President Biden designates Amache National Historic Site America’s Newest National Park
GRANADA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Friday, President Joe Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act, officially designating the site as part of the National Park System.
Between 1942 and 1945, more than 7,000 men, women, and children were imprisoned at Camp Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center.
The Amache National Historic Site Act was first introduced by Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper in 2021.
“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “I applaud President Biden and the bipartisan action in Congress that has ensured this important and painful chapter in our nation’s story is preserved and honored for the generations to come. After visiting Amache and meeting with survivors and descendants, I was moved by their resilience and the way in which Colorado communities came together during and after the injustice to support Japanese Americans. May we all be inspired to do the same today for all our fellow citizens.”
According to National Park Service (NPS) Director Chuck Sams, the National Park Service will work to preserve and interpret this significant historic site to the public.
In February, lawmakers held a community roundtable with survivors for the 80th Anniversary of the Forced Incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Additionally, Secretary Haaland visited the site with Senator Bennet and Rep. Joe Negeuse. There, they met with Granada High School students from the Amache Preservation Society who provide tours of the site and nearby museum.
Department of the Interior 
Department of the Interior
In a press release, the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service said, in part, the following importance of preserving Amache National Historic Site:
The designation of the Amache National Historic Site is an important step in telling a more complete story of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Many stakeholders, including former incarcerees and their descendants and the Amache Preservation Society were instrumental in obtaining the initial National Historic Landmark designation and advocating for the site to become part of the National Park System. The legislation, originally introduced by members of the Colorado delegation, garnered strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service
According to the press release, the NPS will work with the Town of Granada to acquire the lands intended in the law, which is expected to take more than a year.
