Unimaginable hardships occurred here. Right in front of the Amache Camp Plaque stands a stark reminder of a difficult chapter in American history. This plaque commemorates the Granada War Relocation Center. It was better known as Camp Amache.
Amache was a concentration camp for Japanese Americans in Prowers County Colorado. The camp opened on August 27 1942. It reached a peak population of 7318 by February 1943. This made it the smallest of the War Relocation Authority camps. Over 10000 people passed through the camp during its three-year existence. Nearly all the camp’s original internees came from California. They came from southwest Los Angeles the Central Valley and the northern coast. Many had been residents of the Yamato Colony.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor President Franklin D Roosevelt authorized the forced relocation of Japanese Americans. This happened with Executive Order 9066. Over the spring of 1942 some 120000 Japanese Americans were moved. They went to temporary assembly centers. Later they were transferred to more permanent and isolated relocation centers like Granada. The War Relocation Authority ran Granada. This government body was responsible for the incarceration program. Granada was one of ten such camps. It was the only one built on private land. The camp covered 10000 acres. Only 640 acres were used for residential community and administrative buildings. The rest was devoted to agricultural projects.
The camp’s unofficial name quickly became Camp Amache. It was named after Amache Prowers. She was a Cheyenne chief’s daughter. Her husband was John Wesley Prowers. Prowers County is named after him.
The Camp Amache residential area was spread atop a low hill. This prevented flooding and mud problems. Other WRA camps suffered from these issues. The area was prone to high winds and severe dust storms. It was surrounded by barbed-wire fencing. Eight machine-gun towers were located around the camp. However all eight towers were rarely manned at one time. The guns were never used.
James G Lindley was the Project Director. He allowed internees to take day trips to Granada. The town was within walking distance. Some locals remained hostile to their “Jap” neighbors. Most eventually warmed to the internees. Many business owners hired Japanese Americans. They stocked goods that catered to their Amache customers.
Adults in camp had various opportunities for employment. The camp had a police department. Sixty Japanese American internees worked there. A white security officer headed it. The Amache Fire Department consisted of three crews. They were Japanese American firefighters. One internee fire chief worked under white supervisors. Some who had earned teaching credentials before their confinement were employed in the camp schools. A silkscreen shop was established in 1943. Its forty-five staff members created training materials. They made over 250000 color posters for the U.S. Navy. They also made calendars program events and other personal-use items. Doctors nurses and dentists worked at the camp hospital. They were paid significantly less than their white coworkers. Fellow internees often pooled money to subsidize their low wages.
Most of the work in Granada was directed at agricultural production. The WRA budget restricted the per-inmate food allotment to 45 cents a day. This was partly to avoid complaints of coddling. The camp was intended to be mostly self-sufficient in its food production. These efforts proved especially successful at Granada. Internee laborers produced enough to feed the entire camp population. They sent the surplus to the U.S. Army and other camps. In 1943 Granada farmers grew 4 million pounds of vegetables.
441 Nisei joined the U.S. Army from this camp. They volunteered or accepted conscription into the famed 100th/442nd and MIS. In the southwest corner of the camp is a small cemetery and memorial. It is dedicated to the Japanese Americans who volunteered to fight in Europe in World War II. A large stone memorial sits in the cemetery. It has 31 men’s names engraved in it. It remembers those soldiers from Amache who died defending the U.S.
Since 1990 the Amache Preservation Society has worked on preservation of the site and its documents. On March 18 2022 President Joe Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act into law. This authorized the site to become part of the National Park Service.
Remember Amache. Reflect on the lessons of the past. Ensure such injustices never happen again.