[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 119 (Monday, August 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE GRAND OPENING OF THE HEART MOUNTAIN WYOMING INTERPRETATIVE LEARNING 
                                 CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 1, 2011

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Grand Opening 
of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation's Interpretative Learning 
Center in my home State of Wyoming. While the Heart Mountain Relocation 
Center symbolizes a sad time in our nation's history, the opening of 
the Interpretative Learning Center begins a new era. It will be a first 
class educational facility that preserves and teaches the lessons 
embodied in the wartime experience of people of Japanese ancestry 
confined during World War II.
  The Heart Mountain Relocation Center was located on then public lands 
in Park County, Wyoming. It was named after the Heart Mountain Butte 
visible in the distance. It was, and is, in a very rural area of 
Wyoming. It held nearly 14,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during 
World War II on 740 acres. At the time it was the third largest 
community in Wyoming.
  Heart Mountain was one of ten internment camps in the American West 
established by the War Relocation Authority and authorized by President 
Roosevelt under Executive Order shortly after the bombing of Pearl 
Harbor. Under the justification of national security, the U.S. military 
was authorized to create military zones on the West Coast from which 
residents of Japanese ancestry were excluded.
  The Heart Mountain Relocation Center was surrounded by guard towers 
and barbed wire fences and consisted of 650 barrack-style buildings, 
including a hospital, other support facilities and 468 residential 
units. Nearly two-thirds of those imprisoned at Heart Mountain were 
American citizens born in the United States and living in California, 
Oregon and Washington States. Internees were able to take few 
possessions with them and were forced to leave their homes, farms, and 
businesses.
  Yet, despite their unjust imprisonment, the Japanese Americans at 
Heart Mountain never forgot that they were Americans. While residing at 
the Relocation Center, internees set up systems for democratic 
governance, health care, education, farming, and community services. 
More than 800 internees served in the U.S. armed forces during World 
War II, 11 of whom were killed and 52 wounded in battle.
  This dark spot on the history of America and Wyoming nevertheless 
created lasting friendships and an indelible imprint on Northwest 
Wyoming. While he was a young Boy Scout living in Cody, Wyoming, former 
Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson met former Representative and Secretary of 
Commerce and Transportation Norman Mineta when the Minetas were 
interned at Heart Mountain. They remain dear friends today. Senator 
Simpson, Secretary Mineta, and the people of Northwest Wyoming have 
wholeheartedly embraced the efforts of the Heart Mountain Wyoming 
Foundation to share this history with future generations.
  The Heart Mountain Interpretative Learning Center is the culmination 
of a 15-year grassroots undertaking to preserve the historic site and 
interpret what occurred there for current and future generations of 
Americans. The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation has raised nearly $5 
million through private donations, including significant contributions 
by former Heart Mountain internees. This funding has been used to 
acquire 50 acres at the original site and construct the Interpretative 
Learning Center. This effort has been supported by the Park County 
Commissioners, the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, the Powell Valley 
Chamber of Commerce, the Park County Travel Council and the Northwest 
Region of the Wyoming Business Council.
  The Center will house a number of permanent exhibits and artifacts in 
a barracks-like structure that will capture a sense of everyday life at 
the Relocation Center. Visitors will learn about the lives the 
internees left behind and the upheaval caused by the forced evacuation 
from their homes. There are a number of interactive displays and 
exhibits to help recreate the experience. There also will be an 
opportunity for visitors to gain insight into the post-war challenges 
for internees and the tragic legacy of civil rights abuses.
  The world class facility will serve as a national center for 
education, policy and research in collaboration with universities and 
historic preservation organizations. Most significantly, it will be a 
visible reminder of the need to balance national security with respect 
for the civil rights of citizens.
  The Heart Mountain Interpretative Learning Center, located between 
Cody and Powell, Wyoming, is located only 50 miles from Yellowstone 
National Park and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Over 1,000 
internees, descendents, and supporters from across the nation will 
attend the Grand Opening of the Heart Mountain Interpretative Learning 
Center later this month. It is my hope that my colleagues and their 
constituents will take time to visit the Heart Mountain Interpretative 
Learning Center when they visit Wyoming.
  I congratulate the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, and applaud the 
opening of a learning center designed to help us never to forget the 
importance of the liberties granted to all of us by our Constitution.

                          ____________________