Cover Page

Table of Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Essay

Brief History

Gila River

Granada

Heart Mountain

Jerome

Manzanar

Minidoka

Poston

Rohwer

Topaz

Tule Lake

Isolation Centers

Add'l Facilities

Assembly Centers

DoJ and US Army Facilities

Prisons

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites by J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord, and R. Lord

Chapter 4 (continued)
Gila River Relocation Center

Interpretation

Figure 4.119. Relocation center display at the Gila River Indian Reservation Cultural Center.

The Canal and Butte Camp sites are located on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The sites are treated as sacred sites by the tribe (Cohen 1994) and public access is restricted. The perimeters of both camps are posted with "no trespassing" signs. A permit must be obtained from the Gila River Indian tribe to visit the sites. A minimum fee of $100 is charged for the permit, but is normally waived for former evacuees and their immediate family members. Visitors without a permit are subject to arrest and a tribal court hearing.

At Gila River Indian Reservation Cultural Center, located 4 miles north of the camps along Interstate 10 (Exit 175), there is an exhibit and outdoor display about the relocation center prepared by the Arizona Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Located inside the Cultural Center the exhibit includes text, maps, historical photographs, and artifacts from the camps (Figure 4.119). The outdoor display includes information similar to that on memorial markers present at each of the two camps (Figure 4.120).

Figure 4.124. Dedication ceremony at Butte Camp (1995).

Three years were spent getting permission from the Gila River Indian tribe to place the memorial markers at the camps. One of the conditions for their approval was that the Japanese American community never ask for National Landmark or any other official designation (Joe Allman, personal communication, 1997). Any such designation is seen by the tribe as a threat to their sovereignty. In fact, in 1978 a National Register of Historic Places nomination was prepared by the Arizona State Parks Board, however the nomination was withdrawn when it was learned that there would be no support from the tribe.

The memorial marker at Canal Camp, located near the foundation of the administration building and a flagpole base, includes a map and historical photograph of the camp and some text explaining the history (Figure 4.121). At Butte Camp two markers were placed at the servicemen's honor roll monument. One provides historical information, similar to that at Canal Camp, and the other lists those from the relocation center who were killed in World War II (Figure 4.122 and 4.123). The plaques were dedicated in 1995, during ceremonies held during the 50th Anniversary Gila River Relocation Center Reunion (Figure 4.124).

Photo Album

Last Modified: Fri, Sep 1 2000 07:08:48 pm PDT
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