Hi-Lites Youth Voice -- Minidoka and the Land: Agriculture, the Homefront, and Loyalty

Oct 31

By Sara Ziegler

High School Intern, Friends of Minidoka

One Stone School, Boise

Driving through the land of Southern Idaho from Boise proper, until one arrives at the Magic Valley, there is a feeling the area wasn’t meant for farming. The land is arid, desolate, dusty. No trees reach for the sky and animal sightings are scarce. Once you arrive in the Magic Valley, where the Minidoka National Historic Site stands, there is a slightly different sight. Green fields stretch for miles. The towns around Twin Falls feel like strong farming communities. However in the 1930s and 1940s, during the second World War, the story would’ve been a bit different.

In the 1940s, while World War II waged across continents and seas, Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated at camps like Minidoka in Southern Idaho, set up by the War Relocation Authority (WRA). In Idaho, Japanese Americans (as well as workers of Mexican descent) were employed for farm labor, which helped to develop the land here. There was a huge contradiction in Japanese Americans not being valued by the government, but were forced into concentration camps where they worked long hours if they wanted their own food, and filled in the gaps of food and labor shortages. The government distrusted them, yet needed them for victory.

Agriculture programs were set up at many concentration camps, many incarcerees being former farmers before the outrageous act (Executive Order 9066) that betrayed thousands of Americans. Many people already had successful crops growing fruits and vineyards in communities in Oregon and Washington. However, they were forced to leave their homes, often with crops ready to harvest. “People were made to work long hours in the field or in processing centers. The work was rigorous and inmates were not provided with adequate equipment to meet the demand. Their diets were insufficient for the physical demands they were expected to meet.”

One of the biggest crops in the area around Minidoka at the time, which remains an agricultural staple in the Magic Valley, is sugar beets. Incarcerees at the Minidoka concentration camp were employed to help farm the sugar beets that became an important part of Idaho’s agricultural economy. In 1942, the incarceree farm workers helped to save the sugar beet crop, although wages were unfair and the work exhausting. It wasn’t until 1944 that a field kitchen was built to prevent the extra trip back into camp for meals, according to The Minidoka Irrigator. There was a connection made in a 1945 issue of The Minidoka Irrigator between the evacuees' effort to save the sugar beet crop despite labor shortages and their loyalty to America as proven by their contributions to the victory program. But nobody should have had to prove their loyalty.

Agriculture was a big part of life at Minidoka in more ways than one. Initially, food served at the dining halls was cheap and low quality, such as hot dogs, canned meats, and mutton. Many families at the camp were not accustomed to this type of food, but later on traditional vegetables were grown at the camp, such as daikon radish, adzuki beans, soy beans, and cabbage. A tofu factory was also built and the incarcerees were able to add the cultural staple of rice to their diets. These foods helped create a sense of familiarity in the diets of those incarcerated there.

Gardens were built at Minidoka as well, one being built by an Issei man named Yasusuke Kogita, who later moved his garden to Seattle after Minidoka closed. Victory gardens were built by Japanese Americans during the war as well. Victory gardens were fruit and vegetable gardens created by private residences to provide food during the war, in an era of labor and food shortages. One story from The New York Times featured in a 1944 edition of The Minidoka Irrigator, a young boy named Teddy Matsumoto from New York helped his mother plant a victory garden. One day, his garden was trampled, the little plants uprooted from the ground. Teddy was heartbroken, as he cherished that garden. His mother told him it was because he was Japanese. The injustices ran deep. Japanese Americans were loyal Americans, yet were shunned and alienated by an unjust government. They made huge contributions to America’s victory all throughout World War II. The distrust the government and many Americans had for the Japanese Americans was due to nothing other than them being identifiably different because of their race. In fact, in 1944, an unjust “Loyalty Questionnaire” was issued to Nikkei American citizens at the concentration camps. “Based on their responses to two questions, some 12,000 incarcerees were further penalized by the US government and ostracized by members of their community.” It was the ultimate betrayal, and seeded a deep trauma and pain for years to come.

Next time you visit the Magic Valley or bite into something containing Idaho sugar beet, think of the people who helped develop the land. No product comes without a story. The food that we eat on a daily basis is grown by farmers who often are not compensated fairly for their labor and efforts. Native lands are often exploited for use that harms its sacredness and environmental health. Japanese Americans at Minidoka and across the nation contributed greatly to our agricultural industry and to our nation’s victory in World War II. They deserve recognition. Please visit Minidoka National Historic Site to learn more about agriculture in the Magic Valley during the second world war and to visit the site’s Honor Roll in order to honor the lives of Japanese Americans who served in the war despite the injustices and racism they faced on a daily basis. We must not forget them, and continue to honor their legacy for years to come.

Works Cited

The Minidoka Irrigator. 1942. Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024049/1942-11-14/ed-1/?sp=2&q=agriculture&r=-0.215,0.0

03,1.387,0.649,0. Accessed June 25 2022.

The Minidoka Irrigator. 1944. Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024049/1944-01-08/ed-1/?sp=2&q=garden&r=0.279,0.017,0.

687,0.321,0. Accessed June 27 2022.

The Minidoka Irrigator. 1944. Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024049/1944-04-08/ed-1/?sp=1&q=field+kitchen&r=-0.717,0.

304,2.435,1.139,0. Accessed June 30 2022.

Venor, Natasha. “The WWII Politics of Farms and Labor.” Densho. 2018.

https://densho.org/catalyst/the-wwii-politics-of-farms-and-labor/