Legalectric

When we left Craters of the Moon Nat’l Monument and Preserve, we learned Minidoka National Historic Site was on the way out of Idaho, so of course we headed to Jerome, Idaho. It’s a memorial documenting the U.S. internment of Japanese citizens and issei (first generation Japanese immigrants who the “U.S.” determined were unable to become citizens). When we toured Manzanar in 2017, which needs to be on everyone’s go-to list, I got a copy “By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans,” written by Greg Robinson, focused on Executive Order 9066 and rounding up of Japanese without due process, without notice, where families lost everything, EVERYTHING, and were in these concentration camps for years, in some cases, having to build the camps, as they were in remote locations, and nothing was there!

• 75 years ago – America’s Shameful Japanese Internment

• Manzanar – Information on Japanese American Internment

It’s really disturbing that this IS how we treat people in this country. It’s doubly disturbing when we see familiar names on the list, in this case, the Issei Memorial of those imprisoned at Minnedoka:

These are lessons we need to know, and never repeat. Yet back in 2017, when we toured Manzanar National Historical Site, the then “President” was issuing hateful and discriminatory Muslim ban Executive Orders, starting with EO13769, to prevent entry to the U.S. Deja vu all over again.

The Minidoka National Historic Site is quite new, and it looks like it’s under development, more to come. There’s a strong tie with this location to the Bainbridge Island round-up, where Japanese first were sent to Manzanar, and then to Minidoka. There’s more info on Bainbridge Island that HERE (though this site is odd, the wording/language used is a little to “happy.” From the site, “children and adults alike will enjoy this delightful local museum” ummmmm, there’s nothing delightful about forced “evacuation” and incarceration.)