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California Perspectives on American History
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The Great Okie Migration by Hugo Lardeau and Maëva Irié

Hi, the exhibit shows about the Great Okie Migration. In the exhibit there are eight photos to report the exodus of the Okies during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. In this a series seven photos were taken by Dorothea Lange., the iconic photographer of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl .
In the 1940's the farmers fled for two reasons: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. This event is called the Great Okie Migration. The Great Depression is an economic crisis. So a lot of Americans were jobless. The Dust Bowl was a violent dust storm of the drought. This storm hit different states(Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. The farmers and their family fled from the Dust Bowl regions to California on highway 66 by foot or by car. Route 66 is a very long national road running from the Mississippi to Bakersfield California. During the Great Okie Migration Route 66 was known as "the Mother Road" because it was main migrants road. California is well known for a land of plenty because of a favorable climate and plentiful ressources. In the 1940' s it was a paradise for a lot of Americans. California promises work and a new life with hope.

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migrant child in bean pickers camp

In 1939. In Oregon. She is in the slum, in a migrants camp. Her clothes are worn out. She looks desperate.Photo by Dorothea Lange.

Dust Bowl refugee woman washing clothes in California migrant camp

this is a refugee of the Dust bowl in California. In 1937. Photo by Dorothea Lange.

Drought refugees from Oklahoma looking for work in the fields of California San Jose CA mission march

In 1935 .Photo by Dorothea Lange.The migrants travel on route 66 by foot or by car from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Along the highway near Bakersfield, California, Dust Bowl refugees

In November 1935. Photo by Dorothea Lange.
The migrant’s journey, on route 66, is very long and exhausting.

migrant agricultural workers family

Dorothea Lange, Nipomo, California, 1936L.C. Migrant Mother.This family lives in a tent because their house was destroyed during the storm.

Car of Texas drought refugee family

Arrived in California in 1937. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Cars during this period were a way for migrants to escape and reach California.

The Migrant Experience

Frank and Myra Pipkin being recorded by Charles L. Todd at Shafter FSA camp, Shafter, California, 1941. Photo by Robert Hemming. these people live en a slum for lack of financial means.

Homeless man carrying belongings

Napa Valley, CA, 1938. Photo by Dorothea Lange. During this period many Americans lost their homes and jobs like this man this is a case of this man.

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Picture This is a project of the Oakland Museum of California