The shameful treatment of so many Japanese-Americans in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack remains a strangely unknown chapter of our nation’s history.

Occasionally something happens so as to briefly bring it to the forefront of the national conscious: publication of the 1994 novel “Snow Falling on Cedars” by Bainbridge Island author David Guterson and the subsequent film adaptation; release of the second season of the AMC historical horror series “The Terror,” which was set in an internment camp and featured among the cast and crew both actual survivors of such places and many relatives/descendants.

But, more often the not, even people who grew up practically in the shadows of the “relocation centers” — glorified prisons more akin to concentration camps, to which thousands of citizens were forcibly moved — typically know little, or nothing, of what actually happened there.

Such was the case for Brian Goodman, originally of Southern California. And, upon investigating the history of the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the Owens Valley, at the base of Mount Williamson, the shocking revelation provided the pro photographer with an irresistible subject at which to point his camera — for the next 40 years.

Today, Goodman lives in Port Townsend and is showcasing a selection of his Manzanar pictures, chosen from among the 194 included in his new book “Manzanar: Their Footsteps Remain – 40 Years of Photography,” now available in both hard and softcover, in a special exhibition of the same name at Northwind Arts Center from Thursday, Nov. 5 to Sunday, Nov. 29.

“I started taking pictures and it just kept drawing me back over the years,” Goodman said.

“It was a place that I passed by not often but periodically, and one day I just decided to pull over and see what it was. And that was all the way back in 1977. Growing up in Southern California, I didn’t know anything about the camp, or the camps, at all. I got out of the car wondering, ‘What took place here?’”

What took place was in the wake of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, empowering the Secretary of War to “relocate” nearly 120,000 Japanese-Americans and Japanese immigrants from their homes to the “War Relocation Centers” that had been established in several western states. Those centers were, in fact, concentration camps, intended to collect and house all people of Japanese heritage regardless of their citizenship.

One such camp was Manzanar, which between 1942 and 1945 housed more than 11,000 men, women, and children.

Located in the Owens Valley in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the 6,000 acres allocated to the Manzanar facility included the detention camp, adjacent agricultural areas, hog farm, reservoir, cemetery, and sewage treatment plant.

According to Goodman, approximately 550 acres of this barren landscape made up the designated living area, consisting of 36 blocks of wooden barracks for the prisoners and various administrative facilities, encircled by barbed-wire fences and security guard towers with searchlights, and patrolled by armed U.S. soldiers.

The PT artist is, in fact, only the second most famous photographer to document the place, which was the subject of the now-famous series “Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans” by legendary lensman Ansel Adams, whose own son has praised Goodman’s photos.

“Brian’s depiction of the remnants of the forced internment of Japanese-Americans in Manzanar is an important body of work,” said Michael Adams. “[His] impressive and moving photographs in his book ... evoke deeply embedded memories of my childhood visits to the Manzanar War Relocation Camp with my father ... during World War II.”

Rather than memories, however, what Goodman hopes his pictures inspire in younger or less knowledgeable viewers is a desire to learn more.

“I grew up in Southern California, I went to school with Japanese-American kids, never heard a word about it,” Goodman said. “It was never spoken about, it was never taught in any of our classes. I knew nothing about it. Most of the time when I ask people if they have ever heard of Manzanar they look at me like, ‘What’s Manzanar?’”

Though the story is better known locally, Goodman said it remains criminally undiscussed in America at large, which is especially upsetting as it’s a particularly timely tale these days.

“I want people to wonder what actually took place at this location,” Goodman said. “If they haven’t heard the story, hopefully it will invite them to learn more about it and realize that our system is extremely fragile and our freedoms can be taken away from us very easily. This was an example of that.”

“The other thing,” he added, “is these stories should be known and should be taught. I grew up a good portion of my life not knowing anything about it and it literally happened right around the block from me, basically.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1957, Goodman has been creating photography for more than half a century. He said he has always been captivated by the visual interplay between light, color and texture, which is reflected in his images that have spanned the globe, capturing stirring landscapes, intriguing characters, and thought-provoking series.

He studied photographic arts and graphic design at Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem, Israel, and the Otis/Parsons School of Art & Design in Los Angeles.

In the early 1980s, Goodman began working for several large commercial photography studios in various capacities, allowing him to further hone his technical, management, and artistic skills. Goodman said he opened his first professional photo studio in 1987 in Pasadena, California, and later incorporated as Public Works Productions, Inc., moving his full-service commercial photography and design studio to a 6,000-square-foot building in nearby Altadena.

In 2015, he decided it was time to retire from the world of commercial photography and concentrate exclusively on creating fine art.

Learn more about Goodman and his work at www.briangoodmanphotography.com; the Manzanar series specifically at www.manzanarfootsteps.com.

The show at Northwind Arts Center (701 Water St., Port Townsend) is available to view from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday and also by appointment.

For more information, visit www.northwindarts.org.