description of the event written in 1913. Digitized correspondence and digitized scans of the written description is available.
Joseph C. O’Mahoney Papers, Collection 00275
Joseph O’Mahoney was a five-term U.S. Senator from Wyoming. The collection contains articles, pamphlets, correspondence, and research notes to support the bill for Hawaiian statehood in Boxes 115 and 218.
UW College of Arts and Sciences Records, Collection 545000
Box 50, Folder 9 in the collection includes the Asian American Pacific Island Student Association committee meeting minutes and documents about events and activities put on by the student association.
Women's History Research Center Resource Files, Collection 05879
The collection contains extensive documentation (mostly printed) on the economic and social status of women from 1845-1992. Box 51 includes material on Asian-American women.
Toppan Rare Books
Philippine Expeditionary Force, Watari Group Information Dept. Publication – A pictorial account of the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines in 1941-1942 from the Japanese point of view. Contains photographs and descriptions of the military campaign as well as the occupation efforts. Also included is a US Military translation. Warning: Some images depict images of war. (Toppan Rare Books Library, Fitzhugh Collection: D 802 .P4J3 1943)
Zucker, The Chinese Theatre – A 1925 history and examination of Chinese theatre. The author examines the origins of Chinese theatre as well as summarizes several plays and discusses modern Chinese theatre customs and practices. The author takes a somewhat colonial tone and makes sweeping statements about Chinese culture, but overall the book is an interesting look at Chinese theatre from the early 20th century perspective. (Toppan Rare Books Library: PL2934 .Z8 1925)
The Story of the Circle of Chalk – A translation of a Chinese play of the medieval period. Also includes colorful illustrations in a Chinese style and a short preface. The play is a dramatic story involving accused infidelity, the legal system, and more. (Toppan Rare Books Library, Woodbury Collection: Li, Hsing-Tao: The Story of the Circle of Chalk)
A Chinese Printing Manual – A reproduction of a 1776 Chinese manual on printing and the construction of hardware needed for printmaking. The first half of the book contains a preface and introduction by the translator, and the second half contains the reproduced printing manual and accompanying translations. (Toppan Rare Books Library, Fitzhugh Collection: Z244 A2 C515)
Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze – A 1932 children’s novel and winner of the 1933 Newbery medal for children’s literature. The book tells to the story of Young Fu, a Chinese peasant boy who finds himself and his mother moving to the large city of “Chungking” (now Chongqing) in 1930s China. Fu has dreams of becoming a coppersmith and learning to read and write hoping to lift himself from his family’s traditional occupation of farming. This book occasionally contains outdated and possibly offensive terms and may not be an accurate depiction of Chinese culture of the 1930s. (Toppan Rare Books Library: Lewis, E.F. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze)
LibGuide written by Marcus Holscher.
AHC Digital Exhibits and Blog
Virmuze Digital Exhibit
Heart Mountain Relocation Center: Wyoming's Japanese Internment Camp
The curated exhibit explores the history of WWII internment camps in the US and the experience of those interned at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Park County, Wyoming during WWII.
AHC's Discover History Blog
Wyoming’s China Mary by AHC Simpson Archivist Leslie Waggener
Groundbreaking Character Actor Richard Loo by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington
Investigating Heart Mountain Relocation Camp with the Lester Hunt papers by AHC Staff
Eyewitness to Racism: Andrew Bugas and the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885 by AHC Staff