The geological formation of Heart Mountain is part of the Absaroka Range and a uniquely shaped rugged crest in northern Wyoming.
At its peak, the Heart Mountain internment camp held 10,000 people. Think of the scope of that in comparison with the community you live in, where you grew up, or the high school/college you attended. That size meant that it was the third largest city in the state of Wyoming and didn’t close until two months after the end of World War II.
Buildings of the Center
Guard Tower
Scope of the camp
They explained that this retaliation was in the context of the attack on Pearl Harbor and a gut reaction to hold what the Japanese government did against every person of that heritage residing in the USA.
Review those by Okumoto and you get a clearer idea of what this concentration camp, as they were called at the time, was really like.
The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center is part of the National Historic Landmarks Program and included in the National Park Service and is extremely well done.
There are rooms setup to typify the dwellings of families or barracks for groups of single adults. My college dorm room may have been larger than some. Several original camp buildings are onsite and as you view them, keep in mind that these were mostly tar paper shacks in Wyoming where winters are anything but gentle.
Like the achievements of the Tuskegee Airmen, The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, won many decorations in the war. Learning about what they did despite the restricting circumstances is remarkable. For additional facts about the all Japanese-heritage (Nisei, meaning American born Japanese) serviceman, please see their website.
Their’s is a remarkable story of patriotism and heroism despite prejudice.
There’s a wealth of reading on the website under “Life in Camp.”
An article’s title is eye-catching, “My Only Crime is My Face,” written by Mary Oyama. Even without reading the well-written content, isn’t that headline enough to make anyone rethink their prejudices? It’s startling to read her sentence, “The Powell Tribune, which had first reported in a surprised tone that the new farm helpers ‘talked good English,’…” Had no one explained that these were American citizens being detained?
Another poignant sentence reads, “I couldn’t help but reflect that the only true democracy there is is the democracy of childhood—before a child’s mind is contaminated by the prejudices of adults.”
There are additional articles in the Berkley link.
With our social media-drenched world of today, it’s hard to think of a time when TVs in every home were rarities. The news reached people via radios, newspapers and word of mouth.
In that vein, there are two videos well worth watching:
Please look at the Tom Brokaw video filmed when he was on hand for the 75th anniversary August 2017.
An enduring and celebratory friendship still exists between Norman Mineta and Alan Simpson. Simpson belonged to the Boy Scouts in Cody who went to meet with the Boy Scout troop at the camp. Decades later, with both men serving in the US House of Representatives, they co-sponsored The Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Location: address is Powell, Wyoming, it equal distance between Cody (with an airport) and Powell.
There are seasonal hours, so check the website before going.
Admission: $7 adults, $5 for students and seniors
Length: Allow at least two hours including the 15 minute film and the outside walking tour.
Interesting. Might have to check it out one these times
Next time you’re (we’re) in Red Lodge–Heart Mountain is well-worth going to.
Rosemary – I really enjoyed what you wrote! I can’t even imagine what they went through and it’s hard to grasp that it happened here in our country and in Powell, Wyoming, my home town. I was born and raised on Heart Mountain and besides everything that happened here it was the best place to have been raised! Heart Mountain is beautiful!! I grew up on Heart Mountain and lived by the concentration camp and used to play their when I was a kid in all the buildings. FYI- after the camp closed down the barracks were purchased by the… Read more »
Thank you for reading, Lisa. Heart Mountain–and all of Wyoming–is such a beautiful place. The history can’t mar how lovely it is–it can only remind us of the fallibility of humans and how important it is to be kind to each other.
So glad you got to visit here. We had avoided it because I knew it would be painful – and it was – but it was also uplifting to me, in how these citizens made the best of a perfectly horrible and unfair situation. I guess I came out of a visit here with a renewed appreciation for the human spirit – at least based on the people incarcerated (and not so much for the mindset of people who put them there).
I agree, Karen, it’s uplifting. Like reading the Diary of Anne Frank is sad, and yet she invigorates you with her life spirit. I’m glad that we both got to experience Heart Mountain.
Thank you so much for reminding us of this important albeit sad bit of history! The center sounds fascinating so I’ve bookmarked your post because I’d really like to visit the area one day. Thanks again. 🙂
It is sad, Marquita, but another one of those things that we have to remember so that we don’t forget. You’ll get a road trip there, I know you will.