December 12, 2023
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) is now providing educational materials about the Japanese American incarceration with the University of Wyoming’s Wallop Civic Engagement program.
Named after former Senator Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming, the program distributes educational materials to Wyoming schools on multiple topics related to government and history. The program uses educational materials created by HMWF to provide resource guides for teaching about the incarceration that sent 14,000 Japanese Americans to live at the Heart Mountain camp.
“The Wallop Program’s partnership with the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is an opportunity to highlight the important work they are doing, including the incredible resources they have put together, and to make this Wyoming story available to teachers and students across the state,” says Jean Garrison, UW’s Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program co-director.
The formal relationship between HMWF and Wallop is just part of the growing relationship between the Foundation and the University of Wyoming that has included visits by UW President Edward Seidel to the Heart Mountain site between Cody and Powell.
“At Heart Mountain, we strive to spark curiosity and inquiry about this painful part of our state and national history,” says Aura Sunada Newlin, HMWF executive director, UW graduate and a descendant of Heart Mountain incarcerees. “We love working with our friends at UW, and we are thrilled that our content can reach more Wyoming students through the Wallop Civic Engagement Program.”
Materials produced by Heart Mountain include reading guides to books about the Japanese American incarceration, including Setsuko’s Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of the Japanese American Incarceration by HMWF Chair Shirley Ann Higuchi. Future materials will include lesson plans developed by teachers participating in workshops at Heart Mountain sponsored by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
The Wallop Civic Engagement Program is also supported by NEH funding. HMWF joined other groups in November to rally successfully against a proposed House amendment to eliminate funding for the NEH.
On Friday, HMWF will begin accepting applications for its fourth year of educator workshops sponsored by the NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture programs.