Shawn Iwaoka
Shawn Iwaoka is the collections assistant at the Japanese American National Museum. He is responsible for supporting the care and preservation of the JANM’s permanent collection. His work includes registration of incoming artifacts, volunteer project support, and assistance with the Museum’s exhibitions. Prior to joining JANM, Shawn worked as a project archivist at UCLA in coordination between its Graduate Division and University Archives, and was an archival intern with the National Archives. Shawn has helped produce JANM’s Unboxed video series, which highlights artifacts and stories from JANM’s permanent collection.
Updated August 2020
Stories from This Author
The Story of Citizen USA
Aug. 5, 2020 • Shawn Iwaoka , Jamie Henricks
The release of the book Citizen USA by the Japanese American National Museum has been over 75 years in the making. Written at the Manzanar concentration camp between 1942 and 1943 by the Director of Adult Education, Charles K. Ferguson, yet never released at the time, the unpublished manuscript was donated to JANM by Charles Ferguson’s wife, Lois, in 2002. This unique work, unseen for decades, was recently shepherded through the publication process by Maria Kwong, JANM’s Director of Retail …
