Connecting Constitutional Law and History at Minidoka

On April 19, we welcomed the University of Idaho’s Constitutional Law class to Minidoka National Historic Site for a guided walking tour. Board member Nick Smith, who teaches in the University of Idaho College of Law, has played a key role in fostering this partnership—helping connect students with the site and expanding opportunities to pair educators with Minidoka’s resources.

Led by Professor Benji Cover, the course examines constitutional issues such as due process, equal protection, and strict scrutiny for racial classifications. This semester, students studied the Supreme Court decision in Korematsu v. United States. “Minidoka is an important part of American history, of particular relevance to students of constitutional law,” said Professor Cover. “I wanted students to better understand the lived experience of people impacted by some of the Court’s most consequential and controversial decisions.”

Students spent the day touring the site with National Park Service staff, gaining a deeper understanding of the incarceration experience at Minidoka. “Visiting the site changed my experience compared to just reading the cases,” said law student Valeria Lagos Sosa. “We are so often inundated with cases, readings, rules, holdings, but to feel and see the camp where over a thousand people were forced to live completely changes the information.”

The tour included stops at the replica baseball field, guard tower, barracks, and root cellar. Experiencing Minidoka firsthand underscores the power of place—its ability to convey history and human experience in ways that extend beyond the written word. As student McKenzie Pedersen-Campbell reflected, “visiting the site in person was incredibly impactful. The feeling of the place gave me mixed emotions—I was sad to listen to the stories of those who were interned, but also grateful to have those pieces of history.”

Professor Cover integrated the visit into his broader approach to teaching constitutional law. While Korematsu v. United States is one piece of the curriculum, it invites deeper reflection and critical questions as students begin their legal careers.

When asked whether learning about Minidoka influenced how she envisions her future in law, Valeria Lagos Sosa shared, “the law is not moral just because it exists. There is a power to advocacy and lawyering, no matter how long it takes - like decades and generations later to receive official government apology - it is always worth it to advocate for the good.”

Thank you to the National Park Staff for sharing their knowledge of the site with the students, to the students for taking their Sunday to come visit, to Nick Smith and Benji Cover for organizing the visit, and board members, Janet Keegan and Nick Smith for assisting with the tour.

Are you an educator interested in sharing the story of Minidoka? We offer a range of online resources for teachers. Contact us at info@minidoka.org to learn more.

Online Resources for Teachers