President Joe Biden designated the Amache National Historic Site in Granada, Colorado, as part of the National Park System (NPS).
This designation, NPS’ first during the Biden administration, will permanently protect the site for future generations and will help tell the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, NPS stated.
“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said. “After visiting Amache and meeting with survivors and descendants, I was moved by their resilience and the way in which Colorado communities came together during and after the injustice to support Japanese Americans. May we all be inspired to do the same today for all our fellow citizens.”
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, was among 10 incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to detain Japanese Americans forcibly removed from the West Coast of the United States under the terms of Executive Order 9066. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated at Amache from 1942-1945, which housed 7,310 incarcerees at its peak, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.
“It is our solemn responsibility as caretakers of America’s national treasures to tell the whole story of our nation’s heritage for the benefit of present and future generations,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said. “The National Park Service will continue working closely with key stakeholders dedicated to the preservation of Amache, and those directly impacted by the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, to preserve and interpret this significant historic site to the public.”
Today, the Amache site consists of a historic cemetery, a monument, concrete building foundations, and several reconstructed and rehabilitated structures from the camp-era. Amache was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1994, and designated a National Historic Landmark on February 10, 2006.
To formally establish the park, NPS will work with the town of Granada to acquire the lands intended in the law, a process likely to take more than a year.
