National Park Service Report to the President: Japanese-American Internment Sites Preservation

Manzanar Relocation Center, July 1942

January 9, 2001

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am honored to provide the Department of the Interior's report and recommendations to preserve the World War II Japanese-American Interment sites, as directed by your November 9, 2000, memorandum.

As you requested, we consulted with States, Tribes, local and national organizations involved in the preservation of the Japanese-American internment sites. We have included many valuable comments submitted as a result of these consultations in the appendix to this report. We look forward to continuing these relationships and continuing the work we have begun to protect these important sites.

I welcome the attention that you have shown to this important issue. As you stated in your memorandum, the Japanese-American Internment sites represent a tangible reminder of the grave injustice done to Japanese-Americans. The Department looks forward to implementing these recommendations to help ensure that this period in American history is never forgotten.

Respectfully,

/s/ Bruce Babbitt

This report focuses on the ten Japanese-American War Relocation Centers located in seven States over which the Department of Interior has or had jurisdiction. Parts of the historic cores of some of these sites remain under the jurisdiction of DOI bureaus. The sites have varying levels of historic recognition.

Recommendations:
In consultation with State and federal agencies, local and national organizations and private individuals, DOI will focus on three main areas: Interpretation, Historic Recognition, and Consultation. In addition, DOI has developed specific recommendations and options for each of the Relocation Centers.

Interpretation

• Develop a web site to help increase the American public's awareness of the War Relocation Centers and in turn, aid in the preservation of the camps.
• Develop an interpretive concept plan for all ten Japanese Internment Sites.

Historic Recognitiona

• Pursue and/or improve/increase National Register of Historic Places or National Historic Landmark designation for each of the sites.

Consultation

• Continue to consult with State, Tribal, and Congressional representatives for the sites, as well as national and local organizations with an interest in these sites.
• The National Park Service will proceed with a Special Resource Study of sites that represent the story of World War II on the homefront. This study was authorized by Public Law 106-362, the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Homefront National Historic Park Establishment Act of 2000.

Legislation

• All DOI Bureaus will ensure the preservation of historic properties within their jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act.
• Two Relocation Centers (Manzanar and Heart Mountain) have had specific Congressional action, and there is Congressional interest in other sites. DOI will continue to coordinate with any ongoing or proposed legislative efforts for specific sites.

On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, leading to the relocation and internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans. To carry out the order, the United States Government established War Relocation Centers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and other states. Almost 50 years later, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, acknowledging that "a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II." As a result, all Japanese Americans who were subject to internment received a letter from the U.S. Government that "acknowledged the wrongs of the past and offered redress to those who endured such grave injustice."

In 1992, Congress recognized the importance of protecting and interpreting the historical, cultural and natural resources associated with the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II by establishing the Manzanar National Historic Site (P.L. 102-248). Manzanar is intended to preserve and interpret a representative War Relocation Center as an aspect of the nation's Pacific Campaign of World War II. In 1999, as part of the effort to inventory the tangible remains currently left at the internment sites, the Department of the Interior (DOI) published "Confinement and Ethnicity: an Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites," describing the current condition of the War Relocation Centers and other relocation sites.

On November 9, 2000, President Clinton directed the Secretary of the Interior to follow up on this report by developing recommendations to preserve the existing Japanese American internment sites and to provide more opportunities for the public to learn about the internment. This report was to be developed within sixty days in consultation with members of Congress, States, Tribes, local officials, and other interested parties.

There are ten Japanese-American War Relocation Centers located in seven States. Parts of the historic cores of some of these sites are under the jurisdiction of DOI bureaus, primarily the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bureau of Land Management. Two sites are located on Indian Tribal land, and three are located on private land. The sites have varying levels of historic recognition.

In addition to these War Relocation Centers, there are numerous other relocation and internment facilities. Most of the Japanese Americans were first sent to one of 17 temporary "Assembly Centers," where they awaited transfer to a more permanent relocation center. Most of those relocated were American citizens by birth. Many were long-term U.S. residents, unable to gain citizenship because of discriminatory naturalization laws. Thousands of these "aliens" were interned in Department of Justice and U.S. Army facilities.

The Japanese-American Internment sites represent a tangible reminder of a shameful part of American history. DOI has consulted with several national and local organizations strongly committed to ensuring that this period in American history is never forgotten. These groups, and the wealth of information they have about the sites, are an integral part of the development of this report. We have used this information, along with information gathered in DOI field offices to develop recommendations for the Relocation Centers.

In addition to the specific site recommendations included in Appendix A, the Department will focus its overall attention on three main areas: Interpretation, Historic Recognition, and Consultation. DOI has created an implementation team to follow through on these recommendations. The names of the team members are included in Appendix B.

This process has illustrated several preservation success stories and has highlighted many lessons that can be learned from the efforts of national, State and local organizations on the preservation of specific Internment sites. This report is designed to not only discuss how DOI will work with these organizations to preserve and/or interpret these sites, it also serves as a roadmap for Federal agencies, national, State and local organizations on the preservation of other Internment sites.

While this report focuses on the ten War Relocation Centers, there are also various preservation efforts for other sites that represent preservation "success stories." In particular, in 1999, the U.S. Forest Service dedicated the Catalina Federal Honor Camp as the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site, after the site's most famous prisoner. Details about the U.S. Forest Service's preservation efforts for the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site are included in Appendix D.

There are also numerous opportunities to better recognize and protect significant sites in addition to the Relocation Centers. Among the Assembly Centers, for example, the Santa Anita Racetrack in California, which served as one of the Assembly Centers, retains a high degree of historic integrity, and could well qualify as a national historic landmark. It is already a California state historic landmark. In addition, there were significant sites associated with the relocation and internment period that were administered by the Army, the Justice Department, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons that should be given future consideration for recognition and preservation.

This report is divided into three sections:

• General recommendations and proposed actions for the War Relocation Centers;
• Short description and specific recommendations for each site; and
• Appendices; including
  1. Detailed reports about each site;
     • Manzanar
     • Tule Lake
     • Granada
     • Topaz
     • Heart Mountain
     • Minidoka
     • Gila River
     • Poston
     • Jerome
     • Rohwer
  2. List of DOI Implementation Team members, and National, State and local organizations and individuals involved in Relocation Center preservation efforts;
  3. Information on grants and other resources potentially available for preservation/interpretation efforts;
  4. Comments and information received through consultation process, including recommendations for sites other than the War Relocation Centers.

In order for the various Departments and agencies that manage sites associated with the internment period to plan and take appropriate actions to better identify, commemorate, and/or preserve significant remaining sites under their jurisdiction, we recommend the formation of an interdepartmental coordinating council, that would include the appropriate agencies within the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Justice and Defense. We recommend that you consider the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to serve as the appropriate entity to convene and/or provide overall guidance to this interdepartmental council.

The full array of authorities and actions available to the President, Cabinet Secretaries and agencies should be considered as appropriate to achieve more complete identification, recognition, and preservation of as many as possible of the sites associated with the WWII internment of Japanese American citizens.

At present, only one of the Relocation Centers, Manzanar, is fully preserved, as a unit of the national park system. Only one, also Manzanar, is commemorated as a National Historic Landmark (although the Rowher Cemetery is a NHL, the Center itself is not).

Of the ten Relocation Centers, only six are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The additional recognition of significance that Register listing and NHL designation would bring to the sites would be an important element in their long-term preservation. The Department is committed to working with the respective State Historic Preservation Officers, and interested individuals and organizations, in securing appropriate nominations of these sites.

For sites on federal lands, the President has authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to proclaim national monuments. For any site, the Congress can enact legislation to provide additional recognition and/or preservation direction. At a minimum, the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, provides considerable incentives for historic site preservation, and disincentives for historic site destruction, both for sites already listed, and for those determined eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places.

Each of the Relocation Centers has distinctive resources that illustrate different aspects of the Internment story. Some have structures still standing, while others have no more than a few concrete slabs and the memories of those interned there to mark their existence. Some have significant resources committed toward preservation and interpretation, while others have virtually nothing to document the grave injustice done to the Japanese-Americans imprisoned at these sites.

Recognizing the distinctiveness of each of the sites, the Department will work closely with national, State and local organizations to provide additional protection to these historically significant resources. The Department will focus on increasing the level of Interpretation, Historic Recognition, and Consultation for the sites. In addition, DOI will continue to coordinate with any ongoing or proposed legislative efforts for specific sites.

In addition to the site specific recommendations included in Appendix A, the Department will:

Develop a web site to help increase the American public's awareness of the Relocation Centers. The web site will be a strong interpretive tool, especially for those who might not have the opportunity to visit the sites in person. The web site will be designed with a home page that will provide an introduction and links to other pages discussing the historic context of the Centers. Historic photos will be used to illustrate these pages. These pages will discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Executive Order No. 9066;
• Historic perspective on the prelude to the relocation of the Japanese-American people;
• Construction of the Centers;
• Living conditions and way of life in the Centers;
• Closing of the Centers after the war; and
• Aftermath for the Japanese-American detainees.
• Links to a map showing the location of the Centers and individual pages for each property, as well as links to other organizations' existing web sites. The pages for each Center will contain information about the property and will use historic and current photos as illustrations.
• Bibliography providing resources for users to obtain additional information about the sites.

Develop an interpretive concept plan for all ten Relocation Centers. The plan will:

• Identify the interpretive story elements that are common to all ten Relocation Centers --the discrimination against Asian Americans in 19th and 20th centuries, the overarching civil rights issues, national security during wartime, impacts on Japanese-American culture, etc. The plan would develop a strategy for developing consistent and cost effective interpretive/educational products that would be used to interpret those story elements at all ten Centers. The plan will be developed in consultation with interested parties, including appropriate State Historic Preservation Officers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
• Identify the interpretive story elements that are specific to the individual Relocation Centers and develop strategies for developing interpretive/educational products that fit each Relocation Center's individual situation and resources.
• Inventory existing human, data, and cultural resources to support the interpretation of the Japanese-American internment story, identify resource gaps, and outline a strategy to support research and other efforts to enlarge the resource base.
• Identify current advocacy and interest groups involved with the Japanese-American internment story and related resources. Working with those groups, outline roles, responsibilities, and potential partnership opportunities for interpreting the story.

Update existing information for those Centers that are currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places, pursue nominations to the National Register for those not currently listed, and pursue designation as National Historic Landmarks for those Relocation Centers that meet existing eligibility criteria, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and/or the Indian tribe for each Relocation Center. NHL designation will increase the public's awareness about the War Relocation Centers, help assure that future federally funded or permitted actions protect important resource values, and enhance the potential for preservation grants from private as well as public sources. Information about many of these grants is included in Appendix C.

Continue to consult with State, Tribal, and Congressional representatives for the Relocation Centers, as well as national and local organizations with an interest in these sites.

Field representatives from each of the Bureaus have consulted with State and local organizations to develop the recommendations for this report. In addition, a December 2000 teleconference arranged by the White House, provided DOI the opportunity to discuss the report and ask for additional information from over a dozen organizations and individuals committed to preserving the sites. These groups have provided a great deal of information that DOI has incorporated into this report. (Appendix D)

Appendix C contains a comprehensive list of individuals and organizations involved in Relocation Center preservation efforts. Appendix A provides more detailed information about specific consultative efforts for each of the Internment Centers.

The Department will continue to consult with the Congress on efforts to preserve and protect the Relocation Centers. The Asian Pacific American congressional Caucus has shown strong interest in this effort as have Members of Congress whose districts and States include these sites.

The National Park Service (NPS) is proceeding with a Special Resource Study of sites that represent the story of World War II on the homefront. This study was authorized by Public Law 106-362, the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Homefront National Historic Park Establishment Act of 2000. In a letter to Congress accompanying its Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Request, the NPS identified Tule Lake and Granada as examples of the sites that would be studied under the World War II Homefront theme. The special resource study will apply criteria and follow procedures outlined in Public Law 105-391, the 1998 National Parks Omnibus Management Act. In evaluating eligibility for inclusion in the National Park System, the study team will consider whether the resources are 1) nationally significant, 2) suitable for addition to the National Park System, 3) feasible for administration by the NPS, and 4) other appropriate alternatives to NPS management. In the case of Tule Lake and Granada, the special resource study process would most likely focus on potential for partnerships between the NPS and other interested parties including Federal, State, and local entities. These studies are expected to start early in 2001 and be completed within two years.

The National Historic Preservation Act:

• Section 110 directs Federal agencies to ensure the preservation of historic properties within their jurisdiction. DOI will ensure that efforts to identify, protect, preserve, and interpret War Relocation Center sites under its control or ownership will be set forth in Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) with the appropriate State or Tribal Historic Preservation Office. These agreements will be developed in consultation with local and State governments, local and national groups and historical affinity to the sites, and other interested parties. The MOAs will incorporate the strategies identified in the interpretive concept plan.
• Section 106 requires that Federal agencies take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties, and afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation reasonable opportunity to comment. The responsible Federal agency first determines whether it has an undertaking that could affect historic properties (defined as properties that are included in the National Register of Historic Places or that meet the criteria for the National Register). If so, it must identify the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officer/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO/THPO) to consult with during the process. It should also plan to involve the public, and identify other potential consulting parties. If it determines that it has no undertaking, or that its undertaking has no potential to affect historic properties, the agency has no further Section 106 obligations. The historic preservation review process mandated by Section 106 is outlined in regulations issued by the Council.

Congressional Action on Specific Sites:

Manzanar and Heart Mountain have had specific Congressional action, and there is Congressional interest in other sites:

• The Manzanar National Historic Site was established by P.L. 102-248 in 1992. The legislation states that the Historic Site is intended to "provide for the protection and interpretation of historical, cultural, and natural resources associated with the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II…." Manzanar is intended to preserve and interpret a representative War Relocation Center as an aspect of the nation's Pacific Campaign of World War II.
• The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation has received a $500,000 grant in the VA-HUD appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001 which will be used to construct a Learning Center. Wyoming's Congressional Delegation appears to be supportive of preservation efforts and Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi may author and sponsor legislation to preserve and protect the Heart Mountain Relocation Center.

A short overview of each of the Relocation Centers as well as DOI's recommendations for these sites is listed below. Appendix A contains more detailed information about each of the Relocation Centers, DOI's recommendations, and specific consultations with national, State and local organizations regarding preservation and/or interpretation.

Manzanar

Manzanar is located in California and is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Manzanar National Historic Site was established by P.L. 102-248 in 1992 to preserve and interpret a representative War Relocation Center as an aspect of the nation's Pacific Campaign of World War II. The National Park Service will complete rehabilitation of the Manzanar Relocation Center Auditorium and open it to the public in early 2003 as the Manzanar National Historic Park Visitor Center. The interpretive plan for the Relocation Center will provide information not only on Manzanar, but general information for all the War Relocation Center sites.

The NPS has developed a World Wide Web site for Manzanar (www.nps.gov/manz). In addition to specific information about the Manzanar experience, the site also includes a link to the "Confinement and Ethnicity" report. This comprehensive study provides an overview of all of the Japanese-American Internment Sites.

Tule Lake

Tule Lake is located in California and includes 23 acres under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation. The land, while owned by Reclamation as part of the Klamath Project, is currently used by the Tulelake Irrigation District. A remaining War Relocation Authority building is also used by the district for a small amount of storage. The majority of the remaining structures are on State land and are used by CalTrans (California Department of Transportation). The State of California is currently considering the addition of a wayside rest area at Tule Lake. DOI will work with CalTrans to secure federal funding (TEA-21 grant) or State funding to develop a wayside rest area. A large monument of basalt rock and concrete, which is not located on Reclamation land, is along the north side of State Highway 139 and commemorates the relocation center. The monument, dedicated in 1979, incorporates multiple levels of rock walls, a concrete apron, and a state historical marker. The Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee has been active in preservation efforts for the site and has developed a proposal to create a living memorial at Tule Lake.

The National Park Service plans to conduct a Special Resource Study to evaluate options for protection and interpretation of Tule Lake under the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park Establishment Act of 2000, as discussed above in the Consultation section of this report.

Granada

Granada is located in Colorado, and is owned and being maintained by the Town of Granada with assistance from various volunteer groups. Maintenance activities are directed toward maintenance of the cemetery, clean up, and prevention of vandalism. Some interpretive work is in place through the help of the volunteers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic places.

The NPS will conduct a Special Resource Study to evaluate options for protection and interpretation of Granada under the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park Establishment Act of 2000, as discussed above.

Topaz

Topaz is located in Utah and the majority of the site is privately held. The Topaz Preservation Board owns 415 acres of the original 640 acres of the Relocation Center. Several other private individuals own the rest. Five modern houses are built on the Internment site lands. Further development of an additional 38 acres is currently planned. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently has jurisdiction over several large dump sites, guard tower foundations, and the sewer plant. These sites are located on the western boundary of the original Internment site.

Currently, the Topaz Preservation Board is the recipient of a Getty Foundation Grant, that is being utilized in the development of a preservation plan for the site. Furthermore, the Topaz Preservation Board has begun to acquire funding for a museum, but lacks the funds necessary for the completion of construction and development. The BLM, working together with the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Topaz Preservation Board, will pursue increased historic recognition for the site.

Heart Mountain

Heart Mountain is located in Wyoming and includes 73.93 acres under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wyoming congressional delegation appears to be supportive of the preservation and protection of the site. Three areas have intact features:

• the administration and hospital complexes, on Reclamation land;
• the warehouse and root cellar areas on private land; and
• a portion of the high school, also on private land.

Fifteen miles north of Cody along U.S. Highway Alt. 14, there is a historical monument placed by the American Legion and a directional sign to the relocation center memorial park. The original honor roll, which was inscribed with the names of soldiers from the relocation center, is the central piece of the Heart Mountain Memorial Park initiated by the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial Association.

Reclamation plans to investigate the possibility of partnership opportunities with local organizations for the management of the site. In particular, the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation has been extremely active in preservation efforts for the site. The Foundation received a $500,000 grant in the VA-HUD appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001 which will be used to construct a Learning Center. The Foundation currently has a purchase option with a private property owner for 50 acres of the original camp site land on which to place the Learning Center. The Foundation also is currently trying to raise the funds necessary to purchase this land.

Minidoka

Minidoka is located in Idaho and encompassed 950 acres. 84 acres are currently under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation, and resources on 6 acres are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These six acres contain the standing basalt and concrete walls of what used to be a guard house and waiting room, a small area across the road from the guard house that once was an ornamental garden, and historical markers. These markers include interpretive and memorial signs and maps erected by Reclamation, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the State.

The Department plans to pursue NHL designation for the remaining 84 acres under the jurisdiction of Reclamation. NHL designation will increase the site's eligibility for preservation grant opportunities. In addition, the Department plans to investigate the possibility of partnership opportunities with local organizations for the management of the site.

Gila River

Gila River is located on the Gila River Indian Tribal lands in Arizona and is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is sacred to the Tribe and access is restricted.

Few features remain at the relocation center site. Concrete slab foundations, manholes, cisterns, ditches and other landscaping features exist. An honor roll monument at the Butte Camp was built by the evacuees to honor those Japanese Americans from the Gila River Relocation Center who served in the military during World War II and included a reflecting pool and a ramada with concrete benches. The ramada, flagpole, and wooden facade of the monument that held the list of names are now gone. The Tribe allowed memorial markers to be placed at the two camps with the condition that the Japanese American community never ask for NHL official designation.

A permit from the Gila River Indian Tribe must be obtained in order to visit the site. Permits are $100, but the fee is normally waived for former evacuees and immediate family members. The Gila River Indian Reservation Cultural Center, located 4 miles north of the camps includes an exhibit and outdoor display about the Relocation Center prepared by the Arizona Chapter of the JACL.

The Department plans to consult with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Gila River Indian Tribe to determine their interest in preservation, protection, and recognition efforts. The Department also plans to coordinate with the State and local organizations to investigate the feasibility of developing off-site interpretation.

Poston

Poston is located on Colorado River Indian Tribal lands in Arizona. It is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Relocation Center included three separate units, Poston I, II, and III. Poston I was the largest of the three units and contains most of the remaining structures. The elementary school is the most prominent of the remaining features. The adobe auditoriums and nearby school buildings are still standing. In addition several buildings in the former garage area and the sewage treatment plant remain. Little remains at the other two sites.

Along the road at Poston I, there is a large monument and kiosk. The monument, dedicated in 1992, consists of a 30-foot-high concrete column with a 7-foot-wide hexagonal base shaped like a Japanese stone lantern. There is also a kiosk, dedicated in 1995. Both the monument and kiosk have interpretive signs that discuss the history of the relocation, Japanese-American military service, and the Colorado River Indian Tribe.

The Department plans to consult with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Colorado River Indian Tribe to determine their interest in preservation, protection, and recognition efforts. The Department also plans to coordinate with the State and local organizations to investigate the feasibility of developing off-site interpretation.

Jerome

Jerome is located in Arkansas on privately held farm lands. It is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Very few features remain at the relocation center. The most prominent structures in the central area are a hospital boiler house smokestack and a water reservoir. The smokestack is in poor condition. In addition, there remain several concrete slabs for buildings that now serve as foundations for farm buildings. The only significant feature remaining in the outlying area is the Relocation Center's sewage treatment plant. The site is commemorated by a 10-foot tall granite boulder monument.

The Department, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, plans to pursue having the site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, interpretation for the site will be included in the Comprehensive Interpretive Plan for all Japanese-American Internment sites.

Rohwer

Rohwer is located in Arkansas on private lands. Few features remain at the Rohwer site. The most prominent is the Relocation Center cemetery, located in the outlying area which has been designated as a NHL. The cemetery includes 24 headstones, two large concrete monuments, a bench, a flagpole, sidewalks, and two entrance markers, all built by the evacuees. One monument, shaped like a military tank, commemorates the Japanese Americans in the 100^th Battalion and the 442^nd Regimental Combat Team who were killed in Italy and France. The second monument is to those who died in the Relocation Center.

In addition to the monuments in the cemetery, there are two recent monuments. One honors the 31 Japanese American soldiers from Rohwer who were killed during World War II. The other commemorates the relocation center and indicates that the cemetery is a NHL.

The Department, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, plans to pursue having the site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, interpretation for the site will be included in the Comprehensive Interpretive Plan for all Japanese-American Internment sites.

The Department is honored to submit this report and welcomes the attention that the President has shown to this important issue. The Department looks forward to fulfilling these recommendations to preserve and interpret the Japanese American Relocation Centers. It is imperative that all Americans know about this shameful period in American history. In the words of the State historic marker at Tule Lake, "These camps are reminders of how racism, economic and political exploitation and expediency can undermine the Constitutional guarantees of United States citizens and aliens alike. May the injustices and humiliation suffered here never recur."

Background: Manzanar was the first of 10 centers established pursuant to Executive Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War to exclude citizens and aliens from certain designated areas as a security measure against sabotage and espionage.

Current Status/Interpretation: All 10 centers were assessed by NPS in the mid-1980's and Manzanar was determined to be the best preserved and have the greatest potential as a national park unit. Prior to becoming a national park unit, Manzanar was designated California Historic Landmark No. 850 in 1972, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

Manzanar is protected and will be interpreted as Manzanar National Historic Site established by P.L. 102-248 in 1992. The legislation states that the Historic Site is intended to "provide for the protection and interpretation of historical, cultural, and natural resources associated with the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II...." Manzanar is intended to preserve and interpret a representative War Relocation Center as an aspect of the nation's Pacific Campaign of World War II.

The general management plan (GMP), approved in 1997, calls for the site to be managed as a cultural landscape based on the World War II relocation center period. Visitors would be served by converting the historic auditorium into an interpretive center, providing an initial point of contact to inform the visitor about the site through a series of displays and presentations. The camp road system and some of the rock gardens and ponds would be rehabilitated. Some original barracks and other structures in the vicinity would be relocated to the site and rehabilitated to enhance interpretation and visitor understanding of the camp experience. The location of residential blocks and significant structures would be marked to demonstrate the camp layout to the visitor. NPS support would be provided for the annual Manzanar pilgrimage (last Saturday of April), which would continue to occur in the vicinity of the cemetery. Cooperative agreements would be negotiated with the Bureau of Land Management and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to provide for wayside exhibits and interpretive tours of the reservoir area and other adjacent historic features.

Ongoing activities include a Save America's Treasures grant to restore the perimeter fence, historic entry sign and sentinel posts, repair selected masonry features, complete an interpretive auto tour road adjacent to fence; matching funds were provided through a California State grant. The Manzanar Historic Resource study is being put on the web. The NPS FY 2001 Appropriations include $5,124,000 to establish an Interpretive Center and Headquarters at Manzanar. Construction contracts are to be awarded in late 2001, and the Center is projected to be open to the public in early 2003. Manzanar WEB is http://www.nps.gov/manz.

Regional Context: This National Historic Site is located 5 miles South of Independence, California and contains 814 Federally owned acres. It is bordered on the East by US Highway 395, on the West by BLM, and on the North and South by the Los Angles Department of Water and Power.

Recommendation:

NPS complete rehabilitation of the Manzanar Relocation Center Auditorium and open it to the public in early 2003 as the Manzanar National Historic Park Visitor Center with exhibits concentrating on the following primary interpretive themes:

• The internment of American citizens and legal resident aliens of Japanese ancestry was the product of a long history of anti-Asian sentiment in the United Sates and illustrates the challenge in a democracy of balancing constitutional rights with national security during times of national crisis.
• Japanese-Americans in the War Relocation Centers responded to their internment in ways that were distinctly individual and characteristic of both Japanese and American cultures.
• Manzanar National Historic Site represents a microcosm of the history of water use in the western United States.
• The story of the Manzanar War Relocation Center is not a single story, but a tapestry woven of more than 10,000 individual experiences.
• The cultural landscape at Manzanar chronicles the history of the displacement of three different populations by more powerful groups.

Background: The Tule Lake Relocation Center (Center) at Newell is in Modoc County, California, 35 miles southeast of Klamath Falls, Oregon, and about 10 miles from the town of Tulelake. It is situated in the Klamath Basin.

The Center, which encompassed 7,400 acres, of which 1,100 acres were Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) withdrawn land. These lands were transferred to the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for internment purposes pursuant to Executive Order No. 9066. Construction of the Center began April 15, 1942, and the first evacuees arrived on May 25, 1942. The maximum population of the Center reached 18,789 on December 25, 1944. The Center was in operation until March 20, 1946.

After World War II, WRA lands were returned to Reclamation along with many of the associated buildings and structures. The bulk of the lands were transferred pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act and the Airport Act. Left over parcels were later sold under the Small Tracts Act to private individuals. Most of the buildings were parceled-out to returning veterans under homesteading legislation with many of the residential barracks being sold to local homesteaders and removed from the site, other structures were demolished and materials salvaged. One parcel was provided to the State of California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) for a highway maintenance yard. Reclamation retained approximately 23 acres and a few buildings for administration of the irrigation project on nearby lands.

The remaining building on the 23-acre site originally constructed by the WRA is of frame construction with wood siding. It was utilized as a carpentry and painting shop by the Post Engineering Group. Very little maintenance has been performed on this building by the Tulelake Irrigation District (District).

Most preservation activities have focused on the adjacent property owned by the California Department of Transportation and the jail located on that property. However, local individuals, Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee, Japanese American Citizens League, Sacramento, and the staff of the State Historic Preservation Officer are interested in preservation and interpretation of the Center's remains.

Current Status: The Center was registered as a State Historic Landmark (No. 850-2) on August 20, 1975.

Of the 23 acres under Reclamation's jurisdiction, the land and buildings are currently used by the District pursuant to an operation and management and repayment contract executed in 1957. The District utilizes a small two bedroom house (not WRA constructed) for an employee and stores equipment on the land. The WRA constructed building remaining is also used by the district for a small amount of storage.

The portrayal of Reclamation land in Figure 13.1, page 280 of DOI's report "Confinement and Ethnicity: an Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites," is inaccurate. Several parcels of land designated as being managed by Reclamation are no longer in federal ownership. A Reclamation-managed 23-acre parcel is located adjacent to State Highway 139. The District uses a portion of this parcel for operation and storage. Maintaining these commitments is considered important for continuity of Klamath Project purposes.

Interpretation: A large monument of basalt rock and concrete along the north side of State Highway 139 commemorates the relocation center. The monument, dedicated in 1979, incorporates multiple levels of rock walls, a concrete apron, and a state historical marker.

In the CalTrans maintenance yard near the Reclamation-managed 23-acre parcel at Newell is the Harvey Yoshizuka Sand House. Built in the 1980s, it was named for a young evacuee at the Center who is now an engineer working for CalTrans. Five WRA structures, including the jail, remain on this parcel of State land.

The Reclamation office in Klamath Falls has historical photographs, a large set of blueprints, and other files from the Center. They also have a couple of office chairs that were made at the Tule Lake evacuee-operated furniture factory.

There is a small exhibit about the Center at the county fairgrounds museum, and Lava Beds National Monument maintains a small collection of ceramics and other artifacts from the Center.

A Tulelake high school teacher (Jim King) has received a grant (source unknown) to gather materials for instruction on the Center.

A grant from the California State Library has been provided to Judy Tachibana to develop a guidebook to interpret the remains of the camp.

The State of California is considering the addition of a wayside rest area at Tule Lake.

The Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee has been active in preservation efforts for the site and has developed a proposal to create a living memorial at Tule Lake.

Management Authorities, and Practices: Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) provides Reclamation the authority to manage and maintain the Center. The lands are withdrawn land of the Klamath Project which Reclamation has interpreted to permit the use of cultural resource nonreimbursable operation and maintenance funding for limited maintenance for stabilization purposes of the historic structures of the Center.

While Reclamation has the legal authority to continue managing the site, the agency does not presently possess the funding or staffing to restore the site and develop appropriate interpretation. In addition, these activities are outside of Reclamation's central mission and would be more appropriately conducted by another Federal agency, such as the National Park Service (NPS), which has historic preservation and interpretation as part of its central mission.

Regional Context: Nearby recreational areas include public land under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with its field office in Alturas, California. The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is immediately to the west of the Center's boundary. The Modoc and Klamath National Forests, under the administration of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, are located within an hour's drive to the east and west, respectively. Additionally, the NPS administers the Lava Beds National Monument, which includes Petroglyph Point approximately five miles southeast of Newell. Public access is available via State Highway 139 which bisects the Center.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Tule Lake Irrigation District - It considers the use of the storage yard important for the operations.

Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee
Japanese American Citizens League
Office of Historic Preservation

Future Consultations:

Bureau of Land Management, Alturas Field Office
Fish and Wildlife Service, Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge
National Park Service, Lava Beds National Monument
Department of Transportation (CalTrans)
State Historic Preservation Officer
Modoc County
Japanese American Citizens League, Northern California Western Nevada Pacific District
Modoc County Historical Society
The Klamath Tribes
Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee

Recommendations:

Reclamation will work with CalTrans in the development of a National Register nomination. In addition, we will work with CalTrans to secure Federal funding (TEA-21 grant) or state funding to develop an interpretive wayside/kiosk stop.

The NPS will proceed with the Special Resource Study for Tule Lake as described in the main body of this report. The special resource study process would most likely focus on potential partnerships between the NPS and other interested parties including Federal, State, and local entities. These studies are expected to start early in early 2001, and be completed within two years.

Background: The Granada Relocation Center is located in Southeastern Colorado, approximately one mile from the Town of Granada in Prowers County. The legal description of the site is: Section 14, T23S, R44W, Sixth P.M. The center, also called Camp Amache, housed Japanese-Americans during World War II following their removal from the West Coast by military authorities. Governor Ralph L. Carr volunteered Colorado as a place for relocation, and the Granada Relocation Center officially opened August 27, 1942, with the arrival of the first evacuees from the Merced Assembly Center in California. It was the smallest of the relocation centers and the only one in Colorado. The project area totaled approximately 10,500 acres around Granada and extended eastward toward the Kansas border. The instant city soon became the tenth largest in the state. Camp Amache was constructed at a cost $4.2 million. It provided a self-contained community with more than 550 buildings for living quarters, administration buildings, businesses, a hospital, warehouses, etc., clustered on 640 acres of prairie southwest of the town of Granada. Although at its peak in October 1942, Amache housed 7,597 people, more than 10,000 persons passed through the camp, nearly two-thirds of whom were United States citizens. The camp population had a definite rural/urban split with the majority of the evacuees from the agricultural sections of California's central valleys. Agriculture was the main industry. The site produced significant amounts of agricultural products during the 1943 and 1944 growing seasons. Major crops included potatoes, onions, corn, alfalfa and wheat.

Current Status/Interpretation: Most or all of the land within the site is owned by the town of Granada. It is being maintained by the Town apparently with assistance from various volunteer groups including the Denver Central Optimist Club, made up of Japanese-Americans, the local Amache Preservation Society, students from the local school, and other individuals.

More than 10 percent of the camp population served in the military during the war as soldiers in the highly decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team and other units, in the Women's Army Corps, and as nurses and instructors. Thirty-one members of the camp were killed in the war. A small fenced cemetery is located in the south western portion of the site which includes a small brick structure, a granite memorial and a 10-foot high white stone monument.

The Granada Relocation Center officially closed on January 27, 1946. Many of the evacuees returned to California, but nearly 2,000 remained in Colorado. Following the closure, the agricultural lands reverted to private farming and ranching, while the camp buildings were demolished or removed. Some of the buildings were sold to school districts and moved from the site. Today, aside from a small brick structure, the cemetery, a reservoir, and a water well and tank, all that remains are concrete building foundations and roads. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.

Management: The Granada site is currently managed by the town of Granada. Maintenance activities are directed toward maintenance of the cemetery, clean up, and prevention of vandalism. Some improvements and interpretive work are in place through the help of the local school and volunteers.

Regional Context: The site is more than 150 miles from the nearest BLM office (Canon City); the few small, scattered parcels of public land in the area are planned for eventual transfer out of federal ownership.

Approximately 313 acres of the site covering most of the improved area is included in the area designated in the National Register. The site contains a well and water tank which is the town's water supply and a very important consideration for the town. An abandoned land fill is located outside of the National Register designated area.

The NPS manages two sites within 50 miles of the Granada site; the Bents Fort National Historic Site near Las Animas, and the recently designated Sand Creek Massacre Site near Chivington.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions: BLM has initiated contacts with town officials and local interest groups (See contact list below). John Hopper, a teacher in Granada, is the local coordinator for maintenance and planning for Camp Amache. The entire school, K through 12, has participated in various projects on the site, including the planting of 165 trees this past fall. Mr. Hopper has a class of eight to 10 students each year who participate in presentations at other schools throughout the State. Financial support has come from the Denver Central Optimist Club and the Amache Historic Society of California, and projects and maintenance accomplished with the help of Prowers County, Town of Granada, the county historical society, and local volunteers including Lamar, the largest town in the area. The town water supply, located on the site, is an important consideration to the Granada. Various grants have been applied for without success, but long range planning is ongoing. Two of the original barracks have been offered for donation, but funds are not available to pay the estimated $10,000 cost of moving the barracks to the site. Plans for the area would include moving the two barracks back to the site, restoration of the barracks, development of a visitor center and possibly moving the Amache Museum, now located on the school campus, to the site. Additional interpretive structures would be constructed and seasonal guided tours would be available. The site is located one-half mile south of U.S. Highway 50 and is readily accessible to the public.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

John Hopper, Granada High School Teacher,
(719) 734-5260 (home), (719) 734-5492 (high school)

James Hada (303) 237-2159
Denver Central Optimist Club

Minorai "Min" Tonai, President
Amache Historical Society
22587 Waterbury St.
Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Thomas Shigekuni, Board Member, Amache H.S.
Fax (310) 316-7918

Other potential cooperators in the interpretation and management of the site include the Colorado State Office of Historic Preservation, National Park Service, and other historical societies.

Future Consultations:

Town of Granada, Colorado State Office of Historic Preservation, National Park Service, and other civic and historical societies.

Recommendation:

The NPS will proceed with the Special Resource Study for Grenada as described in the main body of this report. The special resource study process would most likely focus on potential for partnerships between the NPS and other interested parties including Federal, State, and local entities. These studies are expected to start early in early 2001, and be completed within two years.

Background: Topaz Relocation Center, located in west central Utah just north of the modern town of Delta, Utah, was one of ten sites across America used for the internment of approximately 9,000 Japanese-Americans during WWII.

Local citizens pushed for the development of Topaz Relocation Center. Young men in Millard County were being drafted into the war effort, which produced a shortage of people to work the fields. Citizens of Millard County thought that the addition of the Japanese internment camp in Millard County would provide the necessary labor force to sustain their agricultural production, and pushed for the development of an internment camp in Millard County. In 1942, the Topaz Relocation Center was completed.

The camp was designed to be self-sufficient. The camp provided its own sustenance with the development of a pig farm, a chicken farm, and a cattle ranch. At the time, the Relocation Center was the fifth largest city in Utah. To date, several of these structures are in good condition, most notably the farm worker's dining hall. Signatures of some of the internees are found within several of these structures. All of these structures are on privately held lands.

Current Status/Interpretation: Within the actual Topaz townsite, roads, foundational elements, the sewer system, and domestic and industrial trash is all that remains. After the dissolution of the camp in 1945, structures were sold and removed. Many of these structures still exist throughout the county and have been incorporated into houses, storage sheds and barns. Currently, a portion of the dining hall is located on the Delta High School lands and the school board wants the structure moved. The Topaz Preservation Board (TPB) is interested in the protection of this structure. Inadequate funding and the issue of where to relocate the structure loom on the horizon. A restored house owned by the TPB is currently being housed at the Great Basin Museum in Delta, Utah. The Topaz Relocation Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The majority of the townsite is privately held. The TPB owns 415 acres of the original 640 acres of the townsite. Several other private individuals own the rest. Of note, five modern houses are built on the townsite lands. Current plans by one of the individuals include the further development of an additional 38 acres. Federal ownership includes several large dump sites, guard tower foundations, and the sewer plant. These sites are located on the western boundary of the original townsite.

Currently, the TPB is the recipient of a Getty Foundation Grant, being utilized in the development of a preservation plan for the site. Furthermore, the TPB has begun to acquire funding for a museum, but lacks the funds necessary for the completion of construction and development.

Current and immediate needs at the site include the acquisition of key private parcels associated with the Topaz Relocation Center to impede the potential for further private development. In addition, funding is needed by TPB for the purchase, relocation, and restoration of the dining hall. Current needs also include assistance in the development of a museum for the curation of Topaz artifacts. Any land acquired for a museum site should include enough land to house the dining hall and restored house. Interpretative brochures and roadside interpretative signage should be developed. Fencing of the site could provide some measure of protection.

Management Authorities and Practices: Public lands associated with Topaz Relocation Center are managed under the authority of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). Additional authority and responsibility to manage cultural resources found on public land derives from Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). BLM management of these lands has been fairly limited in practice, and has involved authorizing appropriate use of lands in the area.

Regional Context: Topaz is very close to the town of Delta, with a population of some 3,000 people. Topaz Relocation Center lies within Millard County, sparsely populated with approximately 12,000 people. BLM's Little Sahara Recreation Area, an off highway vehicle play area with camping, lies one hour or less to the north. BLM land holdings in the vicinity of Topaz and Delta are fairly limited, but are otherwise extensive throughout the county.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Jane Beckwith (Topaz Preservation Board)
(435) 864-2098 Home
(435) 864-5618 Work
(801) 450-4765 Voice Mail

Ted Nagata (Topaz Preservation Board)
(801) 363-7935

Merv Williams (Private Land Owner on Townsite)
(435) 864-3618

Roger Roper (Utah Division of State History: Historic Preservation)
(801) 533-3561

Future Consultations: BLM will remain in contact with interested parties and stakeholders.

Recommendations:

The BLM supports the TPB having the lead. BLM would work in cooperation with the Board to determine how the public land parcels could be managed to complement management of the privately held Relocation Center parcels. The BLM will also coordinate with the Board, the State Historic Preservation Officer and the National Park Service to determine whether the site possesses qualities which would render it eligible for a National Historic Landmark designation.

Contact: Ms. Pat Fosse, Assistant Field Manager, Fillmore Field Office (435) 743-3100

Background: The Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Relocation Center) was located in Park County, in northwest Wyoming, 12 miles northeast of the town of Cody. The Relocation Center is situated on terraces of the Shoshone River and lies at 4700 feet elevation, within open sagebrush desert.

The Relocation Center was constructed on 20,000 acres, of which 4,600 were Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) withdrawn land. These lands were transferred to the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for internment purposes pursuant to Executive Order No. 9066. Construction of the Relocation Center began on June 15, 1942, and the first evacuees arrived August 11, 1942. The maximum population of the Relocation Center reached 10,767 on January 1, 1943. The Relocation Center was in operation until November 10, 1945.

After World War II, WRA lands were returned to Reclamation along with many of the associated buildings and structures. Most of the lands and buildings were parceled-out to returning veterans under homesteading legislation with many of the residential barracks being sold to local homesteaders and removed from the site, other structures were demolished and materials salvaged. Reclamation retained a small acreage and a few buildings for administration of the irrigation project on nearby lands.

Current Status: The Relocation Center was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in July 1985. In December 1985, an approximate 30 acre portion of the original Relocation Center was listed in the Register as site 48PA229.

Since World War II, most of Reclamation's 4,600 acres have gone into private ownership, with only 73.93 acres remain under Reclamation jurisdiction. Most of the land included within the external boundaries of the Relocation Center is currently under cultivation. However, three areas have intact features:

• the administration and hospital complexes, on Reclamation land;
• the warehouse and root cellar areas on private land; and
• a portion of the high school, also on private land.

There are a total of six standing buildings, three at the hospital complex, one within the adjacent staff housing area, one small room or vault at the high school, and a root cellar in the warehouse area.

The site is unoccupied, and the original camp buildings are subject to vandalism and littering. The site is no longer needed for Reclamation purposes, and Reclamation is currently managing it to prevent further substantial deterioration. Reclamation has undertaken activities to preserve the historic values of the site and has recently completed stabilization efforts, which consisted of leveling the floor of the hospital mess building, installing plywood or plexiglass on all building openings, and applying rolled roofing to the roofs.

The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation has been extremely active in preservation efforts for the site and received a $500,000 grant in the VA-HUD appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001 which will be used to construct a Learning Center on private land. The Foundation currently has an option to purchase 50 acres of the original camp site land on which to place the Learning Center. The Foundation is currently trying to raise the funds necessary to purchase this land. Additionally, the Foundation proposes constructing a walking trail from the Learning Center to some or all of the Relocation Center's features on Reclamation land. Finally, the Foundation as part of Phase I of the Learning Center will build a replica of the honor roll board.

Wyoming's Congressional Delegation appears to be supportive preservation efforts and Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi may author and sponsor legislation to preserve and protect the Heart Mountain Relocation Center.

Interpretation: In 1995, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in the town of Cody had a temporary exhibit on the Heart Mountain Relocation Center. The display included text, photographs, examples of the relocation center newspaper, the mimeograph machine that printed the newspaper, a Wyoming state flag used by the Relocation Center girl scout troop, a child's diary, and other artifacts.

Fifteen miles north of Cody along U.S. Highway Alt. 14, there is a historical monument placed by the American Legion and a directional sign to the relocation center memorial park. The American Legion marker mentions the state-of-the-art sewage system, excellent schools, and other amenities that were available to the evacuees.

The original honor roll, which was inscribed with the names of soldiers from the relocation center, is the central piece of the Heart Mountain Memorial Park. The park was initiated by the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial Association. The park includes plaques, a sidewalk, and a graveled parking area surrounded by large rocks. Also there is a concrete slab that once supported a brick chimney with a plaque noting it was moved from Block 23. To the north are the three standing hospital buildings and the staff residence.

There are several fine examples of former barracks in the surrounding area. One was donated to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Another good example of a recycled barracks is on a farm just north of Cody on State Highway 120. It appears to be unused at present.

Also at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles is a 55-gallon barrel full of small stones, each one carefully inscribed with a Japanese character. The barrel of stones was found by local land owners near the former Relocation Center cemetery. It has been theorized that the stones may have been Buddhist sutras to memorialize the dead, but the museum is still seeking more information about them.

The burials at the relocation center cemetery were moved to the Crown Hill Cemetery in the town of Powell, 11 miles northeast of Heart Mountain. The cemetery is located on the eastern edge of Powell on the south side of Lane 7 (Cemetery Road).

Management authorities, practices and annual expenditures: Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) provides Reclamation the authority to manage and maintain the Relocation Center. The lands are withdrawn land of the Shoshone Project which we have interpreted to permit the use of Shoshone Project Cultural Resource nonreimbursable operation and maintenance funding for limited maintenance for stabilization purposes of the historic structures of the Relocation Center.

While Reclamation has the legal authority to continue managing the site, the agency does not presently possess the funding or staffing to restore the site and develop appropriate interpretation. In addition, these activities are outside of Reclamation's central mission and would be more appropriately conducted by another Federal agency, such as the National Park Service (NPS), which has historic preservation and interpretation as part of its central mission.

Regional Context: Nearby recreational areas include many acres of public land under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with its field office in Cody, Wyoming. The Big Horn and Shoshone National Forests, under the administration of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, are located within an hour's drive to the east and west, respectively, and provide public recreational opportunities. Additionally, the NPS administers the Big Horn National Recreation Area, within an hour's drive to the northeast. Another recreational attraction in the region is Reclamation's Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir, which is administered as a Wyoming State Park located a few miles west of Cody, Wyoming.

Public access to the Relocation Center is available via U.S. Highway 14 (Alternate) and a light duty gravel road which departs Highway 14 to the northwest.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions: The Relocation Center enjoys the recognition and support of local historic preservation groups and the Japanese-American Citizens League. Former internees regularly visit the Relocation Center under the auspices of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation, a local group based in Powell, Wyoming.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation - Favors ongoing, proactive protection, stabilization, and management of the Relocation Center as required under NHPA Section 110, and prefers retention of the Relocation Center in Federal ownership.

Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office - The SHPO position appears to closely follow the Council's, they have articulated non-support for transfer of the Relocation Center to a non-Federal entity because this would result in a loss of Federal protection and management.

Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation - Favors preservation, restoration, enhancement, interpretation of the Relocation Center.

Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial Association - A now defunct organization which favored limited development as a memorial to the former internees.

Heart Mountain Japanese American Memorial Foundation, Inc. - A now defunct organization which favored a greater degree of development of the Relocation Center as a memorial or possibly a local tourist attraction.

Heart Mountain High School Class of 1947 - This group's position is to memorialize the Relocation Center so that the injustices suffered by the internees are not forgotten.

NHK Broadcasting Corporation - Have factually reported the position of the Heart Mountain Class of 1947.

Powell Tribune - Have factually reported on the former internees and the Japanese-American community.

Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce - Appear to have similar views to that of the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation.

Shoshone and Heart Mountain Irrigation Districts - They have no continued need for the property.

Deaver Irrigation District - Same as the Shoshone-Heart Mountain Irrigation Districts.

Powell Centennial Committee - Position of this defunct organization is essentially that of the Heart Mountain Japanese American Memorial Foundation.

Bureau of Land Management, Cody Field Office - The local office has not expressed an interest in assuming management responsibility for the Relocation Center.

Future Consultations:

American Legion
Mr. Frank Chin (Los Angeles, California)
Crow Tribe
Japanese American Citizens League
Local Government Agencies (various city, county, and state agencies)
National Park Service, Western Archaeological and Conservation Center
Senator Michael Enzi
Senator Craig Thomas
Congresswoman Barbara Cubin
Veterans of Foreign Wars

Potential legislative actions: The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation has received a $500,000 grant in the VA-HUD appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001 which will be used for construction of a Learning Center.

Wyoming's Congressional Delegation appears to be supportive of preservation efforts and Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi may author and sponsor legislation to preserve and protect the Relocation Center.

Recommendations:

Reclamation will work with the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation (based in nearby Powell, Wyoming) to assist them in achieving the recommendations made in their letter of December 19, 2000 to Secretary Babbitt. Reclamation will assist Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation in securing National Historic Landmark status for the Relocation Center to the extent allowed by the National Historic Landmark eligibility criteria. Additionally, Reclamation will develop a management plan for the Relocation Center in consultation with all interested parties and stakeholders.

Background: The Minidoka Relocation Center (Relocation Center), also known as the Hunt Site, is located in Jerome County, Idaho. The site is located 14 miles east of Jerome and 20 miles northeast of Twin Falls.

The external boundaries of the Relocation Center included 33,000 acres. The administrative and residential areas were built on 950 acres in the west-central portion. Construction of the Relocation Center began on June 5, 1942 and the first evacuees arrived on August 10, 1942. The maximum population of the Relocation Center was 9,397 and was reached on March 1, 1943. The Relocation Center was in operation until October 28, 1945.

There were more than 600 buildings at the Relocation Center. Each of the 35 residential blocks had 12 barracks, a mess hall, a recreation hall, and a central H-shaped building with bathrooms, showers, and a laundry. Also within the residential areas were general stores, two elementary schools, a health clinic, fire stations, a civic center and a high school.

After the Relocation Center was closed, the area was divided into small farms. Most of the structures have been removed or demolished.

Current Status: A 6-acre portion of the Relocation Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The original 950 acres of administrative and residential section of the Relocation Center and Reclamation's ownership in the Relocation Center are now surrounded by private land. These private lands are mostly fields in agricultural production, with some lands used for grazing. Of these 950 acres only 84 acres remain in Reclamation jurisdiction. Of this acreage, 32 are withdrawn lands, with the remaining 52 acres being transferred to Reclamation from the War Department on March 18, 1947.

Reclamation has transferred management of 28 acres (of the 32 acres of withdrawn lands) to American Falls Reservoir Irrigation District (District), for the location of a maintenance shop and two ditch rider houses. This land is a part of the 84 acres in Reclamation jurisdiction, but does not include the six acres of land within the National Register boundaries (described below). The 28 acres contains two original site structures. These have been modified by the District and converted into employee housing.

Six acres of Reclamation land at the entrance of the camp are listed in the National Register. The parcel includes the standing basalt and concrete walls of what used to be a guard house and waiting room, a small area across the road from the guard house that once was an ornamental garden, and historical markers. These markers include interpretive and memorial signs and maps erected by Reclamation, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the State.

The remainder of land under Reclamation jurisdiction is managed by Reclamation, rather than the irrigation district.

The site is in a remote location, and is subject to littering and vandalism. The presence of the District's facilities (including year-round occupation of the ditch riders houses) helps to curb vandalism.

Interpretation: The Jerome County Historical Museum has a small but apparently very popular display on the Relocation Center. The Museum has acquired two original Relocation Center barracks and moved them to their in-progress "Idaho Farm and Ranch Museum" located 18 miles west of the Relocation Center at the junction of Interstate 84 and U.S. Highway 93. One of the barracks will be used to interpret the Relocation Center. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building adjacent to the Museum was a mess hall moved from the Relocation Center. East of Jerome on State Highway 25 at the turnoff to the Relocation Center site there is a large state historical marker

Within the Relocation Center itself, at the stone guard house and waiting room at the Hunt Bridge, there is a small gravel parking area, paths, and interpretative signs about the internment. Also commemorated here are the Japanese Americans from the Relocation Center who died serving in the military during World War II.

Management authorities and practices: Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) provides Reclamation the authority to manage and maintain the Relocation Center. The lands are withdrawn and acquired lands of the Minidoka Project which Reclamation has interpreted to permit the use of cultural resource nonreimbursable operation and maintenance funding for limited maintenance for stabilization purposes of the historic structures of the Relocation Center.

While Reclamation has the legal authority to continue managing the site, the agency does not presently possess the funding or staffing to restore the site and develop appropriate interpretation. In addition, these activities are outside of Reclamation's central mission and would be more appropriately conducted by another Federal agency, such as the National Park Service (NPS), which has historic preservation and interpretation as part of its central mission.

Management Options: Programs should be explored that focus interpretation of the site's history to the public at the site as well as at the existing Jerome County Historical Museum's Relocation Center display. Walking paths to the existing signage will be explored. Reclamation could consider entering into an agreement with the Jerome Museum or Historical Society that would provide for Reclamation assistance with exhibits and protection of the buildings, and acquisition and preservation of Relocation Center artifacts and memorabilia.

The interpretive materials and displays installed at the former entry of the Relocation Center excellently memorialize the historic internment experience and interpret the remnants of the guard station at the camp entry. However, additional signage could be installed to interpret other functional areas of the camp. With JACL assistance, Reclamation could locate photographs that show what the original garden looked like, or possibly obtain information about the garden from a former internee or archival information. In areas of the Relocation Center under Reclamation administration, stone foundations representing original internment camp structures are present; these foundations could serve as excellent candidates for on-site interpretation.

Reclamation could financially assist in making valuable information about the Relocation Center stored in other facilities more readily available to researchers, educators, and other interested members of the public. Oral histories of former internment camp residents have been compiled by Ms. Rita Takahashi, a professor at San Francisco State University and daughter of a former internee. Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) has obtained copies of the interview tapes, but is in need of funding to create summary indices of the tapes, and then to transcribe them into English (only a small number have been transcribed to date). Discussions with Mr. Troy Reeves, ISHS Oral Historian, indicate that federal financial assistance to complete the transcription project would be welcome. Such financial assistance could also aid in the production of an oral history volume or videotape of the internment camp experience. The Jerome County Historical Society has essentially all copies of the "Minidoka Irrigator," a weekly newspaper written by the camp internees. They have indicated they need technical and financial assistance to copy the newspapers so that they can be protected and translated.

Information requests about the Relocation Center are often made by the public at the Reclamation office in Burley, Idaho. Information provided to the public includes newspaper articles, pictures, maps, and other documents. Reclamation could consider developing a Relocation Center brochure, containing period photos and a narrative, designed to convey to the reader the reason for the camps and what life was like in them. The brochure could be placed at other visitor locations to encourage visitation to the Jerome Historical Museum and the Relocation Center.

Regional Context: The closest land to the Relocation Center in Federal ownership is managed by the BLM, which manages a large acreage of land in the area, with the closest land located one mile away from the Relocation Center. Jerome, Idaho is located about 14 miles northwest of the Relocation Center. Twin Falls, Idaho is located about 20 miles southwest of the Relocation Center, where BLM and Forest Service offices are located.

Three National Monuments are located in the area: Craters of the Moon National Monument boundary is located about 10 miles to the northeast; Hagerman Fossil Beds is located about 35-40 miles to the northwest; and City of Rocks National Monument is located about 50 miles to the southeast.

A Jerome county road runs through the middle of the remaining 84 acres in Federal ownership at the Relocation Center. The Relocation Center is located 10 miles from an exit of Interstate I-80.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Jerome Historical Society - The Society does not want to lose (or have them transferred to the Relocation Center) what they already have, including the barracks they already have at the museum. They think that what is at the Relocation Center is enough - it is impressive the way it is, except the garden site could be developed. Possibly the potato cellar could be repaired and maybe a display on agricultural production of the camp located there. The Society could use some help on the "Minidoka Irrigator," the Relocation Center camp weekly newspaper. They need these newspapers copied or microfilmed to preserve the originals they have at the museum. The Society would consider site management.

American Falls Reservoir Irrigation District - The irrigation district uses three of the 28 acres for operation and maintenance purposes. The District Manager has no recommendations for the Relocation Center, except that what had been done seems adequate to him.

Bob Sims, Professor, History Department, Boise State University - Professor Sims has a special research interest in the internment camps, and has a manuscript on the Relocation Center nearing completion. Suggestions offered by Professor Sims to enhance interpretation at the Relocation Center include a more substantial place to gather (such as a pavilion) and a reconstructed barracks model.

Steve Thorson, Chairman of the Board, South Central Idaho Tourism and Recreational Development Association for south-central Idaho. This Association supports some sort of memorial (beyond what is there) at the Relocation Center (not off-site). They would be willing to fulfill the roll of facilitator of local community interest and support for this.

Bureau of Land Management manages other public lands in the area (which are within one mile of the Relocation Center, but not adjacent). They have indicated that they are not interested, nor are they staffed, to manage the Relocation Center.

National Park Service (NPS) - Neil King, Superintendent, Hagermen Fossil Beds National Monument - Mr. King offered NPS assistance in this project. The NPS would help with interpretation and management, following a public process. Another contact for the NPS would be Stephanie Toothman, Chief of Cultural Resources in Seattle.

Japanese American Citizens League. The Blackfoot (Idaho) Chapter of the JACL was involved in previous efforts to recognize the value of the Relocation Center. Mr. Hid Hasegawa and Mr. Hero Shiosaki, among others, are JACL members who were active in that prior effort and remain interested in the Relocation Center.

Future Consultations:

Seattle Chapter, Japanese American Citizens League

Mr. Hero Shiosaki - Blackfoot Chapter JACL member actively involved in 1989 Relocation Center interpretive development and site dedication.

Ed Hirahara - Contact for Japanese-Americans in the Boise area.

George Iseri - Contact for the Japanese-American community in Malheur County, and the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, an institution which began as an effort to construct a museum devoted to Japanese Americans.

Karyl Winn - University of Washington Libraries - This Library contains a large number of excellent collections relating to the Relocation Center.

Tom Ikeda, Director, Densho - Japanese American Legacy Project. The Densho organization conducts filmed and taped interviews of Japanese Americans and others significant in the history of that ethnic group. They have about 200 interviews to date, many of which contain material relating to Minidoka.

Karen Yoshitomi, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest District Council, Japanese American Citizens League

Ron Chew, Executive Director, The Wing Luke Asian Museum - This Museum is an important organization in preserving and providing public access to the history of Asians in the Pacific Northwest. They have an extensive collection concerning Japanese Americans.

Kay Teramura, Idaho-Oregon Nikkeijinkai - The Nikkeijinkai means literally, an organization of persons of Japanese ancestry.

Les Bock, Executive Director, Idaho Human Rights Education Center - This organization is engaged in a large-scale project on human rights with the Association of Idaho Cities.

Recommendations:

Increase historic recognition for the Camp by (1) extending the boundaries of the six acres currently on the National Register of Historic Places to include some of the building foundations located on adjoining Reclamation lands; and (2) coordinating with the State Historic Preservation Officer and the National Park Service to determine whether the Relocation Center possesses qualities which would render it eligible for NHL status. If the Relocation Center is deemed eligible for NHL status, Reclamation will, in coordination with NPS, initiate the nomination process for designating the Relocation Center as a NHL.

In order to address ongoing maintenance needs, Reclamation will develop a cooperative agreement with the Jerome County Historical Society (JCHS) whereby the Society would manage the site by collecting trash and monitoring for appropriate use. Recent discussions with JCHS indicate they may be amenable to joint Reclamation/JCHS management of the site. The site is situated in a remote location, with Reclamation staff devoting a few days per year for clean up and cursory monitoring of the site; a more frequent presence at the site would be desirable.

In the longer term, Reclamation will develop a plan that provides a framework for managing the Relocation Center in future years. The plan would identify potential partners such as JCHS, the Japanese-American Citizens League, and Dr. Robert Sims, former Professor Emeritus at Boise State University, among others. The focus of the plan would be the development of physical and administrative measures for protecting and interpreting the site for the benefit of the public. The plan would explore programs that focus interpretation at more accessible locations which reach larger numbers of visitors (such as the Jerome County Historical Museum), as well as programs that focus interpretation at the Relocation Center itself. Finally, the plan would address law enforcement and enforcement authority as relates to protection of the site.

In addition, Reclamation will work increase interpretation for the Camp by coordinating with the Jerome County Historical Museum to determine the cost of transcribing tapes and preserving the Relocation Center newspaper.

Background: The Gila River Relocation Center was located about 50 miles south of Phoenix and 9 miles west of Sacaton in Pinal County, Arizona. The site is on Gila River Indian Tribal land. The site is sacred to the Tribe and access to the site is restricted. The Relocation Center opened on July 10, 1942 and closed on November 10, 1945. The maximum population was 13,348. The center was divided into two camps, Butte and Canal. The two camps were about 3.5 miles apart and included 1,181 buildings. The evacuees came from California and Hawaii. Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Gila River Relocation Center on April 23, 1943. After the center closed, the War Relocation Authority sold most of the buildings.

Current Status/Interpretation: Few features remain at the Relocation Center site. At Canal Camp, no buildings remain, but roads remain passable and concrete slabs of many of the buildings remain. No buildings are left at the Butte camp. There are concrete slab foundations, manholes, cisterns, ditches and other landscape features.

An honor roll monument at the Butte Camp was built by the evacuees to honor those Japanese Americans from the Gila River Relocation Center who served in the military during World War II and included a reflecting pool and a ramada with concrete benches. The ramada, flagpole, and wooden facade of the monument that held the list of names are now gone.

A permit from the Gila River Indian Tribe must be obtained in order to visit the Relocation Center. Permits are $100, but the fee is normally waived for former evacuees and their immediate family members.

The Gila River Indian Reservation Cultural Center, located 4 miles north of the camps includes an exhibit and outdoor display about the Relocation Center prepared by the Arizona Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Memorial markers have been placed at the two camps. One of the Tribe's conditions for their approval was that the Japanese American community never ask for National Historic Landmark Status or any other official designation.

Regional Context: The Gila River site is in the Phoenix-Tucson corridor, about 50 south of Phoenix and 60 miles north of Tucson. Interstate 10 runs through Gila River Indian Tribal land. The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is located nearby. In addition, the Phoenix metropolitan area includes several state parks and borders the Tonto National Forest.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Gila River Indian Tribe
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

Future Consultations:

Gila River Indian Tribe
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

Recommendations:

Work through BIA to determine tribal interest in preservation, protection, and recognition efforts. In addition, DOI will work with Federal, state, and local organizations to develop an off-site interpretation center, and restore memorial built by internees.

Background: The Poston Relocation center was located in southwestern Arizona in La Paz County, 12 miles south of the town of Parker on Colorado River Indian Tribal land. The Relocation Center included three separate units, Poston I, II, and III. The Relocation Center opened on May 8, 1942. The maximum population was 17,814, making it Arizona's third largest city at the time. Evacuees were from California.

Current Status/Interpretation: Poston I was the largest of the three units and contains most of the remaining structures. The elementary school there is the most prominent of the remaining features. The adobe auditoriums and nearby school buildings are still standing. In addition, several buildings remain in the former garage area and the sewage treatment plant. Little remains at the other two sites.

Along the road at Poston I, there is a large monument and kiosk. The monument, dedicated in 1992, consists of a 30-foot-high concrete column with a 7-foot-wide hexagonal base shaped like a Japanese stone lantern. There is also a kiosk, dedicated in 1995. Both the monument and kiosk have interpretive signs that discuss the history of the relocation, Japanese-American military service, and the Colorado River Indian Tribe.

Regional Context: The site of the Poston Relocation Center is located approximately 110 miles west of Phoenix on the Arizona-California border. Interstate 10 runs about 30 miles to the south of Poston. The area is rural and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is about 40 miles to the south. The area is also near several state parks.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Colorado River Indian Tribe
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
Mr. Mich Himaka, Poston 3 Reunion Committee
Mr. Ben Segawa, Poston 3 Reunion Committee

Future Consultations:

Colorado River Indian Tribe
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

Recommendations:

The DOI will work through BIA to determine tribal interest in preservation, protection, and recognition efforts. In addition, the DOI will work with State Historic Preservation Officer to determine suitability for listing on National Register of Historic Places, and work with Federal, state, and local organizations to develop an off-site interpretation center.

Background: The Jerome Relocation Center was constructed in 1942 on approximately 500 acres in Drew and Chicot counties in southeastern Arkansas. The site is located about 120 miles southeast of Little Rock and about 27 miles south of the Rohwer Relocation Center. The relocation center was in operation from October 6, 1942 until June 1944. The center was the last internment camp to open and the first to close. The maximum population was 8,497. Evacuees were from California and Hawaii. There were more than 610 buildings at the relocation center included buildings for evacuees, military police, staff, fire station, health care, and mess halls. Although space was reserved for schools, a church, and a store, these structures were never built. After the relocation center was closed, it was converted into a prisoner of war camp for Germans.

Current Status/Interpretation: Currently, the original Relocation Center is privately held farm land. Very few features remain. The most prominent structures in the central area are a hospital boiler house smokestack and a water reservoir. The smokestack is in poor condition. In addition, there remain several concrete slabs for buildings that now serve as foundations for farm buildings. The only significant feature remaining in the outlying area is the relocation center's sewage treatment plant. The site is commemorated by a 10-foot tall granite boulder monument.

Regional Context: The Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas where the Relocation Center was located is primarily agricultural and extremely rural. Today, the three county area where the two Arkansas relocation centers were located have a combined population of approximately 50,000. The region across the Mississippi River in Mississippi is similarly rural. The nearest Federal presence is the Arkansas Post National Memorial, approximately 60 miles north of Jerome, and the White River National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 60 miles northeast of Jerome.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Local efforts to preserve both the Jerome and Rohwer relocation center sites in Arkansas have been led by Rosalie Gould, a former mayor of the nearby town of McGehee. Ms. Gould has an extensive collection of artifacts from the sites and allows previous internees and scholars access to the collection which she stores in her home.

Future Consultations:

Arkansas State Historic Preservation Officer
Ms. Rosalie Gould
Mr. Mark McElroy

Recommendations:

The DOI will work with the State Historic Preservation Officer and private landowners to determine suitability for listing the site on National Register, and work with Federal, state, and local organizations to develop off-site interpretation.

Background: The Rohwer Relocation Center was constructed in 1942 on approximately 10,161 acres in Desha County southeastern Arkansas. The site is located about 110 miles southeast of Little Rock and about 27 miles north of the Jerome Relocation Center. Approximately 500 acres served as the central area of the relocation center and was home to most of the structures. The Relocation Center was in operation from September 18, 1942 until November 30, 1944. The maximum population was 8,475. Evacuees were from California. There were more than 620 buildings at the relocation center including buildings for evacuees, military police, staff, fire station, health care, and mess halls.

After the relocation center was closed, 120 acres were deeded to the local school district and the remaining land was sold back to the original farmers or to veterans. Equipment and buildings were sold to bidders from across the country.

Current Status/Interpretation: Currently, the original Relocation Center is privately held farm land. Few features remain at the Rohwer site. The most prominent is the Relocation Center cemetery, located in the outlying area. The cemetery includes 24 headstones, two large concrete monuments, a bench, a flagpole, sidewalks, and tow entrance markers, all built by the evacuees. One monument, shaped like a military tank, commemorates the Japanese Americans in the 100^th Battalion and the 442^nd Regimental Combat Team who were killed in Italy and France. The second monument is to those who died in the relocation center.

In addition to the monuments in the cemetery, there are two recent monuments. One honors the 31 Japanese American soldiers from Rohwer who were killed during World War II and the other commemorates the Relocation Center and indicates that the cemetery is a National Historic Landmark.

Other remaining prominent features include a concrete water reservoir and a hospital boiler room smokestack.

The Rohwer Relocation Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Regional Context: The Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas where the Relocation Center was located is primarily agricultural and extremely rural. Today, the three county area where the two Arkansas relocation centers were located have a combined population of approximately 50,000. The region across the Mississippi River in Mississippi is similarly rural. The nearest Federal presence is the Arkansas Post National Memorial, approximately 30 miles north of Rohwer, and the White River National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 30 miles northeast of Rohwer.

Interested Parties/Stakeholders and Opinions:

Local efforts to preserve both the Jerome and Rohwer Relocation Center sites in Arkansas have been lead by Rosalie Gould, a former mayor of the nearby town of McGehee. Ms. Gould has an extensive collection of artifacts from the sites and allows previous internees and scholars access to the collection which she stores in her home.

Future Consultations:

Arkansas State Historic Preservation Officer
Ms. Rosalie Gould

Recommendations:

The DOI will work with the State Historic Preservation Officer and private landowners to determine suitability for listing the site on National Register, and work with Federal, state, and local organizations to develop off-site interpretation.

Links to information on grants and other resources potentially available for preservation/interpretation efforts.

National Register of Historic Places
www.cr.nps.gov/nr/results.htm

National Historic Landmarks Assistance Initiative
www2.cr.nps.gov/nhl/fedprog.htm

Historic Preservation Fund Grants
www2.cr.nps.gov/hpf/index.htm

Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives
www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/index.htm

The Getty Grant Program
www.getty.edu/grant/gcons.html

Comments and information received through consultation process.

California Civil Liberties Public Education Program - Diane Matsuda, Program Director

War Relocation Centers

Topaz - Jane Beckwith, President of the Topaz Museum Board

Tule Lake - Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee

Minidoka - Jerome County Historical Society and Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum

Jerome and Rohwer - Rosalie Santine Gould, private citizen

Heart Mountain - David Reetz, President, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation

Poston - Dr. Don Estes

Granada (Amache) - Rachel Yank, Technical Advisor - Endangered Places Program Colorado Preservation, Inc.

Other Internment sites:

Catalina Honor Camp - Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service

Kooskia Internment Camp - Patricia Wegars, Ph.D., Research Associate and Volunteer Curator, Asian American Comparative Collection, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Idaho

also attached -- National Japanese American Historical Society - Rosalyn Tonai, Executive Director [received after report submitted to White House ]

Brief Background of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program. (CCLPEP)

In 1998, legislation was passed in the California State Legislature to create a program to educate the California community about the Japanese American experience during World War II. This piece of legislation is commonly referred to as AB 1915 and or the "CA Civil Liberties Public Education Program".

AB 1915, amongst other things, provides grants to individuals and organizations to encourage and create programs relating to the Japanese American incarceration and the periods immediately before and after World War II.

2001 marks the third grant cycle for CCLPEP. Grants range from $5000 to qualifying individuals. We are very proud of the success many of our grant recipients have had in sharing this important period of history with the California community and hope that our future grant recipients will continue this trend.

Currently, CCLPEP is scheduled to continue for five years.

Suggestions for the Department of the Interior

As many of the conference call participants indicated, CCLPEP is also in support of projects initiated and supported by the Department of the Interior that would preserve and protect the historic sites of the 10 concentration camps and Department of Justice camps in the United States.

Since CCLPEP is not directly involved in any of the projects we administer, we can only offer observations and suggestions as to the challenges and success our grant recipients have had in this area.

Thus, listed below are some of the points we would like to request that the Department of the Interior consider and possibly recommend in their final report to the White House staff. Although it is realized that some of the suggestions listed below are outside the traditional scope of the Department of Interior, it is hoped that such recommendations be considered and forwarded to the appropriate agencies for consideration.

*Partnerships with various governmental and non-governmental organizations (i.e., business, non-profit, educational institutions and possibly religious institutions) can increase the width and depth of knowledge about the Japanese American experience.

Specific examples include having the governmental organization who is in charge of the park site/land in issue to contract with the local community of the area and the Japanese American community to create educational programs, walking tours, school field trips and creative websites to increase the visibility and knowledge of local citizens. By integrating the work of all groups, a sense of ownership, pride and responsibility exists which will allow special projects to last far beyond the governmental resources dedicated to the project.

*Requesting the Department of Education to issue a Mandate to institute an inclusion of the Japanese American experience into all US history and other civics class curriculum.

Currently, the California Department of Education, (CDE), through their Social Studies Standards Department has required the inclusion of the history of the Japanese American incarceration experience in three grade levels:

1. 4th Grade California History studies include a section of the Japanese American experience as over 2/3 of the individuals incarcerated during World War II were from the State of California.

2. 10th Grade Government-The Japanese American experience is included in the discussion of civil rights and liberties.

3. 12th Grade Civics-This is a recent addition to the California State Standards requirement effective July 2000. Civics teachers are now required to teach the US Supreme Court case of Korematsu v. United States as one of a string of cases involving the civil and constitutional rights of individuals who have been historically discriminated based on the color of their skin or ethnic origin.

But for the cooperation and assistance of CDE, it would be very difficult for public school teachers to include this important period of history as part of their course study.

We are fortunate to have many Nisei, (second generation Japanese American), and older Sansei, (third generation Japanese American), volunteers who have been willing to discuss their personal experience at local schools, but there are not enough volunteers for this method of instruction to be instituted throughout the State.

Thus, with the mandatory inclusion of this subject in the classroom, teachers have used resources created by various schoolteachers and other organizations to help supplement their discussion on this subject.

Since CCLPEP requires all grant recipients to follow CA State Standards in order for their project to be considered for funding, we have been able to clearly see how these projects can be easily incorporated into the hands of the instructors.

*Teacher Training Workshops for new and experienced teachers have greatly increased the interest and the ease of teaching this important period of history to their students. Many programs have instituted incentives for teachers by offering credit to encourage them to further their knowledge and ask questions relevant to their students' needs.

*Using underutilized venues as places for introducing individuals to the Japanese American experience is also a way to share this important period of history with other communities. By creating linkages and parallels with other periods of history or communities, the Japanese American experience can be clearly identified and expanded upon.

One example CCLPEP has had is working with the Italian American community who will be creating a book on the incarceration of individuals from their community and having a joint panel discussion with various members of the Japanese American community to highlight the similarities of their experience.

*Leaving a Legacy is also a very important component of CCLPEP. Currently, we are working with a world famous composer, Maestro Kent Nagano of the LA Opera and Berkeley Symphony, to create a symphonic piece on the Japanese American experience. We are also interested in creating a sculpture and garden in Sacramento, California, our state capitol, to commemorate this event.

Both instances will create a legacy, which will live far beyond the personal memories of those that were incarcerated and will hopefully serve as a reminder that all individuals must continue to fight and preserve the civil and constitutional right for all individuals.

*Creating State Civil Liberties Public Education Programs in each state would also ensure that all residents of the United States be informed of this important period of history. Currently, we are working closely with the Washington State Office of Public Instruction to assist them with their public education program.

The Legislation written and passed in the State of Washington is virtually the same language as was used to create CCLPEP. We would like to encourage and work with other state legislators to continue this movement for public education of this subject and would like to offer any and all assistance that can be provided for this to happen.

I will be very happy to answer and elaborate upon any of the above recommendations.

Please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your support and cooperation on this matter.

Respectfully Submitted:

Diane Matsuda
Program Director
California Civil Liberties Public Education Program
900 N Street, #300
Sacramento, CA 95814

Tel: (916) 653-9404
Fax: (916) 654-5829
Email: dmatsuda@library.ca.gov

Recommendation for the Topaz Internment Camp Preservation
by Jane Beckwith, President of the Topaz Museum Board

Background

Topaz is located 15 miles from Delta, Utah, (pop. 3400) the nearest large town. Construction on the camp began in June 1942 on the "lip" of the Great Basin, in an incredibly isolated region. By 1946 all of the barracks were moved from camp and are now scattered across Utah; some as far as 120 miles away, yet the Topaz site is a rich area, full of artifacts — toothbrushes, buttons, marbles, cement gardens, walk-ways, foundations — but overgrown with greasewood and ant hills.

In 1976 as a Bicentennial project Japanese American Citizen League chapters from Utah placed two markers remembering Topaz. One is at the camp and one in Delta. Until 1983 Topaz was almost a forgotten part of local history; that was when a Delta High journalism class started researching the history of the camp and writing articles about it.

Accomplishments of the Topaz Museum Board

In 1991 the Topaz Museum Board became a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Topaz internment camp. We began our work by restoring half of a recreation hall to its 1943 condition. Since the camp Site is in an extremely remote part of the county (15 miles from town), the building was not placed at the site but is located on the grounds of the Great Basin Museum in Delta, Utah. People are free to walk in the building which is divided into a simulated apartment that is 20' x 16' and a room housing artifacts that were used at camp. It's a rather moving experience to be inside a barrack, not just because of the temperature fluctuations of the building, but because of its size and shoddy, yet authentic, construction.

Another major project for the TMB was to reprint a very early account of Topaz, The Price of Prejudice. That book was given to every school and public library in the state of Utah and in the Bay Area of California, where most of the Topaz internees came from. Part of this project was funded by a Civil Liberties Education Fund grant.

Since 1991 we have been raising money to build a Museum. But in 1993 right after we hosted a pilgrimage of 400 Japanese Americans it became quite evident that we had to buy as much of the site as possible since four houses had been hastily placed on blocks 28, 40, 41 and 42, destroying the history of those areas. We bought 415 acres of the total 640 acres, but still need to purchase two parcels of 39 and 100 acres. (Approximately 80 acres of the site have lost considerable integrity due to the houses.)

We have raised about $300,000 but after the above mentioned projects -- the restoration of the building, reprinting the history, purchasing land, and printing several newsletters -- we have about $130,000 left. Certainly it is painfully obvious that grassroots donations will not adequately fund the Museum, so we are looking for large donations from foundations or governmental agencies.

In 1999 we became a Save America's Treasures project (one of two in Utah) and were eligible for a matching $32,000 J. Paul Getty planning grant which will provide us with a site archaeological survey and information on how to utilize the land as a Living Museum. We hope to showcase the site, Topaz buildings scattered around the valley and the Museum that will be built in town. We believe this combination will produce a dynamic and full experience to educate tourists, teachers and students about internment.

We have relied heavily on help from the Utah Historical Society, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Utah Heritage Foundation. We will continue consulting with these agencies. Our connection with groups from other sites is limited so a coalition sounds like a good idea.

We also are working with the Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership based in Nevada to create a Heritage Corridor. Senator Reid (Nevada) introduced S3272 on Dec. 5, 2000 designating the Great Basin National Heritage Area, which extends from Austin, Nevada to Delta, Utah, along US Highway 6.

This past year we helped collect names of Topaz internees who had served in the Armed Services because internment is about more than incarceration. Those names were placed on a monument honoring all service men and women from the county.

Plans for the immediate future

Of course, we are still working toward building a Museum as well as obtaining 139 more acres of the site, so our fund raising efforts will shift from grassroots donations to grants and governmental help.

The site survey will be completed by spring of 2001, and at that time we should be armed with better information to generate grants. We plan to meet with Senators Hatch and Bennett, hoping they will help us with funding. We also will investigate the possibility of becoming a state park or a national landmark or monument.

We need to construct a website and are also planning activities such as teachers' workshops, pilgrimages and tours of the site to increase the awareness. We also need to research whether anyone was ever buried at the cemetery. We would also like to have access to a CD-ROM listing all the internees who were in Topaz with their block numbers and dates of entering and leaving camp. The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles could make this available to all of the camp organizations.

Recommendations

1. Because Topaz is probably more like it was in 1946 than any of the other camps, we believe a visitors' center at the site would be a good way to reduce vandalism and give visitors a better explanation of the site. Our efforts to raise money for the Museum make it difficult to construct a visitors' center, too. We request that all of the camps be designated national landmarks, monuments or state parks and have a visitors' center constructed at the site.

2. We would like to recommend that all the camps be connected by a Heritage Tourism Corridor. Although Heritage Corridors may not provide direct funding, that status could help increase our exposure and validate the intricate history of internment.

3. All of the camp organizations are having a difficult time finding money, especially since we are mostly volunteers. We would welcome the organization of a coalition that could provide information on sources of funding, federal and private.

4. The national archives that house internment records are difficult to access. It would be our recommendation that the national archives become more accessible.

5. The book Confinement and Ethnicity broadened the scope of our thinking to reflect on the entire 19,000 acres of Topaz. Not that we could purchase or restore that land, but we need help preserving what is still there, again by increasing the awareness of the area and by placing signs to interpret the history of the buildings left standing. The book also drew attention to the Antelope Springs area, about 40 miles away from Topaz, which was used as a recreation facility for internees after 1943. The State Historical Society is interested in including the history of the entire 19,000 acres Antelope Springs area as part of the internment experience. Our recommendation is, to the extent possible, increase the notion of the sites from the city boundaries proper to the original fenced areas.

Jane Beckwith
President
Topaz Museum Board
P.O. Box 241
270 North 200 West
Delta, UT 84624
(435)864-2098 h
(435)864-5618 w
(801)450-4765 voice

CREATING A LIVING MEMORIAL AT TULE LAKE INTERNMENT CAMP

Prepared by the
Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee,
Tule Lake Committee, Inc.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is a terrible injustice that must never happen again. To ensure that America remembers and learns from this tragedy, we propose to build a permanent Living Memorial at Tule Lake. This Living Memorial will be used to educate and teach us how easily we can lose our precious constitutional liberties.

Tule Lake Internment Camp has important historical significance for America because it was one of the largest internment camps and because it incarcerated Japanese Americans who resisted internment. Tule Lake imprisoned 29,490 men, women, and children or 25% of the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were unlawfully detained during World War II.

One of the most powerful and moving symbols of Tule Lake is the stockade, a prison within a prison for those who dared to speak out against the violation of their civil liberties. The stockade is rapidly deteriorating. Years of neglect and reckless vandalism threaten the survival of the stockade. We must act now to preserve the memory of this tragic period in American history.

Building a Living Memorial at Tule Lake

The Living Memorial will offer visitors the opportunity to see and feel what life must have been like at Tule Lake. A barbed wire fence similar to the fence that surrounded the entire camp will enclose the entire memorial area. The compound will include a reconstructed living barracks, mess hall, and the stockade. As visitors enter the compound, they will pass under a replica of a guard tower. The guard tower will contain a statue of a soldier with a rifle.

Visitors may enter the stockade and view the prison cells. Poetry written by the prisoners on the walls of the stockade may be read and viewed. Visitors may also go into the reconstructed barracks and mess hall to experience how internees lived. The barracks will be realistically and sparsely furnished with a pot-bellied stove, hanging naked light bulbs, and army cots. The mess hall will show visitors the stark communal setting that internees used to eat their meals. The barracks and mess hall will also serve as a display area for artifacts of camp life and photographs.

A Visitors Center will be located just outside the barbed wire fence surrounding the memorial. The Visitor Center building, which will be a replica of a Tule Lake Camp administrative building, will offer multi-media exhibits, literature, murals, and a lending library. The Visitor Center would also have public conveniences such as parking, rest facilities, and picnic areas. Visitors may also take a self- guided walking tour of the main camp site to visit the remains of actual camp buildings.

Over 130 men, women, and children died while they were imprisoned at Tule Lake. The bodies of individuals that were unclaimed were buried in mass gravesites. We will locate these unmarked gravesites and build a monument honoring the unknown dead at Tule Lake. Visitors may pay their respects to all the internees who died at the camp. Special recognition will be given to all the babies and children who died at Tule Lake.

The Living Memorial will attract a wide variety of visitors. Tule Lake Pilgrimage participants will use the memorial to hold on-site educational activities. Schools in the local area will use the memorial to teach American and local history to school children, and visitors traveling by car will be able to use the memorial as a rest stop and information area.

Visitors may also take a driving tour of the perimeter of the camp and Castle Rock. Castle Rock is a mountain with a panoramic view of the beautiful Tule Lake basin and Mount Shasta, as well as the Tule Lake interment site. Castle Rock also has a historic cross that was built in honor of General Canby who was the only General killed during the Indian Wars. Canby was a famous Civil War general who died during the battle at Captain Jack's stronghold. The history of the Modoc Indians and Captain Jack's famous battle is memorialized at the Lava Beds National Monument.

Ongoing Community Commitment to Tule Lake

Since the closing of the internment camp 54 years ago, Tule Lake has become hallowed and sacred ground for the Japanese American community. Religious leaders from the Japanese American Religious Federation have made annual sojourns to Tule Lake to honor and remember the spirits of individuals who lived and died at Tule Lake. The Japanese American Religious Federation includes congregations from Christian, Buddhist, Shinto and other faiths.

For the past 30 years, the Japanese American community has sponsored semi annual pilgrimages to Tule Lake. The pilgrimages serve to heal the spiritual and psychological wounds of former internees as well as their children, grand children, and great-grandchildren. Over 5,000 individuals and former internees have participated in these pilgrimages to Tule Lake. In 2000, the pilgrimage committee had to turn away interested participants because the facilities in Klamath could not accommodate more than 300 participants. The pilgrimages also serve to educate the community about the historic events that occurred at Tule Lake and to build a record of camp life through oral histories, books, videos, and the collection of artifacts.

Grass roots community groups have sought and obtained funding to preserve the history of Tule Lake. The following are only a few examples of these grass roots efforts:

1) Teach-In at Tule Lake in March 2001.

The Modoc and Klamath School District won a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund to conduct a Tule Lake Internment Camp Teach In. Tule Lake educators, former internees, and various Japanese American community groups are working together to plan and implement this intensive teach-in. The goal of the teach-in is to educate school teachers in the Modoc and Klamath school districts about the historical significance of Tule Lake, the impact on the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned there, and the impact on the local community.

2) Tule Lake Preservation Fund

During the 2000 Tule Lake Pilgrimage, participants donated $10,000 to begin a fund to preserve and to build a Living Memorial at Tule Lake.

3) A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Tule Lake

Children of former internees working with the Sacramento Japanese American Citizens League have also won a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. The grant funds will be used to create a booklet for a self-guided walking tour of the Tule Lake camp.

4) Kinenhi (Tower of Memories, Photographs and Remembrances of Tule Lake).

The Tule Lake Committee has obtained grants and private donations to publish two editions of Kinenhi. The book is a collection of original camp photographs and oral histories and remembrances from former internees. The second edition was completed in 2000. Over 3,000 copies of these books have already been distributed and sold.

5) Architectural Plans to Build a Visitors Center at Tule Lake.

In 1996, the Tule Lake Committee worked with architects, who donated their time to create detailed plans to build a visitor center.

6) Photographs of Tule Lake on CD ROM

A professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Davis has obtained a grant to create a CD-ROM that includes original photographs and the history of Tule Lake.

7) Tule Lake Roadside Marker

A public-private partnership was created to erect a roadside marker at Tule Lake in 1979. The California State Department of Parks and Recreation and the Northern California and Western Nevada Districts of the Japanese American Citizens League joined to build the marker. The marker is a California registered historic landmark number 850-2.

8) Oral Histories of Internees.

For the past two decades, the Tule Lake Committee, the National Japanese American Historical Society, and the Seattle Densho Oral History Project have been filming oral histories. Hundreds of former internees have been interviewed on videotape about their experiences at the camps and how the camp experience has affected their lives and family. Some of the oral histories have been published and can be accessed through the Internet. Students and researchers have regularly use these oral histories.

9) Collection of Camp Artifacts.

The Modoc County Chamber of Commerce and the San Jose Japanese American Resource Center/Museum have been actively collecting Tule Lake artifacts. Many of these artifacts are on display at the Lava Beds National Monument and the museum in San Jose.

Creating a Public-Private Partnership

For the past several years, the Tule Lake Committee and interested citizens have been working together with public agencies to clarify ownership of the land at Tule Lake and to develop plans to build a Living Memorial. Participants in the Public-Private Partnership include (see list of names in the appendix):

1) White House Office of Public Liaison
2) White House Chief of Staff, Council on Environmental Quality
3) US Department of the Interior
4) US National Park Service, Region 9
5) California State Office of Historic Preservation
6) California Department of Transportation (CalTrans)
7) California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund
8) Japanese American Citizens League, Sacramento
9) Modoc and Klamath School District
10) Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee
11) National Japanese American Historical Society
12) National Japanese American Library
13) Japanese American National Museum
14) Japanese American Religious Federation
15) Tule Lake Reunion Group
16) San Jose Japanese American Resource Center/Museum

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations stem from the public-private planning efforts over the past five years.

1. DESIGNATE TULE LAKE INTERNMENT SITE AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK.

Tule Lake should be listed on the National Historic Landmark Register. Jim Fisher, CalTrans Historian, completed a study of Tule Lake as part of CalTrans' Public Resources Code 5024.5 responsibilities. His study concluded that five of the seven buildings appear to qualify as historically significant buildings. Fisher also noted that an archeological survey has not yet been conducted on the site. It would be preferable to designate the entire Tule Lake site as an historic landmark.

A. Transfer 10 Acres of Land at Tule Lake from the Department of the Interior to the National Park Service. The Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior (DOI) owns the ten acres of land surrounding the stockade. The DOI has expressed interest in transferring this land to the National Park Service to build the visitor center and Living Memorial.

B. Clarify Ownership of the Entire Tule Lake Internment Site. Public and private individuals currently own the land at Tule Lake. Public owners include the US Bureau of Land Management of the US Department of the Interior, US Bureau of Reclamation. CalTrans is currently leasing land from the federal government.

2. IDENTIFY AND EXCAVATE UNMARKED GRAVES AT TULE LAKE.

Jimi Yamaichi, a former internee and leader of the construction effort that built a large portion of the camp barracks and the stockade stated that there is a cemetery on the site that has not been excavated. The headstones from graves located in the camp were removed and stored in the camp mess hall. He also stated that there were other unmarked mass gravesites at Tule Lake. The California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund expressed interest in funding a project to determine if there are remains of internees buried in unmarked graves.

A. Build a Monument to the Unknown Dead at Tule Lake. We will build a monument honoring the unknown dead at Tule Lake. Special recognition will be given to all the babies and children who died at Tule Lake.

3. IMPLEMENT A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A LIVING MEMORIAL AT TULE LAKE.

The specific recommendations listed below will enable our vision to become a reality.

A. CalTrans to Build and Maintain a Wayside Rest Stop at Tule Lake. The rest stop would include parking, public facilities, and interpretive displays. CalTrans may be able to use T-21 funds for the wayside rest stop. CalTrans has expressed interest in returning former camp administrative buildings that could be used as part of the visitor center.

B. The National Park Service to Build and Maintain a Living Memorial. The Living Memorial will include the barbed wire enclosed compound with the stockade, barracks, and mess hall as well as the Visitors Center, scenic overlook on Castle Rock, and a driving and walking tour of the camp site. Jimi Yamaichi, former camp construction supervisor and internee, has original blueprints to reconstruct these buildings and is willing to serve as an advisor to the construction effort.

The Living Memorial will be built adjacent to the CalTrans Wayside Rest Stop. Exhibits and displays will be created in conjunction with the Tule Lake Preservation Committee, local schools, and other interested parties and organizations.

C. Community Groups to Raise Funds and Collaborate for the Development and Design of the Living Memorial. Local residents, school districts, State, Local and Federal Governments, former internees the Japanese American Community, and the general public will raise funds to build the Living Memorial. The following groups are in active discussions and planning.

i. Tule Lake Committee, Tule Lake Reunion Group, National Japanese American Historical Society, Japanese American National Library, National Japanese American Museum, Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American Religious Federation, and other interested community groups.

ii. Federal Agencies

iii. California State Agencies

iv. Modoc and Klamath County School District

v. Tule Lake and Newell Land Owners and Residents

These groups will also work together to pool the knowledge and resources to develop ongoing and rotating exhibits and displays at the Tule Lake Living Memorial.

4. IDENTIFY FUNDING SOURCES

The following funding sources have been identified to plan, build, and maintain the Living Memorial.

A. Tule Lake Preservation Fund
B. Japanese American Community (churches, organizations, and individuals)
C. Former Internees and their families
D. Tule Lake Reunion Group
E. California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund
F. Seattle Civil Liberties Public Education Fund
G. National Park Service
H. California Department of Transportation: CalTrans T-21 Funds
I. Heritage Fund Grants, The Office of Historic Preservation
J. Challenge Cost-Share Program, National Park Service
K. Saving Our National Treasures
L. Line-Item Budget Requests in Federal, State, and Local Budget
M. JACL Legacy Fund

5. ESTABLISH A NATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF GROUPS WHO ARE WORKING ON THE PRESERVATION AND EDUCATION OF US WW II INTERNMENT SITES.

The preservation of all of America's internment camps is a high priority. Many public and private groups around the US are in various stages of planning and development to preserve and build Living Memorials. Community-based organizations have successfully obtained public and private funding to build Living Memorials at Manzanar, California and Heart Mountain, Wyoming. It is vital that the knowledge and experiences of these groups be shared with others interested in building Living Memorials at other internment sites. These independent efforts must be coordinated. Groups need to have a forum to actively share their knowledge and resources in order to avoid duplication of efforts and to insure that these Living Memorials reflect the needs of the Japanese American community.

A National Consortium representing these groups will provide the forum for our efforts to preserve our Nation's Internment Camps. Over the next three to five years, the Consortium could convene regular meetings and conference calls to coordinate knowledge, planning, and resources.

APPENDIX

Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee Participants

National Park Service
David Look
NPS Chief, Cultural Resources Team
Pacific Great Basin Support Office
600 Harrison St #600
SF, CA 94107-1372
(415) 427-1401
David_W_Look@NPS.GOV

Martha Crusius
NPS, Planning and Partnerships
600 Harrison St #600
SF, CA 94107-1372

Gordon Chappell
NPS, Regional Historian
600 Harrison St #600
SF, CA 94107-1372
(415) 427-1394

Michael Crowe
NPS, National Historic Landmark Designation

Gordon Chappell
NPS, PGSO Historian

Craig W. Dorman, Superintendent
NPS, Lava Beds National Monurnent
PO Box 865
Tulelake, CA 94523
Craig_Dorman@NPS.GOV

Gary Hathaway
Former Park Ranger
Lava Beds National Monument

California State Office of Historic Preservation
Gene Itogawa

California Department of Transportation (CalTrans)
Gloria Scott
Cultural Resources

Wayne Wiant, Chief
Environmental Management Office

Jim Fisher
Historian

California Civil Liberties Public Education Program
Diane Matsuda, Grants Officer

Sacramento Japanese American Citizens League
Tom Fujimoto

Modoc and Klamath County School District. CA
Bill Figgress, Superintendent
Jim King, History Teacher

Japanese American National Library
Karl Matsushita, Executive Director

Tule Lake Historic Preservation Committee
Jimi Yamaichi
1588 Alisal Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
(408) 269-9458
jimiyama@aol.com

Eiko Yamaichi
1588 Alisal Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
(408) 269-9458

Hiroshi Shimizu
127 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, California 94117
(415) 566-2279
hshimizu@infinex.com

Barbara Takei
7227 Bayview Way
Sacramento, CA 95831
(916) 392-5432
btakei@pobox.com

Judy Tachibana
661 Cutting Way
Sacramento, California 95831
(916) 394-0643
jmtachi@aol.com

Stan Shikuma
Seattle, Washington
SNShikuma@aol.com

Pat Shiono, Ph.D.
Kokoro Assisted Living
1615 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

Home: 785 Elizabeth Street
San Francisco, CA 94119
(415)648 4453

Matthew Kamiya, Esq.
US Department of Labor
71 Stevenson Street #915
PO Box 190250
San Francisco, CA 94119
(415 975-4590 x122

Jerome County Historical Society and Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum
P. O. Box 50
Jerome, Idaho 83338

December 28, 2000

The Honorable Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the decision making and for your personal interest in the internment camps preservation. The Minidoka War Relocation Authority Center was in Jerome County and our organization has many connections to it since our purpose is to preserve and educate others on our county's history.

WHO WE ARE: The Jerome County Historical Society was founded in 1950. The Society has been instrumental in preserving the heritage of Jerome County. Since the Jerome area has been agricultural in nature, the Society has always had the goal of an Agricultural Museum.

In the past 10 years, the Jerome County Historical Society, in conjunction with the County Museum, have been working on creating a living farm and ranch called Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum whose purpose is to preserve, illustrate and interpret the agricultural history of southern Idaho, including the Carey Act and Reclamation irrigation projects. In 1998, we added an original Minidoka internment barrack building to our existing displays of antique farm equipment, windmill, well and buildings such as a prove-up shack, poorhouse, and church used by early settlers in our area. We have also installed amenities as windbreaks, roadways, a lawn at the church and hope to put in a small park.

We have been working on restoring the barrack building and have done some fundraising through the Japanese American Citizens League. In 1999, the Pocatello-Blackfoot JACL in Eastern Idaho contributed $500 toward the restoration and other Intermountain chapters have also contributed. We have also done outreach and fundraising through direct mailings and articles in the Pacific Citizen. One disadvantage is that only a few Minidoka internees remain in this area to advise or help.

The Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum (IFARM) is an agricultural museum being developed on more than 100 acres of land made available through efforts of the Society, the Bureau of Land Management and Jerome County. 27.5 acres of the land is currently under the control of the Society through a formal BLM Patent awarded in 1997 through the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of 1926.

We are forming a Historical District to have the property deeded to us. Since the Idaho Farm and Ranch Museum, including the internment barrack building, is accessible and located at a major crossroad of Highways 93 (north-south) and 84 (east-west), the possibilities of education about the Minidoka internment camp, experience and civil liberties are great.

WHAT WE HAVE: The Jerome Historical Society/Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum already have :

1) many of the preserved items from the camp as an original coal stove used in the internment camp, orginal Minidoka Interlude yearbook, camp high school yearbooks, orginal, bound copies of the Minidoka Irrigator newspapers written by the internees and artifacts

2) an original barrack building, partially restored. Our volunteers have cleaned interior rooms, repaired windows, added window panes, doors, removed sheet rock, built exterior steps, added exterior, crushed asphalt for roadways and accessibility, and added exterior tarpaper.

3) an existing organization with 501(c)3 status, newsletter, boards, officers, meetings and membership

4) land with displays in place

5) plans for an interpretive building

6) numerous volunteers and community support, as the Jerome County Commissioners, College of Southern Idaho, Jerome Rotary, Jerome Chamber of Commerce, Pocatello/Blackfoot Japanese American Citizens League and Intermountain District JACL

7) pictorial exhibits of the assembly centers and Minidoka internment camp

8) on-going donations and additional fundraising underway

OUR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

1) annual open house as Live History Day at IFARM. June 1999 ∓ June, 2000 - 1500 attended with four barrack rooms open with pictorial exhibits, artifacts and volunteer hosts: Maya Hata Lemmon former Gila River, Arizona camp internee, and Hero Shiozaki, from the highly decorated 442nd military unit and Ron James, history teacher (refer Times News articles of 6/1999 and 6/2000).

2) June, 2000 - Forty-five on a bus tour from Los Angeles heard Ron James and Maya Hata Lemmon speak, viewed our internment exhibits at their hotel, toured the barrack building and internment site the following day. While Japanese-American, most had not been in any camp; none had been in Minidoka. The group was on a 10 day tour of four internment camps and national parks - Yosemite, Yellowstone, Tetons, Bryce. Tour organizer: Jack Kau, owner of Kokusai International Travel Agency. Speaker coordinator: Kelly Traughber, Cavanaugh Hotel, Twin Falls. Hosts at IFARM barrack building and Minidoka camp site: Francis Egbert, Hero Shiozaki, Walt Bentzinger, Maya Hata Lemmon and Ron James.

3) August, 2000 Thirty-five from an Elderhostel seminar at Ascension Monastery in Jerome spent two days learning about the internment, viewed our pictorial exhibits in their classroom, took a field trip to the barrack building at IFARM and the internment site. Attendees came from Washington D.C., Hawaii, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, California; most were Caucasian. Monastery organizer: Father Hugh Feiss, Jerome. Instructor: Yas Tokita, Salf Lake City (in the Minidoka Internment camp as a boy). Resource speaker: Hero Shiozaki, former 442nd Regiment, Blackfoot, Idaho Field trip guide: Maya Hata Lemmon. Hosts at IFARM barrack building: Francis Egbert, Walt Bentzinger, Maya Hata Lemmon and Hero Shiozaki.

4) September, 1999 A busload of participants from the Western Conference of the Association of Asian Studies held in Boise visited our barrack building, exhibits and internment site. The group also held a panel discussion in nearby Hagerman on the contributions of Asians to Idaho and the West. Tour guide: Ron James, Twin Falls history teacher; hosts at IFARM barrack building: Ralph Peters, Scott Bybee, Francis Egbert, Walt Bentzinger, Virginia & Clair Ricketts, Maya Hata Lemmon.

5) Numerous articles (refer March, 2000 Boise Weekly article) for outreach and education on the internment. Radio shows, TV news, speaking to groups as the Jerome Rotary and Blue Lakes Rotary Club, Twin Falls. We anticipate further opportunities to educate the public about the historical internment experience.

6) We have had numerous students visit our small display at the existing Jerome County museum and barrack building (i.e. Magic Valley Alternative School). We have been using the barrack building as exhibition rooms for pictorial displays. However, a separate interpretive building is needed since the barrack rooms with its dust, insects and mice, are not conducive to keeping pictures and displays.

WE SUPPORT:

1) AN INTERPRETIVE CENTER for the Minidoka Internment Camp on our existing IFARM site, and not at the actual camp site, which is approximately 25 miles away. IFARM is currently fundraising to build a climate controlled interpretive center to store the newspapers, annuals and artifacts currently housed at the Jerome County Museum. We anticipate hiring at least one permanent employee to oversee the project and apply for grants. We are currently utilizing a part-time Green Thumb employee to help with maintenance.

2) PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF AT LEAST THE CURRENT ACREAGE (app. 93 acres) under the department's protective status now. We have not contacted current owners nor assessed the camp area. These are basic steps should expansion be considered.

OF CONCERN is a Bureau of Reclamation plan to tranfer title of 28.49 acres of the Minidoka internment camp site to the American Falls Reservoir District #2. We have not had an opportunity to review its impact and CANNOT support taking away from the existing preserved acreage since less than 10% of the original internment land is under Federal protection now. We request this administrative action be held pending further input.

3) ADDITIONS: If there is a way to preserve more of the land it should be done, especially since, in our rural area, nothing precludes it from becoming a large dairy or hog farm. If this should occur, the existing acreage would become useless for historical and educational purposes. We have to research other community plans, such as Heart Mountain Committee's Plan, to determine if their plan would be feasible in our area.

We believe the internment was part of the history of this area and our country's history and that there are lessons to be learned from the site, the internees' experiences and their contributions to our area. We feel it is vital others learn what occurred to prevent it from happening again. As time goes by, little will remain unless we preserve; few will even know there was a camp here unless we educate.

4) ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY, archeological maps and, if possible and requested, an archeological excavation of the camp area under college or University supervision. There may be little that remains on the internment site, but we believe an archeological survey has never been conducted and perhaps can be done in strategic areas under the auspices of the college or university, with permission from private owners.

5) ON-GOING MAINTENANCE of existing monuments and grounds, at the internment site, and budget line items for such by the Bureau of Reclamation. The current maintenance is inadequate. The mortar holding the basalt together at the internment site entrance is cracking and becoming loose; weeds were high and coming through the walkway during the summer. The large wooden sign at the entrance may have to be replaced in the future.

6) A VISITOR'S SELF-GUIDED TOUR LEAFLET for those visiting the internment site would be helpful. While there is not much public area remaining, an orientation leaflet that has a small map of the camp area, starting out with "You Are Here", then pointing out a former rock garden area, guard towers, irrigation pipe remnants from the camp, former cemetary area, sod house remnants and railroad spur area would be helpful to those seeking more information. The leaflet could also refer tourists to the Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum and Jerome County Museum exhibits. Former visitor's who drove miles to visit the internment camp often write they were unaware of the museum exhibits.

7) TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS. Since the internment site area is under Reclamation protection and Interior Standards and Guidelines apply, it is recommended volunteers used for repairs and maintenance be trained in Standards and Guidelines (National Historic Preservation Act of 1966).

8) ADEQUATE FUNDING is a major problem; we anticipate more active partnering, more fundraising and grant applications. Discussion with, and support from, our congressional representatives and the state historical society is planned since their support is needed for any success at the state and federal level. Periodic updates such as the tele-conference with public/private organization officials is very helpful, especially to rural areas such as ours. Funding resource lists and internet addresses that pertain to internment sites would be helpful.

9) CONTINUITY: We have an active County Historical Society, County Museum and Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum, however, our membership is aging and any recommendations or plan would have to insure continuity. We look to your expertise and knowledge for guidance. Thank you for the opportunity to comment; we look forward to your recommendations.

/s/ Ralph Peters, Director, Idaho Farm & Ranch Museum
/s/ Francis Egbert, President, Jerome County Historical Society
/s/ Masa Tsukamoto, President, Pocatello-Blackfoot Japanese American Citizens League; 1990 Minidoka Dedication Co-chair
/s/ Scott Bybee, volunteer engineer, outreach
/s/ Maya Hata Lemmon, volunteer writer/fundraiser/outreach
/s/ Micki Kawakami, Vice Governor, Intermountain District JACL

Rohwer, Arkansas and Jerome Arkansas Internment Camps

Rohwer & Jerome Camps are in rather isolated areas with no Japanese-Americans near by. Our work was being helped by George Sakaguachi of St. Louis whose parents were interned in the camps, while George was in the Air Force. George died in 1994. Seicho Sugino of Torrence California also offered help but his health has made it impossible for him to continue. Desha County Judge Mark McElroy works with me in our attempts to preserve and educate about the camps.

Many newspapers and colleges in Arkansas are very interested in the camps and have written articles. Students at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway; Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, University of Arkansas at Little Rock have written papers on the camps.

My son, Mitchell, of Portland Oregon, a technical writer, has applied for a grant to document the many autobiographies, paintings, carvings, books, letters, etc. that I have collected about the camps. In 1991 - 1992 George Sakaguachi and I raised $35,000.00 to begin a restoration program on the 2 monuments that were built by the internees in 1944 and 1945. That amount was only enough to complete half of the work needed.

We need to fund a place to store and make public the many items I have in my home. Many former internees return every year to view these items, but I cannot be here all the time to open my house to these people. Also there is the problem of having someone to keep such a place open. Also as to what will happen to these important items that can never be replaced, when I am no longer living. It needs to stay in Arkansas. We need education for these generations growing up now.

Notable persons, such as Henry Sugimoto, a world famous artist; Ruth Asawa, San Jose Sculpter, George Takei, Mr. Sulu on Star Trek, were interned in Rohwer & Jerome.

Rohwer Camp was given a landmark status in 1993. It is now under the direction of the Department of Interior, but there is no money for upkeep, repair, etc. We were told at the time that the National Park, Arkansas Post. in Dewitt, Arkansas would take over these tasks but they were not funded. Mowing and limb removal is being done by Desha County Road Department under the direction of Judge McElroy, but the camp is on Federal Land and the next County Judge may not continue this practice.

One of our biggest drawbacks is lack of money and no organization to front our needs and a few here in McGehee are adamant against the Japanese Americans. We no longer know what should be done. The 2 camps in Arkansas are very important in that they are so far east and so far away from the Japanese-American communities.

Rosalie Santine Gould
1610 N. 3rd St.
McGehee Arkansas 71654

Honor Roll Project: Now raising $14,000 to erect replica Honor Roll — dedication projected for Memorial in May 2001.

Walking Tour: Need $100,000, and sought federal funding in 2000. Have been advised that funding might be possible in 2001 due to the building of support for the project in 2000. Received NPS technical assistance in the development of the project.

Half Block Reconstruction: The complex will contain a Half Block (12 barracks with mess hall and rec center with two of the 12 being original barracks, barbed wire around the exterior and a guardtower.

Agriculture Plots: Demonstration plots of actual crops grown by the internees.

BIG PICTURE

For the entire camp preservation, we support:

• Landmark Status where appropriate.
• Creation of a Portal Web Site, giving an umbrella Internet presence.
• Investigating use of "scenic easement" status as an alternative to land purchase if not possible.
• Implementation of Special Resource Studies of the camps to assess what actions should be taken in the future. Perhaps provide funding to also update the Confinement and Ethnicity report.
• Development of a consortium of camp preservation groups.

I imagine you already have this information and have the report well underway if not completed — but in the event there is something here that might be of assistance, thought you might like to have it.

Please feel free to contact me again should you have any questions. Thanks for all your efforts.

cc: Kristine Kinami, JACL

HEART MOUNTAIN, WYOMING LEARNING CENTER

Funding Request: $2 million is requested in federal funding from the Economic Development Initiative Grant (EDI) under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation plans to purchase private land for the site and intends to additionally provide funding for the building project. If land is not available, the Foundation will seek to construct the Learning Center on the public land currently on the site and then intends to contribute $500,000 to the project.

Background: Heart Mountain. Wyoming was one of ten relocation centers created in World War II to house Japanese and Japanese-Americans who were forcibly relocated inland from the west coast. The current site contains the most existing structures of any site in the country. To memorialize this history, the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that wishes to partner with the federal government in developing a Learning Center on the site of the internment camp. The Foundation is a well-established and creditable organization serving 2,800 on its mailing list, with notable Board and Advisory Board members including former Senator Alan Simpson and Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta. Simpson and Mineta first met as Boy Scouts when Simpson's Cody. Wyoming Scout Troop visited Mineta's troop while he was interned as a young man in the Heart Mountain camp — they later served in Congress together.

Description of the Project: It is proposed to construct a technology-intensive LEARNING CENTER to educate tourists as well as regional citizens about the Internment Camp's history and effects on the Japanese-American population. The Learning Center will not be a traditional museum or interpretative center. It will primarily feature leading-edge technology providing interactive learning, links and virtual connections to other national sites and programs dealing with overarching learning concepts such as constitutional issues, civil liberties, diversity training and ethnic understanding. It will contain innovative environments and presentations that make stories real, spur the imagination, awaken the emotions, expand the mind and create understanding. It will be designed and created to serve a broad range of learners using smaller floor space but more complex and interactive learning environments. This modestly-sized facility will truly be a Learning Center of the 21st Century and will be designed to be upgraded as technology improves.

Why Important: Wyoming's economy is greatly struggling and highly under-performing compared to the national economy. Increased tourism is an extremely viable solution, especially given that the Heart Mountain site is only 50 miles from Yellowstone Park and next to the east gate community of Cody, Wyoming. Over 500,000 people come through the east gate each year, providing an existing, very sizable market of national and international tourists to visit the Learning Center. The further development of historical and cultural attractions to compliment tine world- class Buffalo Bill Historical Center already in Cody will extend length of stay and increase the number of potential visitors, thereby greatly improving the economy. It is also the desire of the Heart Mountain internees to leave a legacy of learning through this Center to future generations such that abridgements of freedoms and tack of ethnic understanding not occur again in this great country.

(brochure attached to comment letter on file)

December 19, 2000

The Honorable Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Secretary Babbitt,

The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation was very excited to learn of President Clinton's November 9, 2000 memo to the DOI asking for a set of recommendations on how to preserve the sites of the World War II Japanese American internment camps.

As you may have already learned from Josephine Motter of your office, our Foundation is very active and has an ambitious Plan of Work dedicated to this very purpose. We are very eager to provide input and feedback to your agency for this report to the President and would offer the following brief summary of the HMWF efforts and goals for your reference:

• Provided 35 volunteers to clean all the remaining camp buildings under supervision of the Bureau of Reclamation.
• Supported the placement of a cable fence by the BOR around the remaining building site.
• Supported the stabilization of the buildings by BOR (new roofs, window openings closed)
• Committed to erect a replica WW II Honor Roll in 2001 (we have a MOA with BOR).
• Began an official archives program and already have a substantial inventory of donated and loaned materials.
• Videotaped 32 oral interviews at the Seattle Reunion in 2000.
• Annually sponsor a scholarship award for high school students participating in Wyoming History Day who write about the Heart Mountain experience.
• Co-sponsored with Northwest College a teacher education program in Powell in the summer of 2000. (60 teachers and public attending).
• Co-sponsored the next in a series of teacher and public education programs in Cheyenne in the summer of 2001. (Project 250 in attendence).
• Conduct site tours and give classroom lectures to schools and colleges.
• Mail a newsletter three times per year.
• Future Projects: Continuation of Oral Histories, Securing Landmark Status for the current BOR managed site, Create Traveling Exhibits, and construct the LEARNING CENTER COMPLEX (Interpretive Learning Center, Walking Tour, Original Barracks on Site, Construction of a Replica Half Block and Development of Demonstration Agriculture Plots growing crops raised by the internees).

As you can see, the largest major project is the development of an Interpretative Learning Center complex. We were fortunate to have Congress and President Clinton appropriate $500,000 toward the Learning Center in this session of Congress in the Economic Development Initiative Program in the VA/HUD bill. We were almost able to obtain $100,000 for the Walking Tour and plan to have this reintroduced next year. We currently have a purchase contract with a private property owner for 50 acres of original camp site land on which to place the Learning Center. This land is contiguous to the 73 acre Federal site currently managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. This site contains the only remaining buildings of all 10 camps except for the auditorium at Manzanar — they are a real national treasure and need to be preserved!

The following are our recommendations to consider:

• Help us secure Landmark Status for the 73 acre site now managed by the Bureau of Reclamation.

• Place the 73 acre site under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service as their mission is much more consistent with the preservation and interpretation of this important site.

• Consider developing cooperative status with Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation in the management and development of the total 123 acre site (73 acres BOR land + HMWF 50 acres). Consider providing technical assistance and funding to reach the mutual goals of interpretation and preservation.

HMWF received an IRS 501 (c)(3) ruling in April 1996 and now has over 550 members and 2,700 on our mailing list. We have the support of a wide constituency and have greatly appreciated the strong degree of support given by many in the accomplishment of our mutual goals and an ambitious Program of Work. We are enthused about the possibility of any new developments which could expand the effectiveness of our mutual goals and thank you very much for your support and the opportunity to provide comment at this time.

If you should desire to visit further or request additional information, or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.

David R. Reetz
HMWF President

cc: Josephine Motter, Deportment of Interior

January 5, 2001
e-mail correspondence from Dr. Don Estes

The two people most immediately involved with the Poston renewal project is Dennis Patch who is the Education Director for the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) and Raoul Roko, Ph.D., a structural engineer originally from Benin (formally Dahomey in West Africa) now living and working from Tucson, Arizona.

Raoul tells me that he first heard about the Japanese American internment and Poston as a 15 year old high school student in Nigeria. Later when he moved to Arizona he visited Poston and saw the buildings that are still extent at what was the "Colorado River Relocation Center" better known simply as Poston. Over the succeeding years Raoul talked with various member of the CRIT tribal council and found an ally in Dennis Patch and his brothers. Working together they formulated a plan to restore a small portion of the center for educational purposes.

As a structural engineer most of the basic conceptual planning fell to Raoul. As I understand it one of the most basic fundamentals of the plan is to restore the Camp One high school gymnasium.

In addition the proposal calls for the relocating and restoration of fourteen original camp barrack buildings to provide visitors with an idea of what a standard camp block looked like. Each barracks would be landscaped based on historic photographs available to us and the interiors would reflect living conditions circa 1944. Raoul tells me that they have located these buildings on the reservation and in the surrounding area.

The plan likewise includes the reconstruction of a children's pool and a larger swimming pool that were built by the internees. The plan also envisions a visitors interpretation center. Raoul tells me that the tribes have committed to the use of 100 acres of land for the project. The project will be tied into an existing monument built by Poston internees and dedicated on October 6, 1992.

Raoul also tells me that they expect to receive a notification sometime this month of the award of a $500,000 grant from the Arizona Transportation Department in support of the project.

Yesterday (January 4) the CRIT Tribal Council voted to approve the concept and move ahead. Raoul is forwarding me a copy of the Council's resolution and I should have the text tomorrow. I'll forward what I receive to you as soon as it arrives. There is an off chance that Raoul will email some of the material to me. If that happens I'll forward it directly on to you.

When I talked to him today, Raoul indicated that he was sending me a disk with the most recent version of the power point presentation. Do you have a need of that? Is there anyone else I should pass any of this information to at this time.

Raoul can be reached via email at rroko@visto.com His phone number (520) 795 4207. He won't be back at that number until late Sunday. He is a very bright and personable gentleman and I believe the driving force of this project.

I became involved through my long time connection with the San Diego Japanese American community and I guess from the fact that I'm a historian by training. I've written extensively on the San Diego JA experience including a number of pieces on Poston, particularly Poston Camp Three where most of the San Diego people were sent. Our oldest son's MA was on the experience of the San Diego Nikkei at Poston. As you may have noticed my from the fax sent via my wife's office that her name is Toshiye. She is a Japanese American.

There is much excitement here in San Diego over the proposed project. It's funny how things seem to come together. Our Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego is hosting a reunion of Camp III internees in June. We anticipate 500 to 700 folks to be in attendance and we feel that they will want to support the CRIT efforts. The administration's interest come at the same time. I hope working together that we can bring this project to its full planned fruition.

Resolution adopted by the Colorado River Tribal Council on Thursday, January 4, 2001:

A resolution to initiate the recognition, restoration and Future Development of the Japanese Internment Camps

Be it resolved by the Tribal Council of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, in special meeting assembled on January 4, 2001

WHEREAS, the Tribes acknowledge & recognize the Historical significance of the Internment of Americans of Japanese descent during the second (sic) World War; and

WHEREAS, the Tribes desire to implement, restore & prepare for future development of the Japanese Internment Camps located within the Reservation boundries; and

WHEREAS, specific phases will be submitted accordingly. The staffs progress with this project and more specific development will be brought forth for the Tribal Council's approval:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Colorado River Indian Tribes hereby:

1. Approves the designated support staff to initiate and proceed with preliminary plans to initiate recognition, restoration & future development of the Japanese Internment Camps; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Tribal Council Chairman and Secretary, or their designated representatives, are hereby authorized to execute any and all documents necessary to impliment this action.

Email correspondence from Rachel Yank
Technical Advisor - Endangered Places Program
Colorado Preservation, Inc.

Please feel free to include any or all of this information in the appendix to your report.

As I mentioned, our friend and Field Representative at the National Trust for Historic Preservation (Mountains/Plains Regional Office here in Denver), John Mitterholzer, passed on your contact information to me when he found out that you were contributing to a report regarding WWII internment camps.

As I mentioned, Colorado Preservation Inc. (CPI) recently became deeply involved with preserving Camp Amache (the Granada Relocation Center) when it was nominated to our annual "List of Colorado's Most Endangered Places." Following a rigorous statewide review process and approval of our Board of Directors, Camp Amache was chosen as one of Colorado's Most Endangered Places for the year 2001.

This designation means that CPI will act as the lead organization from a private, statewide perspective and provide the local preservation leaders with one year of intensive technical assistance and publicity throughout the Colorado preservation community.

We are very interested in working closely and sharing our information with the DOI, NPS, and the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office to help preserve and protect Camp Amache during the coming years. Please pass along our contact information and feel free to contact us anytime.

Founded in 1984, CPI is Colorado's only statewide, private non-profit, membership organization dedicated to saving Colorado's unique cultural and historical heritage. CPI provides technical assistance, maintains an active presence in the Colorado General Assembly, sponsors preservation meetings, offers awards for historic preservation work and is the advocate for preservation across the state of Colorado. CPI hosts the largest historic preservation conference west of the Mississippi and sponsors Colorado's Most Endangered Places Program. It also publishes Colorado Preservationist, a quarterly historic preservation publication.

You may contact us anytime at:
phone: 303.893.4260 (contact Rachel Yank, Technical Advisor)
fax: 303.893.4333
email: info@coloradopreservation.org
website: www.cpionline.org
address: 910 16th Street, Suite 1100
Denver, Colorado 80202

=====
Rachel Yank
Technical Advisor - Endangered Places Program
Colorado Preservation, Inc.

phone: 303.893.4260
email: rachel_yank@yahoo.com

For White House "Road Map" re Internment Camps and WWII Home Front History:
Example from the Coronado National Forest

Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site
Santa Catalina Ranger District

Abstract:

In November 1999, the Coronado National Forest dedicated the old prison camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains as the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site, after the site's most famous prisoner. Hirabayashi was one of three Japanese Americans to challenge in court the constitutionality of the Japanese Americans relocation during World War II. Although in 1943 Hirabayashi lost his case and spent part of his prison sentence at the Catalina Honor Camp, in 1987 his case was reopened and his conviction overturned. It was largely Hirabayashi's vindication in court that led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Other "resisters of conscience" followed Hirabayashi's lead by refusing to be drafted into the military until their constitutional rights were restored. Some 35 to 45 of these young men, convicted of draft evasion, also were incarcerated at the Catalina Honor Camp.

Fewer than 50 Japanese Americans were imprisoned at the Catalina Honor Camp, compared with over 117,000 Japanese Americans interned nationwide. Nevertheless, the site is an important place to provide the public with information about the internment. First, it is one of the few sites directly associated with resistance to the internment where the public is invited — most of the prisons where Dr. Hirabayashi or the resisters were incarcerated are still being used as prisons. Second, interpretation here can easily reach audiences who know little about the internment: the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site is located along the Catalina Highway (with very high visitation), is a trailhead for the Arizona Trail, and is currently being developed as a day-use and campground area under the Catalina Highway fee-demo program. Finally, respect and appreciation for Gordon Hirabayashi is so strong within the Japanese American community that the 1999 dedication ceremony elicited tremendous support from groups who have been somewhat antagonistic toward each other in the past. Former resisters and internees, World War II veterans, and the Japanese American Citizen League, along with numerous others interested in civil rights, joined together to honor Hirabayashi.

The Forest Service is now building an interpretive trail and kiosk to tell visitors the history of the site and its relationship to the internment and resistance. With the help of several partners, including the University of Arizona, the Federal Highways Administration, and the Southwest Oral History Association, the Forest proposes to continue the preservation and interpretation of the stories associated with the site. Future projects include: complete oral history studies with Dr. Hirabayashi and the few resister-inmates still living; nominate the site to the National Register of Historic Places and evaluate its potential for National Landmark status; and get the results of these reports and studies to the public.

History: How Japanese American citizens ended up at the Catalina Honor Camp prison:

The Catalina Honor Camp was established in the 1930s as a low-security federal prison work camp. Cheap prison labor would build a road from Tucson up the Santa Catalina Mountains; early Tucson promoters believed that easy access to the cool reaches of the mountains would enhance the lives of the current desert dwellers and entice more inhabitants to the city. The first prisoners included people convicted of tax evasion, illegal immigration, and other non-violent crimes.

Gordon Hirabayashi had been a college senior at the University of Washington in Seattle at the beginning of World War II, when Japanese Americans were ordered to leave the West Cost in the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. history. Instead of reporting for internment, Hirabayashi went to the FBI to challenge the constitutionality of the orders, since they were based solely on race or ancestry. Hirabayashi was convicted, and he spent several months in a county jail as his case went through appeals. The Supreme Court upheld his convictions in June 1943, and he spent four more months at the Catalina Honor Camp.

Another sort of protest against the Japanese American internment arose in the internment camps themselves. Early in the war, the government had declared U.S. citizens of Japanese American descent unfit for military service by virtue of race or ancestry. But when the draft was re-instated for Japanese Americans in 1944, some 300 Japanese American men at camps across the country protested the internment by refusing to be inducted into the army until their constitutional rights were restored. They did not object to the draft itself, but hoped that by defying the draft orders they would clarify their citizenship status. Why were they expected to fulfill the duties of citizenship if they were denied its freedoms? If they could be trusted to fight for the United States, why were their parents and brothers and sisters incarcerated without trial?

At least two federal judges agreed with the resisters' position, and charges against over 100 of the resisters were dismissed. However, other resisters were sentenced to up to 3 years in federal prison. Over 30 of those convicted were sent to the Honor Camp, many in leg irons, under armed guards. Ironically, security at the Honor Camp for the "Tucsonans," as they called themselves, was far less stringent than it was for their families in the Relocation Centers: the prison camp boundary was marked with white paint, rather than with fences and guard towers.

The resisters were pardoned by President Truman after the war. Hirabayashi's case was reopened in 1987, and an appeals court found that there was "objective and irrefutable evidence" that the World War II exclusion and internment orders were rooted in racial bias. Hirabayashi was cleared of all criminal charges. One year later, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that formally apologized to the survivors of the internment.

The Honor Camp buildings were razed in the mid-1970s. Little remains at the site except concrete building foundations, along with bridges, retaining walls, and other examples of the prisoners' stonework. The site is being developed as a campground with funds provided by Santa Catalina Mountain fee demo receipts, and the Southwestern Regional Office of the Forest Service provided funding to build an interpretive trail and kiosk at the site.

Community Acceptance of the Re-Dedication of the Prison Camp as the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site:

The re-naming started as a very small thing: the Forest Supervisor and District Ranger had the administrative authority to name the new campground at the old prison camp for Gordon Hirabayashi without much public involvement. In fact, the Forest had originally planned a small dedication ceremony, with just Gordon Hirabayashi, a few of the "Tucsonan" resisters, and Forest officials. But there was a huge outpouring of community support. The Tucson newspaper Arizona Daily Star published editorials supporting the idea; the Pacific Citizen featured the story; individuals began sending in thank-you letters and contributions ranging from $10 to $2000; family members of resisters sent the Forest Service photographs and information to use in the interpretive signs. The University of Arizona sponsored a reception the evening before the dedication; local businesses donated food and flowers for the ceremony; and a California family contributed two large buses to shuttle people to the ceremony site from Tucson. The dedication ceremony, attended by 300 people and covered by two local television stations, featured talks by U.S. Congressional Representative Jim Kolbe, Manzanar Advisory Commission Chair Rose Ochi, and Forest Supervisor John McGee. Congressman Kolbe also read a letter of support from Congressman Ed Pastor, and sons of two of the resisters provided personal perspectives. The participation and support of the Arizona Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Ira B. Hays American Legion Post 84 is particularly important, signaling new acceptance and appreciation for the resisters' stance for Constitutional rights.

Partners:

Individuals, groups, and government representatives helped with the dedication and interpretive signs:

Congressman Jim Kolbe
Congressman Ed Pastor
University of Arizona, History and Anthropology Departments
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles
Reporter Jim Erickson and the editorial staff of Tucson's newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star
Reporter Martha Nakagawa and The Pacific Citizen
Kenji Taguma, editor, Nichi Bei Times
Japanese American Citizens League, Arizona Chapter
Ira H. Hayes American Legion Post 84
Ross Hopkins, Superintendent (now retired), Manzanar National Historic Site
Japan-America Society of Tucson
Japanese American Citizens League, Arizona Chapter
Japanese American Citizens League Kyo Rei Taiko Kai drum group
Japanese American Citizens League (National level)
Manzanar Advisory Commission
Jack Ybarra - Transmetric Corp
National Japanese American Historical Society

KOOSKIA INTERNMENT CAMP PROJECT
735 East Sixth Street
Moscow, Idaho 83843
(208) 882-7905; e-mail: pwegars@uidaho.edu
24 December 2000

Renee Orr, Special Assistant to the Secretary
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Ms. Orr:

Thank you for offering me this opportunity to provide you with information about north-central Idaho's Kooskia (KOOS-key) Internment Camp for inclusion in an Appendix to the report you are preparing for the Secretary of the Interior on the present status of the 10 War Relocation Authority World War II Japanese internment camps. Because the Kooskia Internment Camp is unique among internment camp sites in that it is squarely on the Idaho portion of the Lewis and Clark Trail, now U.S. Highway 12 between Lewiston, Idaho and Lolo, Montana, it is crucial that the Kooskia Internment Camp site be considered for economic development funding in advance of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, scheduled to bring several million visitors to this part of Idaho between 2003 and 2006.

Kindly allow me to share with you my credentials for commenting on the Kooskia Internment Camp. I began researching it in 1997 under a grant from the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. That resulted in a 100-page report, entitled, "'A Real He-Man's Job:' Japanese Internees and the Kooskia Internment Camp, Idaho, 1943-1945." In 1999 I received an Idaho Humanities Council Research Fellowship (IHCRF) to continue researching the camp. For that project, now completed, I prepared several slide lectures, from 20 to 45 minutes long, and have presented them at a variety of venues, from junior high and high school history classes; to members of the general public; and at scholarly conferences on historical, archaeological, and Asian American topics. Several brief articles on the camp have appeared, two edited books with a chapter apiece on Kooskia have been submitted to publishers, and I have a book in progress on the camp.

In January 2000 the IHCRF assisted me in visiting the National Archives in Washington, DC, where I obtained copies of thousands of documents relating to camp operations and the men housed there, Last month, at personal expense, I visited the Archives again, obtained additional materials, and identified other collections with information to be obtained on a future visit when funding permits. Other perspectives, of major importance, have come from the two still-living internees, one a former Japanese Peruvian; from two living former employees; and from the families of deceased internees and employees.

1. Background information on the Kooskia Internment Camp: Although mentioned in Confinement and Ethnicity (pp. 387-389) as the "Kooskia Work Camp," its actual name, in government records, was the Kooskia Internment Camp. This Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) detention facility was unrelated to the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Concentration Camp for West Coast families in southern Idaho, near Hunt. During the two years that the Kooskia Internment Camp was open, from May 1943 to May 1945, it held some 256 all-male, Japanese "enemy aliens," mostly permanent residents from all over the United States, Alaska, and Hawaii, who had been "picked up" right after Pearl Harbor and first sent to Justice Department camps elsewhere. Other Kooskia Internment Camp inmates included more than 30 Japanese Latin Americans - most kidnapped from Peru, Mexico, and Panama with the objective of exchanging them (against their will) for Americans stranded in Japan when war erupted. In addition, the camp had two German internee doctors, and the Kooskia camp's infirmary housed occasional injured German and perhaps Italian alien internees from nearby Forest Service work camps. While some of the Japanese internees held camp jobs, most of these all-male, paid volunteers were construction workers for the present Highway 12, adjacent to the Lochsa River.

2. Historical recognition/monument status/landmark status: None at present. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form should be prepared for the site and submitted, first to the Idaho Historic Sites Review Board and then to the Keeper of the National Register. First used by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the site's main previous use was as the Canyon Creek Prison Camp, a work camp for federal prisoners from the late 1930s until May 1943.

3. Shape site is in/restoration and protection activities: Although the Kooskia Internment Camp site is presently owned by the U.S. Forest Service (jurisdiction, Lochsa Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest), no buildings remain, although there is a concrete slab on which the water tower once stood, Because the site is completely undeveloped and uninterpreted, its major current threat is from the Idaho Department of Highways, which is eyeing that location as one of the few flat places in the Highway 12 corridor, out of sight of the wild and scenic Lochsa River, where they could stockpile a five-year supply of gravel for road repairs. Former threats, from mining, appear to have been stopped by the Forest, whose personnel have recorded the Kooskia Internment Camp site as an archaeological site, 10-IH-870.

The site, which is thickly forested with native species, together with a few introduced fruit trees (apple, cherry, and plum), is immediately accessible via a dirt road off Highway 12. The dirt road, buttressed by a stone wall on its west side, next to the creek, parallels Canyon Creek for a few hundred yards, then ends in a wide spot used by campers. A bridge, now gone, once crossed Canyon Creek, connecting the main camp area with the internees' canteen and ball field.

One-half mile east, on both sides of Highway 12, is the site of Apgar, where the employees' homes were located. While no buildings remain, their sites are still visible, as are some of the introduced garden plantings. Paul Kashino, the Japanese American (Kibei) interpreter, censor, and translator, was one employee who lived there, with his wife Hattie.

4. Story needing to be told: Because millions of visitors are expected to travel Highway 12 during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial between 2003 and 2006, additional, non-Lewis-and-Clark, sites must be developed to manage the flow of visitors more smoothly.

January 8, 2001

Laura Efurd
Deputy Assistant to the President
Deputy Director of Public Liaison
The White House
Office of Public Liaison
Washington, DC

Dear Ms. Efurd,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and others on the conference call on Tuesday, December 19, 2000.

It is the mission of the National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc to be dedicated to the collection, preservation, and authentic interpretation the history of the Japanese American experience. It is therefore most appropriate to have us represented in this discussion and the future discussions of President Clinton's and the White House's efforts to continue the educational and preservation successes thus far. We applaud your efforts and are encouraged that staff will be available during this transition.

Since the December 19 conference call, we at the Historical Society reviewed the points of the meeting and held a series of discussion sessions among our planners. architects, board members and volunteers in a effort to assist m developing a set of recommendations. I am forwarding a copy of these recommendations to Ms. Rene Orr as well.

Sincerely yours,

Rosalyn Tonai
Executive Director, NJAHS

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON THE PRESERVATION OF WORLD WAR II INTERNMENT SITES

1. Establish a consortium of Japanese American organizations and committees involved in Japanese American History on the preservation of World War II internment sites to via the web to facilitate greater communication, planning, and funding efforts.

2. Establish and maintain linkages and dialogue with governmental and private institutions addressing related issues—such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, National Parks Conservation Association. Bureau of Land Management, National Endowment for the Humanities. Encourage greater coordination and cooperation on issues like the preservation of cultural resources and the interpretation of diverse communities.

3. Create local linkages with tribal councils, chambers of commerce, community economic development organizations, private landowners to foster greater understanding and appreciation of local needs.

4. Make linkages to the historical and cultural interpretation of Presidio of San Francisco (where military orders implementing the removal and subsequent internment to Executive Order 9066 were issued)

5. Link with other National Park Service sites, namely the Freedom Trails with the Internment Camps.

6. Coordinate public information and cultural interpretation efforts and seek complementary funding from State Historic Preservation, State-funded Civil Liberties funds, State Humanities.

7. Work toward inclusion and update of historical significance of internment camp sites on the National Register of Historic Sites.

8. Research and provide insights on public-private-community partnership examples and experiments in developing cultural and historic sites toward financial self-sufficiency eg. Presidio of San Francisco.

9. Develop Interpretative Plan and financial feasibility plan for each internment site which includes such components:

A. Wayside signs of internment camps site map, listing peak populations, casualties, volunteers for U.S. Army, deaths, births.

B. Barrack historic furnishings

C. Interactive Video Display that includes oral history excerpts of former internees, residents. WRA employees

D. Computer kiosk to include master internee list, with reference to block and barrack physical location, available photographs of interior barrack, latrines, coal piles, etc. for each site.

E. Display of art work and crafts, writings, gifts using natural elements from the surrounding area created in camps. Contributions and inventions by camp internees to local farms, war effort, community.

F. Display collection of diaries, letters, high school newsletters, annuals, sports memorabilia.

G. See internment memorial sketch.

(sketch accompanying letter on file)