Nara Duffie

Nara Duffie is a junior at Oberlin College majoring in East Asian Studies and Religion. She serves on the board of the Japanese Student Association and helps connect nikkei students on campus. In her free time she loves to sing, hike and study Japanese. Nara is the current Getty-Marrow Collections and Curatorial Intern at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. As the granddaughter of a Hiroshima survivor, Nara is passionate about storytelling as a way of preserving history, connecting the past to the present, and building community for the future.

Updated August 2023

Stories from This Author

Bridging the Past and Present: Preserving History Through the Tanaka Photo Studio Collection

Aug. 24, 2023 • Nara Duffie

My grandmother grew up in Hiroshima. She was 11 years old on August 6, 1945. Many lives were lost along with countless stories. Her family lost photos, records, and possessions. Thinking of my grandmother reminds me of the importance of preserving history. This is one reason I was excited to serve as an intern at the Japanese American National Museum this summer. I worked with the Tanaka Photo Studio Collection, which will help preserve Japanese American history for future generations. …

California Chikashi Tanaka collections (objects) digital collections generations Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship immigrants immigration internships Issei JANM collection Japan Japanese American National Museum Japanese American National Museum (organization) Little Tokyo Los Angeles migration museum objects photographers photography prewar Tanaka Studio Collection United States