The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) was formed
in 1996 as a public nonprofit corporation and obtained its
federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 1997.  Since then, the
organization has worked to preserve the site that represents a
period in U.S. history following the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
when 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of
them American-born citizens, were deprived of due process
and forced to leave their homes and livelihoods.

Located between the towns of Powell and Cody, the Wyoming
site was designated as a National Historical Landmark in
2007.  Simultaneously, special recognition was accorded one
of Heart Mountain's most well known internees, former U.S.
Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Commerce
Norman Y. Mineta.

One of the Foundation's first projects was the restoration of the
Honor Roll bearing the names of over 800 men and women
who served in the U.S. military, including two recipients of the
nation's highest award, the Medal of Honor.  A replica of the
Honor Roll was completed in 2003.

In 2005, a Walking Tour of the site was dedicated to the
memory of Setsuko Saito Higuchi, one of a small but
determined group of former Heart Mountain internees who
envisioned an educational facility that would preserve and
teach the lessons embodied in the wartime experience of the
people confined there during World War II.  At capacity, 10,767
persons of Japanese ancestry occupied the internment camp,
but as many as 14,000 were held at Heart Mountain during the
three years it was in operation.

From Wyoming, John Collins, Dave Reetz, Pat Wolfe, Ann
Noble, and United States Senator Alan Simpson (retired),
former internees and others supported and helped organize
the ambitious endeavor.  Secretary Mineta was also among the
project's early supporters.  Former Foundation president Reetz
supervised construction of the 11,000-sq. ft. Interpretive
Learning Center (ILC), scheduled to open in August 2011.  

The current Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Board of
Directors and Advisory Board still consist of a diverse and
dedicated group of volunteers from across the country.  
Setsuko's daughter, Washington D.C. attorney Shirley Ann
Higuchi currently chairs the HMWF Board.

Thanks to contributions from more than 1,000 individual
donors, complemented by major government and foundation
grants, and corporate gifts, the fundraising campaign under the
direction of Board Vice-Chairman Douglas Nelson is swiftly
moving closer to its $5.3 million goal.

Focused on creating educational exhibits and historical content
that will also resonate in today’s world are HMWF Program
Committee members and their co-chairs, University of North
Carolina law professor Eric Muller and Denver educator
Carolyn Takeshita.  

Meanwhile, the monumental task of collecting, preserving, and
cataloguing the Foundation's burgeoning collection of artifacts
is being handled by Acting Curator LaDonna Zall, with
assistance from fellow HMWF board members Rick Ewig and
Peggy Fuson along with Mike Fuson.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki and Farallon Films
will produce an introductory film that will be shown to ILC
visitors, while Split Rock Studios of Minnesota will design and
fabricate the exhibits.

Contributions to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning
Center building fund should be sent to HMWF, P.O. Box 77,
Sonoma, CA 95476-0077


Still standing at the site is
the red chimney on a
hilltop where the camp
hospital was located.  
Restoration of this historic
structure is among the
Foundation's future plans.
Leaders of the HMWF Board at the Leadership Summit in Washington DC. Pictured from left are Shig Yabu, Kathleen Saito Yuille, Douglas Nelson, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, Takashi Hoshizaki, HMWF board chair Shirley Ann Higuchi, Eric Muller, Peggy Fuson, and Alan Kumamoto.
HMWF Acting Curator La Donna Zall shows Program Committee co-chair
Professor Eric Muller one of the many unique artifacts in the Foundation's   
growing collection.  James Ito (background), a former Heart Mountain
internee, views other items in the vault during a recent visit to Wyoming.
 —PHOTO BY BACON SAKATANI


Board member Rick Ewig (left), Program Committee co-chair Carolyn
Takeshita & Fundraising chair Douglas Nelson.—PHOTO BY ELLEN ENDO


Researchers William Collier (left) and Samir Kapadia pore over the data that
contains detailed information about the World War II internment camp. —PHOTO BY ELLEN ENDO


Dedicated to Sharing the Lessons of History
HEART MOUNTAIN WYOMING FOUNDATION
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