Civil Liberties & the Constitution

In observance of the Civil Liberties and the Constitution Day, the Judiciary History Center, Hawaii State Bar Association Civic Education Committee, Iolani Palace, and National Park Service present a film screening of Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp

The wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans is subject to contested efforts of preservation and interpretation. Inaccurate terminology and misnomers related to the forced removal and incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry distort what actually occurred. Produced for Minidoka National Historic Site, “Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp” tells the story of a group of Americans and their incarceration by the U.S. government in the High Desert of southern Idaho, purely on the basis of race. The film explores the lasting impact of incarceration on Japanese Americans, through decades of shame and silence, before the community took a stand for redress, and examines the relevance of their story for civil rights today.

Hanako Wakatsuki, Chief of Interpretation and Education, Minidoka National Historic Site, will speak about her work with former incarcerees of the Minidoka concentration camp. Prior to working with the National Park Service at Minidoka, Hanako worked for the Idaho State Historical Society, Tule Lake Unit of WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, and at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum. She also served a detail with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as the Regional Advisor for the Regional Network managing programs in Southwest, Southern California, and Hawaiʻi. Hanako is currently assisting efforts to develop the Honouliuli National Historic Site.