2010 Minidoka Pilgrimage

Minidoka invites all those who are interested to join us on our pilgrimage.

Gathering at a previous event at Minidoka Photo courtesy: Ryan Kozu

(TWIN FALLS, Idaho) - Over sixty-eight years ago, during World War II, almost thirteen thousand people of Japanese ancestry, many of whom were American citizens, were forcibly removed from their homes in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, and sent to a desolate “internment camp” near Twin Falls, Idaho.

To commemorate this event, former internees, their families, friends, and those interested in this historic event will make a pilgrimage from Seattle and Portland to the former Minidoka Internment Camp from June 24-27, 2010.

The Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, the Nisei Veterans Committee, and the Friends of Minidoka invite all those who are interested to join us on our pilgrimage.

The former internees spent nearly 3 years incarcerated in Minidoka and other camps almost 7 decades ago. Today, most of the 33,000 acres that once made up Minidoka has been taken over by farms.

However, in 2001, 73 acres along the North Side Canal, near the entrance was designated a National Historical Monument.

Minidoka photos by: Ryan Kozu and Eugene Tagawa

On December 21, 2006, President Bush signed H.R. 1492 into law guaranteeing $38,000,000 in federal money to restore the Minidoka relocation center along with nine other former Japanese internment camps.

And on May 8, 2008, he signed into law The Wild Sky Wilderness Act, which changed the status from U.S. National Monument to National Historic Site and added the Nidoto Nai Yoni (Let It Not Happen Again) Memorial on Bainbridge Island, Washington to the monument.

In Twin Falls, participants will have two chances to visit the grounds of the Minidoka National Historical Site. On Saturday, there will be guided tours of what remains of the former site. On Sunday, a memorial service will be held at the site to honor internees and those who left Minidoka and were killed while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.

In addition to the pilgrimage, a 2-day symposium on Civil Liberties in Wartime at the College of Southern Idaho will take place prior to the annual Pilgrimage.

In order to avoid a $20 late registration fee, register by June 4th, 2010.

To register, and for hotel and registration information, please see the Minidoka Pilgrimage website: minidokapilgrimage.org/. For other questions and inquires, please email: MinidokaPilgrimage@gmail.com

Special thanks to Emily Momohara, Ryan Kozu and Eugene Tagawa