Forgotten History
A little more than a year ago the location of the forgotten internment camp named Koosikia was uncovered. Koosikia was the first internment camp where people of Japanese ancestry were relocated. Its remote location in the deep woods of Idaho and the small scale of it contribute to its forgotten place in history. The camp held a little more that 250 people from 1943 until the end of World War II when its was dismantled. The detainees were use for the construction of highway 12 and could earn 50 to 60 dollars a month for their labor. The current site has no markers that help distinguish it as a place of an internment camp. Thanks to a team from the University of Idaho, the site has found many artifacts from the time of the camp. They are now working to develop the site with signage in order to spread its awareness and won’t be forgotten.
It is really amazing that we can forget about history so quickly. The United States knew it that these camps were wrong and today not much is talked or taught about them. The subject and its consequences need to have a greater presence in our mind so that it is never forgotten and repeated.