Youth Hi-Lites: Agriculture at Minidoka

By Sara Ziegler, Summer High School Intern, Lab51 Student at One Stone

Agriculture played a big role in life at Minidoka. Incarcerees as the concentration camps were made to work long hours in the sugar beet fields, and students at camp worked in the fields not only during school days but also during so-called “vacation time.” People at Minidoka also farmed vegetables that were integral to Japanese American culture and cultivated “victory gardens.” 

Learn more about agriculture, farming, and ties to the unjust questioning of Japanese American loyalty in Friends of Minidoka’s high school intern Sara Ziegler’s research articles on the blog.

Photo 1 & 2: Agricultural fields at Minidoka. 

Photo 3: Sugar beet farmers at Minidoka. 

Pictures from Friends of Minidoka, War Relocation Authority Minidoka Collection, Umeyo Sakagami Collection. Sourced from Densho.