National Park Service Establishing Grant Proposal Criteria for Japanese American Confinement Site Legislation
2007—In 2006, President Bush signed into law a bill which authorizes the National Park Service to spend up to $38 million to preserve historically significant Japanese American World War II confinement sites. Ten War Relocation Authority camps, such as Tule Lake, Heart Mountain and others, are specifically included in the legislation. The law also requires the Secretary of the Interior to identify additional confinement sites which will be eligible for the 50% matching grants to be offered. To accomplish this, NPS is soliciting public comment through November 2nd, 2007, and has conducted listening sessions throughout the country to get input. The GAIC believes that major Department of Justice, Army and temporary detention sites where Japanese, German and Italian Americans and Latin Americans were interned should be eligible for federal grant monies. The list of eligible confinement sites should include DoJ camps at Crystal City, Seagoville and Kenedy, Texas, Bismarck, North Dakota (Ft. Lincoln) and Missoula, MT (Ft. Missoula), US Army Camps McCoy (Sparta, WI), Forrest (Tullahoma, TN), Stringtown (Stringtown, OK), Sand Island and Honouliuli (HI), and several temporary detention sites, such those at Angel Island and Sharp Park, CA, Ellis Island, Gloucester City, NJ and East Boston, MA.
Although not specifically included in the legislation, German and Italian internees were held in Department of Justice and Army camps, like the Japanese Americans. The evaluation criteria for the grant proposals are being established, after meetings were held to solicit public input. At this time, Congress has not appropriated funding for this program.
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