Left to right: Michael Boren, Acting DOI Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget, K aren Hirai Olen, Survivor, Minidoka concentration camp, Jeremy Chase, Tourism & Marketing Administrator, Idaho Commerce, Robyn Achilles, Executive Director, Friends of Minidoka, Keith Yamaguchi, President, Nisei Veterans Committee, Brianna Bowhay, Project Manager, Southern Idaho National Parks, National Park Service, Janet Keegan, Board member, Friends of Minidoka and Minidoka descendant, Wade Vagias,...

Photo: Buses preparing to depart Minidoka, Courtesy of the National Archives, photo no. 210-CMB-V2-1944 By Micah Hetherington, Friends of Minidoka Granuate Research Fellow On October 28, 1945, Minidoka officially closed as a concentration camp for people of Japanese ancestry. Throughout incarceration, people who fit strict qualifications of release and perceptions of loyalty were able to move out of camp for work or school. Japanese Americans could not move back to the West Coast until the...

Visitors creating ikebana floral arrangements after a site tour with the park ranger By Micah Hetherington, Friends of Minidoka Graduate Research Fellow This summer, Friends of Minidoka worked with National Park Service staff to engage with park visitors and educate them on historically relevant art forms: ikebana, senryū poetry, and sumi-e painting. Through these visitor engagement activities, Friends of Minidoka heightened our visibility with the public and gave people space to quietly...