The Minidoka National Historical Site is celebrating its 20th anniversary as being part of the National Park Service.
The site commemorates the incarceration camp in Jerome County, Idaho were the feds imprisoned more than 13,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
“That’s why we are at Minidoka, to tell this story of civil liberties and civil rights to make sure that we are being diligent during times of uncertainty to preserve people’s rights,” Hanako Wakatsuki, the acting chief of interpretation at the site, said to KMVT.
On Sunday, a panel of survivors discussed their memories of Minidoka.
According to the Idaho State Journal, most of those sent to Minidoka came from Oregon, Washington and Alaska. It opened in 1942 and closed three years later.
The visitor center is closed for the winter but a 1.6-mile trail and self guided tour remains available. You can also still enter some of the historic buildings including the barrack and mess hall. Various exhibits along the trail educate hikers about life at Minidoka and the history of why the federal government imprisoned Japanese Americans there.
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