The National Park Service says the newest site added to their growing list of places is the Amache National Historic Site. Amache, also known as the Granda Relocation Center, is in Colorado. The U.S. government used the area to imprison Japanese Americans during World War II.
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While the historical events at Amache are unsettling, they tell an essential part of American history, which should not be forgotten.
“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future. The Interior Department has the tremendous honor of stewarding America’s public lands and natural and cultural resources to tell a complete and honest story of our nation’s history,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in a press release. “Today’s establishment of the Amache National Historic Site will help preserve and honor this important and painful chapter in our nation’s story for future generations.”
Amache Historic Site was one of ten incarceration sites. From 1942 to 1945, the government held more than 10,000 people at the camp. Of them, two-thirds were American citizens. Driven by unfounded fear, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the action to happen. It is now considered a “painful chapter of American history.”
Amache’s historic building foundations and road alignments are intact, as the Amache Preservation Society has worked to protect the area. The historic site is in Granada, a town in far eastern Colorado that sits near the border with Kansas. The National Park Service says it will work with the preservation society to continue its work. The agency will also increase public awareness of its history.
The National Park Service manages 429 individual units. Of those, 75 are national historic sites.
