I was asked by Friends of Minidoka and the National Park Service to document the grand opening of the Minidoka National Historic Site’s new visitor center in Idaho. This was my third visit to the site. With each trip, I learn so much more about how poorly the U.S. government treated Japanese-Americans during WWII.
I spoke with and photographed an internee who was genuinely excited to see the center’s bathrooms and flush its toilets. During her incarceration, communal bathrooms with no privacy were the norm. She had blocked this bad memory from her mind. I still can’t get over taking pictures inside a women’s restroom.
If you’re ever in the middle of south-central Idaho, take a detour off the interstate to visit this site. You’ll learn so much more than history books ever told you.
Chief of Interpretation and Education Hanako Wakatsuki, right, along with others, raises th flag prior tot he start of the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
The new visitor center resembles the old tar-paper buildings that once dotted the landscape at the camp. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Idaho Gov. Brad Little, second from left, celebrates as he and others cut a ribbon to signify the opening of the new Minidoka National Historic Site visitor center in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
A quote by Frank Kitamoto, who 2 years old when he was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California, resides above the entrance to the new visitors center. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
The interior of the new visitor center at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
An attendee reads the hundreds of names that were interned at Minidoka, during the grand opening ceremony of the visitor center at National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Items on display inside the new visitor center at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
An internee speaks in front of a display inside the new visitor center at Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Attendees speak during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
An attendee looks over a display during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Attendees watch a looped movie during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Crowds mingle and talk during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
An internee and her grandaughter look at a display during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Attendees look at an interactive display during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Idaho Gov. Brad Little speaks with an internee during the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Attendees take a tour of th grounds following the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceromony held at the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon