Former Internees Raise their Voices in Protest Over a Proposed Feedlot Near the Historic Minidoka Site
Although Minidoka was recently selected as one of 'America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places', a proposed 13,000 heifer feedlot a mile upwind from the site is still being considered by Jerome County, Idaho.
Flipping through the pages of his weathered copy of the "Minidoka Interlude" yearbook of 1942-1943, Jeff Itami, 67, sees some familiar faces amongst the dozens of families representing Block 41 - in black and white are the images of himself at age three alongside his father and pregnant mother during their forced World War II incarceration.
Jeff's mother Fujiye had been pregnant with twin boys at the time and on Jan. 25, 1944, she gave birth to sons Ted and Kenneth. But the camp doctor was ill prepared for twins and sadly Kenneth passed away the next day, his short life beginning and ending at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Hunt, Idaho.
"My family, we bled there," said Itami from his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to his younger brother, his grandfather Kyutaro Itami also passed away at Minidoka in 1944 from what he describes as "a broken heart."
Itami often visits the site - now known as the Minidoka Internment National Monument - where so many of his family memories reside. And that's why his emotions start to boil when he thinks about a proposed 13,188 heifer feedlot just a mile and a half away from the Minidoka site.
"It's disrespectful to all of the families who were interned. It's like putting a feedlot beside Dachau," he said.
This is the second time Big Sky Farms LLP owned by Don McFarland has submitted a permit application for a proposed feedlot in Jerome County, Idaho. Although the original proposal of 18,555 animals was reduced, many former internees say the stench of manure and airborne pollutants would have an adverse effect on the historic site.
The National Trust recently placed the Minidoka site on its annual list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" fearing a feedlot would have negative ramifications for the camp that once held 13,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and was given national monument status in 2001.
A commission hearing on the proposed feedlot has yet to be scheduled, but former internees and various Asian American organizations have been raising their voices in one loud protest.
"It is akin to building a pig farm at the base of Mount Rushmore or a garbage dump at the entrance of Yosemite," said Floyd Mori, JACL national director.
The Stench of Manure
Anyone who has ever driven along Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco knows that the closer you get to the city of Coalinga, the faster you better roll up your car windows.
The stench of tens of thousands of cows from the infamous Coalinga feedlot can be overwhelming.
The putrid air recently welcomed Roy Ebihara, 73, as he made his way along the famed route. The former Topaz internee could not imagine having such a stench nearby the historic Minidoka site.
"I thought, is this what it's going to smell like?" said the Oberlin, Ohio resident, feeling a surge of anger rise in him. "We have to all get together to protest this. We're not going to get slapped in the face again."
Ebihara is just one of the many former internees who have written letters of protest asking the Jerome County Commissioners to reject the Big Sky Farms proposed feedlot.
But so far only residents within a one-mile radius of the proposed feedlot will be able to submit prior written arguments on the issue. Former internees may attend the meeting in person and submit their concerns on one single 8 ?" by 11" paper at that time.
The three Jerome County Commissioners - Charles Howell, Joseph Davidson, and Dana Obenauer - did not return Pacific Citizen's phone calls and e-mails.
Local residents are also raising concerns about the feedlot including Alma Hasse, executive director of the Idaho Concerned Area Residents for the Environment (ICARE) and a small family farmer. She spearheaded the effort to have Minidoka listed as an endangered historic site.
"It's not good to have this facility beside a monument of national significance. How can people reflect on the significance of the site when their first reaction is to gag?" she said.
"Japanese Americans and those adversely affected by what happened deserve their right to speak on the impact."
An Annual Pilgrimage
Dr. Frank Kitamoto of Bainbridge Island, Washington recently attended the annual pilgrimage to Minidoka, a place that he once called home when he was just three years old.
Like many of the former Minidoka internees, thoughts about the proposed feedlot nearby the historic site were on everyone's minds, even for some locals who came out for the annual program.
"It's a tricky situation," said Kitamoto, who noted that the former internees respect the local area farmers and want to work with the community. "I'm not against feedlots but it's not an ideal situation to have it so near to Minidoka.
"Odor carries a long way. This is a place to meditate, to honor the souls that have been there," he said. "I just hope they can find another location for it."
Pocatello, Idaho resident Micki Kawakami respects the history of the Minidoka site but believes the larger issue surrounding the proposed feedlot should be the environmental and health impacts on the local community.
"I am hopeful that feedlot owners will address the concerns of their neighbors and come to realize that greener and more environment-sensitive practices must be implemented for the good of their industry, the betterment of their product, and the improvement of our rapidly declining environment," she said.
Will JAs Be Heard?
Jerome County Commissioners were to meet on July 2 to discuss a possible date for a hearing on the proposed feedlot near the Minidoka site. But as of press time no hearing date had been announced.
The Minidoka site operated from 1942 to 1945 and its significance was recognized in 1979 when part of the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For the past five years the National Park Service has been working on a General Management Plan that calls for the development of interpretive and educational programming at the Minidoka site.
Minidoka is among the 10 WWII internment camps that would benefit from a $38 million grant program that was signed into law recently by President George W. Bush to protect all of the former sites, although funds have yet to be appropriated for the program.
But all of this may still not stop the proposed Big Sky Farms feedlot.
"It is awful to think that there is a possibility of a very undesirable development so near a national monument that is so relevant in today's issues surrounding constitutional rights," said Mori.
Former internees and local residents plan to continue pressing the issue with the County Commissioners, hopeful that their voices may too be heard in the ongoing feedlot debate.
"This shows no concern to the tragic events that occurred at Minidoka. [The County Commissioners'] overriding concern is commercial," said Itami.
"I'm going to do what I can in my power to stop this," said Hasse. "This is not the place to do this."
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