Heart Mountain press releases include announcements about upcoming events, new exhibits, general news about the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, and other important information.
For high-resolution archival and contemporary photographs related to Heart Mountain and more information about the site and organization, consult our Media Kit or contact us at info@heartmountain.org with queries.
For news related to the Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium (JACSC), click here.
Read through recent and past Heart Mountain press releases below:
Vandalism Damages Historic Heart Mountain Building
Over the past two months, the historic hospital at the Heart Mountain National Historic Landmark has experienced four separate incidents of vandalism. The federally owned buildings were most recently damaged late last Thursday night, when intruders broke a window and tore away protective plywood from three doors, causing harm to the original historic door frames. Earlier incidents have included graffiti as well as damage to exterior board siding, doors, and windows.
New Heart Mountain Program to Lead Educational Exchange with Japanese Universities and Museums
Thanks to a $158,622 grant from The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) will lead Educators in Exchange: Bridging US-Japan Education on Japanese American Incarceration.
Takashi Hoshizaki & Shirley Ann Higuchi Honored by the Japanese Government
Dr. Takashi Hoshizaki, a former Heart Mountain incarceree who recently turned 100 years old, and Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Board Chair Shirley Ann Higuchi have received commendations from the Japanese government for their work promoting stronger U.S.-Japan ties.
Federal Employees Receive Free Admission During Government Shutdown
Effectively immediately, all federal employees will enjoy free admission to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center for the duration of the government shutdown. Free admission also applies to family members of federal employees living in the same household. The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation wants to express its solidarity with the federal employees who work in the Wyoming-Montana area as well as those around the country.
Hello Maggie! Animator Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Willie Ito, who was incarcerated as a child at the Topaz, Utah, incarceration site for Japanese Americans during World War II, received a lifetime achievement award for his career in animation from the SPARK ANIMATION festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, last month.
New Grant Will Enable the Creation of Root Cellar Exhibit
Heart Mountain’s restored root cellar will be the focus of a $338,883 grant from the National Park Service’s Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) program. The grant will support the development and installation of a permanent exhibit inside the massive root cellar that was used to hold the produce grown on the camp’s farm by incarcerated farmers during World War II.
Heart Mountain Board Member Ann Burroughs to Receive Prestigious Pioneer Award
Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum and a Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation board member, will receive the Hon. Annice M. Wagner Pioneer Award from the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC) during its annual banquet Saturday, December 6 in Washington, DC.
Major NPS Grant Will Boost Collaboration with Rocky Mountain Sites
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) has received a $776,775 grant from the National Park Service for Exiled to the Rockies: Japanese American Incarceration During World War II, a program that will roll out nationwide educational programming in partnership with other Japanese American confinement site organizations in the Rocky Mountain region.
Grant Will Bring Defining Courage Production to Heart Mountain to Celebrate America 250
A $25,000 grant from the Wyoming Semiquincentennial Planning Task Force will enable the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation to bring Defining Courage, an immersive live event about Japanese American soldiers during World War II, to the Heart Mountain Pilgrimage next July.
Awards, Tributes, and New Film Mark Heart Mountain Pilgrimage
The premiere of an animated film, a nationally honored presentation, a tribute to the memory of Senator Alan Simpson and a reading of the names of the 148 people who died while incarcerated at Heart Mountain were among the highlights of the Heart Mountain Pilgrimage between July 24 and 26.
Heart Mountain Pilgrimage Features New Films, Books, and Panels
New films and presentations about books and digital programming marking the 80th anniversary of the closing of Japanese American incarceration sites will be featured at the Heart Mountain Pilgrimage, which runs from Thursday, July 24, through Saturday, July 26.
Heart Mountain Opens Pilgrimage Film Screenings to the Public
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will make the Friday, July 25, session of its annual Pilgrimage free and open to the public to feature the premiere of the animated film Hello Maggie! and the short documentary featuring Apsáalooke and Japanese American young people talking about their connection to Heart Mountain.
Heart Mountain to Launch Professional Training Seminars for Law, Journalism and Business
In October, the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will begin a three-year program to train graduate students in law, journalism and business about professional ethics in times of crisis in coordination with Professor Eric Muller of the University of North Carolina Law School.
Heart Mountain to Conduct Educator Workshops in July
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will conduct workshops for Wyoming educators on how to teach using primary sources. These workshops are funded in part by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Great Plains Region program, managed by the National Council for History Education.
Heart Mountain Thanks Rep. John Winter for his Apology
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is grateful for and accepts the apology from Rep. John Winter, R-Thermopolis, for his reference to the Heart Mountain incarceration site as the “J—camp” during a legislative committee hearing Tuesday.
Sam Mihara to Present at Jackson Center of the Arts
Sam Mihara, who was incarcerated at Heart Mountain as a child, will give his nationally recognized lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 12 in the Center Theater at the Jackson, Wyoming, Center of the Arts. Tickets for the event will cost $18, while online viewers can watch the presentation at home for $5.00. Click HERE for tickets.
Heart Mountain to Host Children’s Day on May 10
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will host Children’s Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, at the Interpretive Center. A longstanding tradition in Japan, Children’s Day is free and open to the public. Haruka Takuka, Heart Mountain’s Japan Outreach Initiative coordinator, will lead the various events at the site.
Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten Japanese American History Sites and Programs
For decades, a bipartisan consensus in Congress has supported the National Park Service, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Each agency has contributed to the success of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and other institutions throughout Wyoming.
Taken From Their Families Exhibit Opens at Heart Mountain
Taken From Their Families: Japanese American Incarceration during World War II, a traveling exhibit from the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, opens this weekend at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.
Heart Mountain Seeks Wyoming Delegation’s Help in Preventing Reckless NEH Cuts
Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities, almost 300 educators from around the country have participated in workshops at the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation to learn about the Japanese American experience during World War II. While they were in Wyoming, they stayed in local hotels and retreat centers, shopped in stores along Sheridan Avenue in Cody and ate in local restaurants.
Heart Mountain Seeks Wyoming Delegation’s Help to Save IMLS, Limit Alien Enemies Act
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, which benefited for decades from the help of Senator Alan Kooi Simpson, mourns his passing after a life of accomplishment, wit, and wisdom.
Heart Mountain Honors the Life and Legacy of Senator Alan K. Simpson
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, which benefited for decades from the help of Senator Alan Kooi Simpson, mourns his passing after a life of accomplishment, wit, and wisdom.
Heart Mountain Mourns the Passing of Prentiss Uchida
During Sam Mihara’s first talk about the Japanese American incarceration to a group of Justice Department lawyers, only three had heard of Fred Korematsu, the civil rights icon who unsuccessfully challenged his incarceration to the Supreme Court in 1944.
Heart Mountain’s Sam Mihara Featured in Humanities Magazine Cover Story
During Sam Mihara’s first talk about the Japanese American incarceration to a group of Justice Department lawyers, only three had heard of Fred Korematsu, the civil rights icon who unsuccessfully challenged his incarceration to the Supreme Court in 1944.
Mihara Delivers 51st Jefferson Lecture for the National Endowment for the Humanities
It’s more important than ever to tell the history of the incarceration of 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, Heart Mountain board member Sam Mihara told a national audience during the 51st Jefferson Lecture for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Wednesday.
Heart Mountain Urges Preservation of America’s Historic Commitment to Birthright Citizenship
We oppose the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump that authorize the use of the outmoded Alien Enemies Act to curb immigration and eliminate birthright citizenship for people born in the United States. We believe they are counter to core American values of the United States and could lead to elimination of basic rights and protections for millions of native-born Americans.
Heart Mountain Starts Japanese Culture Winter Program Series
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation will conduct a series of Japanese cultural events as part of its Winter Program Series starting January 25 and led by Haruka Takaku, our Japan Outreach Initiative Coordinator.
