Japanese American Internment

On February 19, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which legally permitted the internment of persons of Japanese ancestry in the Pacific region for the duration of World War II. From 1942 to 1945 the War Relocation Authority removed over 120,000 people to ten internment camps throughout the western United States. More than two-thirds of internees at were American citizens by birth. A difficult chapter in American history, the story of the internment of Japanese Americans lives on in the surviving internees, their families, and the myriad sites around the United States where Japanese persons were assembled, transported, and interned.

Minidoka National Historic Site

One of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Resources in 2007, the Minidoka National Historic Site was one of ten relocation centers for Japanese internees. Now a National Park Service Unit, Minidoka is threatened by a factory farm and major power line development.

Preserving the Sites and Telling the Story of Japanese American Internment

Amy Cole and Anne Galliot discuss efforts to preserve sites of Japanese Internment in this 2004 Forum article.

Diane Matsuda: Japanese Internment All Camps Summit

A talk with Diane Matsuda about the All Camps Summits, where groups working to preserve sites of Japanese internment to meet, share information, and collaborate.

The Harada House

In 1915 Jukichi Harada, a first generation Japanese immigrant, purchased the c.1880 Harada house and deeded it to his American-born children. In 1942 the Harada family was “relocated” to internment camps from the modest house and returned to it again after the war, occupying it until 2000. Today the house is a National Historic Landmark owned by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.

A History of the Internment Experience

An overview of the Japanese Internment Experience from the Japanese American Citizens League

Grant Opportunity:

Applications are now being accepted for the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program for FY 2009.

Congress established the Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program (Public Law 109-441, 16 USC

461) for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. The law encourages projects that identify, research, evaluate, interpret, protect, restore, repair, and acquire historic confinement sites in order that present and future generations may learn and gain inspiration from these sites and that these sites will demonstrate the Nation’s commitment to equal justice under the law. For FY2009, Congress appropriated $1 million to be available for this grant program.

Application Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2009

Please visit www.nps.gov/history/hps/hpg/JACS/index.html for information about the grant program.