Resettlement: Chicago Story

Resettlement: Chicago Story follows the Yamamato family – Mary, Kimiye, and Sam – as they
adjust to life in postwar Chicago after being unjustly incarcerated by the U.S. government during
WWII. The Yamamotos were among 120,000 people of Japanese descent imprisoned during the
war solely because of their ancestry, without due process or regard for citizenship rights.
When the war was almost over, the U.S. government permitted the Yamamotos to leave the
concentration camp. But instead of letting them return home to the West Coast, the government
“resettled” them to Chicago and demanded they reject their Japanese language, culture, and
traditions.

Resettlement brings learners into 1950 Chicago. After Mary gets suspended from a school for
causing trouble with another student, her chance of going to a dance contest now depends on
her mother, Kimiye’s, decision. In order to win her mother’s favor, Mary helps run the family’s
struggling dry cleaning business. When a customer’s clothing goes missing, she has to come up
with a plan to save face for the family.