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.
In 2007, the Wyoming site (located between the towns of Powell and Cody) was designated as a National Historical Landmark. 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.
In August of 2011, the HMWF opened the doors of its Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, a world-class museum dedicated to passing on the Heart Mountain story to future generations. 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 Dave Reetz supervised construction of the Center which provides an overview of the wartime relocation of Japanese Americans, including the background history of anti-Asian prejudice in America and the factors leading to their enforced relocation and confinement. Program Committee members and Co-Chairs, University of North Carolina law professor Eric Muller and Denver educator Carolyn Takeshita worked to ensure that special emphasis was given to the experience of incarceration, the diverse personal responses of Japanese Americans to their imprisonment, constitutional issues, violations of civil liberties and civil rights, and the broader issues of race and social justice in America. Funding for the $5.3 million project was overseen by HMWF Vice-Chair, Douglas Nelson and included contributions from individual donors, major government and foundation grants, and corporate gifts.
Meanwhile, the monumental task of collecting, preserving, and cataloguing the Foundation’s burgeoning collection of artifacts continues to be overseen by Acting Curator, LaDonna Zall, with assistance from volunteers and fellow HMWF board member Rick Ewig. Early assistance was also provided by former board members Peggy and Mike Fuson.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki and Farallon Films produced an introductory film that is shown to Interpretive Center visitors, while Split Rock Studios of Minnesota designed and fabricated the exhibits.