This collection contains the Heart Mountain charter, community minutes, notes on resettlement plans, and documents in Japanese. There are also transcripts of the trial of Tom Yamada, 13- or 14-year old teenager who was charged with assault and battery with a BB gun by the Heart Mountain Judicial Commission in September 1944.
Additional content for this collection can be found in the "Inventory for collection.”
Organizational chart of internee governmental structure at Heart Mountain Relocation Center, 1945
Heart Mountain Relocation Center was run like a small town with Caucasian administrators and Nisei and Issei block managers and councilmen elected by the internees.
List of committee assignments of the Heart Mountain Community Council, 1944
11 committees of the Heart Mountain Community Council took care of internal functions at the Center.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, May 16, 1944
At this meeting internees of the Heart Mountain Community Council discussed everything from better food quality and draft evasion to prohibiting the use of the laundry room hose to irrigate victory gardens.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, June 16, 1944
No topic was too mundance for the Heart Mountain Community Council. In this meeting the Council's Legal Committee was asked to define the term "fowl" due to difficulty policing a regulation.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, June 20, 1944
At this meeting of the Heart Mountain Community Council, members discussed preparations for a Fourth of July celebration. Despite being forced from their homes, many internees were still patriotic Americans.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, July 7, 1944
At this meeting of the Heart Mountain Community Council, members sought and received permission from Center administrator Guy Robertson to hold a traditional Japanese Bon Odori Festival in July 1944.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, December 29, 1944
This meeting of the Heart Mountain Community Council included a Relocation Program Officer who explained communication methods regarding the lifting of restrictions on the West Coast.
Heart Mountain Relocation newspaper written in Japanese, 1945
Issei (first generation) internees were better served with newspapers written in Japanese. This page provides news on resettlement following the rescinding of Executive Order 9066.
Policies of the Relocation Planning Commission at Heart Mountain Relocation Center, 1945
Like at other internment centers, a Relocation Planning Commission was established at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in an attempt to assist released internees.
Minutes of the Heart Mountain Community Council Meeting, October 9, 1945
By October 1945, internees leaving the Heart Mountain Relocation Center made for labor shortages for those still remaining. The Center closed November 10, 1945.