Item #2821 The Minidoka Irrigator, Vol. III, No. 31 [caption title]. Japanese Internment, Newspapers.
The Minidoka Irrigator, Vol. III, No. 31 [caption title]

The Minidoka Irrigator, Vol. III, No. 31 [caption title]

Hunt, Id. 1943. 10pp. Small newspaper folio. Separated at gutter fold, some shorter separations along horizontal fold. Some chipping at edges, not affecting text. Paper rather browned and brittle. Good. Item #2821

A fascinating issue of the Minidoka Irrigator, the prisoner-produced newspaper of the Hunt, Idaho, concentration camp that held Japanese-Americans from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska during World War II. The issue serves as both a commemorative edition of the paper for the one-year anniversary of the camp opening and as a welcome to 1500 prisoners arriving from the Tule Lake camp in northernmost California in September 1943, who came as part of the segregation process of "loyal" and "disloyal" internees over the course of that year. This was accomplished by means of an obligatory questionnaire that in part sought to determine whether the individual under scrutiny might be willing to renounce their American citizenship. Japanese-Americans found to be disloyal were concentrated at Tule Lake, while those determined to be loyal at Tule were relocated to other camps across the West.

This issue, then, contains several columns of welcome and introduction to the camp. It also attempts to provide some history of the camp and its occupants, while at the same time celebrating their achievements during the first year of its existence. As a result, it describes many of of the ongoing projects and employments of the camp, and discusses the services available to prisoners, particularly the relocation office, which aided inhabitants move to eastern states not under the requirements of internment. Finally, there is a double page synopsis of important events from the previous year, and some informational articles about education and employment at the camp. The whole is illustrated by several photographs of campgrounds and its occupants, two maps reproduced from manuscript, and a cartoon, and also contains numerous advertisements from local businesses in Hunt, Twin Falls, and the surrounding area. A significant issue of a scarce internment camp newspaper.

Price: $1,250.00