Union Bay Cannery Block Print – 40.03.020.IMG_WORG.IronChinkBlockPrint.1932.GeorgeTsutakawa

In this 1932 blockprint by George Tsutakawa, workers process fish alongside the “Iron Chink,” a cannery machine named with a derogatory ethnic slur. Tsutakawa, who worked at Alaskan canneries, illustrates the imposing presence of the machine against Asian workers.

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The Asian American Studies Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

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