Amache National Historic Site, in Granada, Colo., has been named the nation's newest national park.
President Joe Biden signed the act to create the park March 18. With that signature, Amache becomes more than just a relocation site for Japanese Americans during World War II. This designation will protect the site and tell the story of Japanese internment during World War II.
"As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future," said Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a March 18. "I applaud President Biden and the bipartisan action in Congress that has ensured this important and painful chapter in our nation’s story is preserved and honored for the generations to come. 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."
Between 1942 and 1945, more than 10,000 individuals of Japanese descent found themselves at Amache, according to the National Park Service. In 1943, when the population peaked, there were 7,310 Japanese people incarcerated.
“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,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams in the news release. “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.”
The site is mostly comprised of a historic cemetery, building foundations and road networks used in the 1940s, but all the original buildings were removed or demolished after 1945, The National Park Service reported. What remains is largely due to the efforts of many, including the town of Granada, Amache Preservation Society, former incarcerated persons and their descendants and other individuals and organizations dedicated to keeping Amache's significance alive and understood.
