Archive Of Documents From The Heart Mountain Relocation Center In Wyoming -

Collection of 27 mimeographed documents from the Heart Mountain Relocation Center dating from January 1, 1944 to October 17, 1945, spanning most of the time of the camp's operation and comprised mostly of Community Council meeting minutes, together with notes from the first session of the Study Committee for the Opening of the West Coast, a job description for a Block Coordinator, 3 issues in Japanese of the War Relocation Authority's Washington Daily News Digest from August 1945, a chart of all committee members as of May 1945, and the camp's criminal code. Not illustrated. Some light wear, a few edge tears or minor chipping, overall very good. 4to., the documents on letter and legal sized paper. Loose as issued. (Heart Mountain, Wyoming) 1944-1945. The Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, located midway between the towns of Cody and Powell, Wyoming, was one of ten government camps used for the internment of Japanese Americans evicted from the West Coast Exclusion Zone during World War II. Construction of the military-style barracks and guard towers began in June of 1942, and the camp opened on August 11, when the first Japanese Americans arrived by train from the Pomona, Santa Anita, and Portland assembly centers. Over the next three years, the camp would hold a total of 13,997 Japanese Americans, with a peak population of 10,767, before it closed on November 10, 1945.<br/>This center in particular was known for its high rates of draft resistance, encouraging fellow internees to refuse military induction until they and their families were released and had their civil rights restored. This archive in particular is a wonderful if bleak record of the activities of American citizens trying to carry on with some semblance of regular life while being imprisoned by their own government.<br/>The minutes of the Community Council meetings highlight issues such as communication received from the ACLU, clothing allowances, rice and other food provisions, invited visitors and guests, property losses, enforced Americanization, the formation of committees such as the Evacuee Relocation Planning Board, the Heart Mountain Cemetery, athletic fields, summer school, coal shortages, provisions put in place for after the Army departed Heart Mountain on September 1, 1945, and the closing of the internment centers.