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The National Park Service is accepting project applications for two types of grants that help preserve and interpret United States sites where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II and educate the public about the historical legacy of the federal government’s war-time policy.

The National Park Service today announced $3,273,639 in Japanese American Confinement Sites grants to support nine preservation, restoration, and education projects that help tell the story of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, incarcerated by the U.S. government following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today formally established Amache National Historic Site in Colorado, following the Town of Granada’s acquisition and donation of the land needed to establish the nation’s newest national park. Amache’s establishment comes as the nation prepares for the Day of Remembrance of Japanese Incarceration During World War II, recognized each year on February 19.

The National Park Service today announced $3,408,083 in Japanese American Confinement Sites grants. These funds will support 14 preservation, restoration, and education projects that help tell the story of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, incarcerated by the U.S. government following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.  

During World War II, the federal government forcibly removed people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast and imprisoned them in American concentration camps. A little-known part of their story is that the War Relocation Authority (WRA) expected them to grow food to feed themselves, contribute to the war effort, and make barren lands flourish under the most difficult of circumstances. How did the incarcerees grapple with these demands?

The National Park Service today announced $3,405,000 in Japanese American Confinement Sites grants. These funds will support 19 preservation, restoration, and education projects that help tell the story of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, incarcerated by the U.S. government following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.

President Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act today, designating the Amache site in Granada, Colorado as part of the National Park System. This designation, the first in the National Park System during this Administration, will permanently protect the site for future generations and will help tell the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

The National Park Service, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will co-host this year’s National Day of Remembrance with live virtual events from February 18-20. The commemoration marks 80 years since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The commemoration was made in coordination with Friends of Minidoka, Japanese American Citizens League, and the Japanese American National Museum.

After a pandemic-necessitated hiatus, Manzanar National Historic Site’s award-winning public archeology program is returning with three projects this year. On March 24-29, May 27-31, and September 2-6, volunteers will have the opportunity to assist the National Park Service in uncovering and preserving Manzanar’s Hospital area, the Children’s Village orphanage, and the Administration and Staff Housing area.

In recognition of the 80th anniversaries of President Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 9066 on February 19, and the opening of Manzanar in late March 1942, the National Park Service is hosting a Day of Remembrance virtual event and an on-site showing of part of photographer Shane Sato’s “Go For Broke Spirit” exhibit.