Updates from Minidoka National Historic Site
Wakatsuki and Ikeda, NPS Photo
Come visit Minidoka National Historic Site this summer! The Visitor Center opens for the summer season on May 28, 2021. It will be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The physical address is 1428 Hunt Road Jerome, ID 83338. Please contact the National Park Service by phone at 208-825-4169 if you have any questions about planning your visit.
In March, Hanako Wakatsuki, Minidoka’s Chief of Interpretation and Education for the past four years, was selected to serve as the first superintendent of Honouliuli National Historic Site in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“I am honored and excited to continue working in the Japanese American Confinement Sites network, given my family’s connection to the World War II incarceration at Manzanar, Minidoka, and Tule Lake; sites that are now preserved as units of the national park system,” said Wakatsuki. “I look forward to serving the area’s communities and sharing the history of civilians, POWs and Native Hawaiians who are connected to this site.” Honouliuli National Historic Site is a unit within the national park system that interprets the history of incarceration and the experience of prisoners of war in Hawai‘i during World War II.
Friends of Minidoka wishes Hanako a wonderful transition to her new role at Honouliuli, and expresses our gratitude for her heartfelt dedication to Minidoka National Historic Site in her time as Chief, and in her service to the Friends of Minidoka board for many years before that. We know that Honouliuli is in very good hands!
Following Hanako’s departure, Kurt Ikeda was selected for a 120-day detail to serve as the Acting Chief of Interpretation and Education for Minidoka National Historic Site. For the past year, Kurt has served as the Education Coordinator for the three south Idaho Parks. Prior to the National Park Service, he worked at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, did advocacy within the AAPI community, and served as high school teacher in Los Angeles. Kurt was also Friends of Minidoka’s very first intern, serving at Minidoka National Historic Site in 2018!
As a Shin-Nisei, 2nd generation Japanese American and a descendent of camp survivors, Kurt has a personal connection to the history and strives to help all visitors see themselves in their national parks. On his new opportunity, Kurt said “I am humbled at the opportunity to lead in the legacy of excellence that has come to define Minidoka National Historic Site. A big thank you to our former Chief of Interpretation and Education, Hanako Wakatsuki, for her tireless commitment to preserve the history of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. To the dedicated staff, community partners, camp survivors, and to my family and my wife, I extend an ‘okage-sama-de’ - I am who I am thanks to you.”
Minidoka’s Lead Park Ranger Annette Rousseau also departed from Minidoka at the beginning of May for her exciting new role as Chief of Interpretation and Education at Martin Van Buren National Historic Site! Annette has been a pillar of the Minidoka community and south Idaho parks and has provided steadfast support in park operations, visitor center management, and volunteer and intern mentorship. Her passion for education and junior rangers has made a mark on how to interpret this history with young people. Many of our Friends will recognize Ranger Annette from her long years of service in support of Minidoka and a familiar face at many Minidoka Pilgrimages. We wish Annette the best of luck in her next chapter and are grateful for her dedication and service!