The National Trust for Preservation named the Minidoka National Historic Site one of the 11 most endangered historic places in the country, reports KUNC.
The incarceration camp in Jerome, Idaho imprisoned 13,000 Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes because of their ethnicity during World War II.
This year the National Trust selected its endangered list with a focus on sites threatened by climate change, development and neglect and with an emphasis on “sites of injustice and activism, and places of creative expression,” the Idaho Statesman reported.
The Trust said a proposed project to build one of the largest wind farms on public lands in the United States currently threatens the future of Minidoka, according to KTVB.
“We are extremely disturbed by the proposed wind project and its disregard for the sacredness of Minidoka National Historic Site where 13,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were unjustly incarcerated during World War II,” Executive Director for Friends of Minidoka, Robyn Achilles said to KTVB. “Minidoka is a memorial to all those who suffered at the site. Survivors and their descendants make emotional pilgrimages to Minidoka where they remember, heal, and share stories to ensure these violations of civil liberties do not happen again. Minidoka is our past and our future.”
KUNC reports the Bureau of Land Management is expected to release its environmental impact report in the fall. It is also considering alternative wind turbine projects based on public input from Friends of Minidoka and others.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story, or making a contribution.
.jpghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minidoka_National_Historic_Site_(National_Register_of_Historic_Places).jpg){kind=link}
