The Department of Anthropology at the University of Denver (DU) is engaged in long-term community based research at Amache, the site of a World War II Japanese American internment camp in Colorado.  Work on this project is on-going so please continue to return to this site for updates.

For breaking news on the DU Amache project, visit our Facebook page at: 

https://www.facebook.com/DUAmacheResearchProject

For more information about the DU Amache Research project, please contact Dr. Bonnie Clark

email: bclark@du.edu

phone: 303.871.2875

The DU Amache Research Project is pleased to share its results in many ways, including public talks, museum exhibits, and professional presentations.  Below you will find a link to our newsletter.  Please enjoy it and feel free to share it with others who might as well!

2023 Newsletter.pdf

2022 Newsletter.pdf

2020 Newsletter.pdf

2019 Newsletter.pdf

2018 Newsletter.pdf

2017 Newsletter.pdf

2016 Newsletter.pdf

2015 Newsletter.pdf

2014 Newsletter.pdf

2013 Newsletter.pdf

2012 newsletter.pdf

2011 Newsletter

2010 Newsletter

The DU Amache Project and the DU Museum of Anthropology have teamed to create Connecting the Pieces: Dialogues about the Amache Archaeology Collection.  This is an exhibit produced collaboratively by DU students and community members.  

An online version of the exhibit is hosted here: http://www.du.edu/ahss/anthropology/museum/exhibits/virtualexhibits/amache/index.html  

A travelling version of the exhibit is available for loan.  For more information about the exhibit, see the flyer below.  For queries regarding the travelling exhibit, contact Anne Amati at 303.871.2687 or anne.amati@du.edu

A technical report about the 2012 exhibit is also available below.

Flyer for Amache travelling exhibit

Behind Connecting the Pieces Fall 2013 tech repo

In this article for the Fresno Zoo volunteer newsletter, The Lynxline, long time project volunteer and former Amache incarceree Carlene Tanigoshi Tinker writes about her family history and involvement with the DU Amache Project: Digging for my roots_Carlene.pdf 

In 2016, Greg Kitajima, a gardener and Amache descendant, worked with the DU Amache crews on a garden excavation.  He reflects on this experience in this blog for the North American Japanese Garden Association: https://northamericanjapanesegardenassociation.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/uncovering-a-garden-plot-and-a-family-history/ 

Dennis Fujita volunteered in 2014 and 2016 with the DU Amache Project. He shares his family history and experience volunteering with the field crew in this article just published by the journal, Historical Archaeology. Click below to read the article: https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s41636-018-0129-4?author_access_token=I2by6DwdHFIwUdkKsIFiUfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4nuH40TDfHicH7ASQGTXl9EEXt6ohKfgr61JvX51zS3zIZ0Iyq4A7gCCnRl_rsUhphbJAYkJi5Ql3rXCI6wOKasy_yU2Id-Crs4mEX4PRMqg%3D%3D

This article was written originally written for the 2013 DU Amache Newsletter by project volunteer and Amache descendant, Kirsten Leong: Leong_Newsletter_Article_2013.docx 

All of the Master's theses written by students associated with the DU Amache Project are available through the DU Digital Commons site: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/amache_etd/

Amache Theses and Dissertations | Amache | University of Denver

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/amache_etd/

If you are interested in hearing Dr. Clark present on her recently published book, Finding Solace in the Soil: An Archaeology of Gardens and Gardeners at Amache, this 1.5 hour long recording includes both a powerpoint illustrated lecture and a Q&A including several Amache survivors addressing their experience of working on the DU Amache Project: https://mediaspace.du.edu/media/Bonnie+Clark+Colloquium+-+January+15%2C+2021/1_jqfkh66q

Project Director Dr. Bonnie Clark and alumni Dana Ogo Shew teamed to write this piece for a special issue of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology on how archaeological research combined with the memories of Amache survivors can provide hypotheses about both pre and post-WWII Japanese American sites.  You can access an online version of the article here: https://rdcu.be/b9jnw

Co-field Directors April Kamp-Whittaker and Bonnie Clark contributed an article to the Archaeology Papers of the American Anthropological Association.  You can access the article here:  Kamp-Whittaker Clark 2019_Social Networks and Development of Neighborhood Identities.pdf

Since 2010, the DU Amache Project has teamed with Jim Casey, GIS Specialist, to produce digital maps for Amache.  Here are two products that Jim has created for the public to interact with this data:

Powerful objects difficult dialogues (Clark and Amati 2018)

This article co-written by Bonnie Clark and Anne Amatie reflects on Connecting the Pieces: Dialogues on the DU Amache Collection. It was recently published in a thematic issue of the International Journal of Heritage Studies.

Project Director, Bonnie Clark, reflects on the Amache project and archaeology as a contemporary practice in this piece published in the journal Historical Archaeology: https://rdcu.be/3Rgd 

DU Professor Esteban Gomez wrote this piece about DU Amache project volunteers he met at the 2016 Amache field school.  It can be accessed here:http://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/children-of-amache/

Dr. Esteban Gomez of the University of Denver, along with two of our students, produced a short film about the connections between internment history and the current political climate.  It features images of Amache and interviews with Dr. Bonnie Clark.  That film can be viewed at https://www.sapiens.org/culture/trump-travel-ban-world-war-ii/

Trump Travel Ban - Racism by any Other Name Is Still Racism - SAPIENS

https://www.sapiens.org/culture/trump-travel-ban-world-war-ii/

NAJGA article.pdf

Dr. Bonnie Clark's research was featured in Issue #4 (2017) of The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association.  The association has kindly allowed us to make that article available to the public here.

Armstrong-Fumero - ch5.pdf

This chapter, "Cultivating Community" is from Legacies of Space and Intangible Heritage: Archaeology, Ethnohistory, and the Politics of Cultural Continuity in the Americas edited by Fernando Armstrong-Fumero and Julio Hoil Gutierrez (2017).  This electronic copy was made available to the community through the goodwill of the publisher, University Press of Colorado.

Perserverance and Prejudice

This Chapter, from Prisoners of War: Archaeology, Memory, and Heritage of 19th- and 20th-Century Mass Internment (Mytum 2013) is based on thesis research at Amache by two DU alumni, Dana Ogo Shew and April Kamp-Whittaker.

When the Foreign is not Exotic: Ceramics at Colorado’s WWII Japanese Internment Camp

This chapter from, Trade and Exchange: Archaeological Studies from History and Prehistory (2010) was written by Stephanie Skiles, a former MA student, and Dr. Bonnie Clark, the director of the DU Amache project.

Communities Negotiating Preservation

This publication, based on the thesis research of DU alumni Jennifer Otto, is a contribution to Southeast Colorado Heritage Tourism Report (2009), edited by Rudi Hartmann, Wash Park Media, Denver.  

Dr. Bonnie Clark contributed an entry on Amache to the Densho Encyclopedia of Internment.  It can be accessed through this link: http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Amache%20(Granada)/ 

https://magazine.du.edu/academics-research/anthropology-students-uncover-world-war-ii-era-history-at-amache/

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChBRFLBigMU

This video on the 2008 Field School, produced by the DU Communications office, won an award at the Society for American Archaeology 2009 film festival.

http://www.amache.org/

The Amache Preservation Society (APS) has worked for many years to preserve the site of Amache and the memories, keepsakes, and historical documentation of those whose lives were forever changed by it.  We have worked with the collections of the APS museum during each of our field schools.  For more information about the APS please visit the link above.

https://nikkeijinkai.co/ 

The Nikkeijin Kai of Colorado (formerly the Japanese American Association of Colorado) has generously donated salary for graduate students who served as field supervisors during each of DU's field schools at Amache (2008 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018).  For more information about the Nikkeijin Kai Colorado, please visit their website.

http://www.du.edu/engage/index.htm

The University of Denver, Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning has generously supported our work at Amache through an Engaged Department grant, and two Public Good grants.  During the 2009-2010 academic year, the Center supported the Amache project through a Public Good Fellowship for the project director, Dr. Bonnie Clark.  For more information about the Center, please visit the link above.

State Historical Fund - History Colorado

The State Historical Fund or SHF has generously provided support for the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and the upcoming 2022 Field Schools at Amache.

http://www.janm.org

We were pleased to partner with the Japanese American National Museum during their 2008 national conference, and subsequent meetings of former Amache internees and descendants in the Los Angeles area.

The Faculty and students of the DU Amache project have contributed to the Denver area Day of Remembrance since February 2010.  We look forward to ongoing collaboration for this important event. 

During World War II, the University of Denver opened its doors to Japanese American students, beginning a proud tradition that continues today.  This tradition was celebrated on July 3, 2008 at the DU Museum of Anthropology.  Click on the links below to find out more about the history of DU and Japanese American students, with a page specifically for Japanese American alumni of the University. 

DU and Japanese American Students.doc

For Japanese American Alumni of DU

Amache directory 1943

This is a scanned copy of the directory of Amache residents produced for the camp in 1943.  The original of this document is available at the Amache Preservation Society museum, Granada, Colorado.

In 2012, archaeology crews identified historic roses still growing at Amache. In 2021, the Denver Botanic Gardens took cuttings and began propogating them.  Here's the first Colorado Public Radio story about that project: https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/18/camp-amache-roses/ and this is the follow-up when the rose bloomed during the 2022 Amache pilgrimage: https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/22/the-camp-amache-rose-is-blooming-heres-what-it-looks-like/

Would you like to see a documentary about the rose?  Learn more here: https://www.botanicgardens.org/blog/denver-botanic-films-presents-amache-rose

In April 2022, Dr. Bonnie Clark presented a synopsis of the garden archaeology research at Amache for Mile High TEDx. This short video is a great overview of seven field seasons of research:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEdCTX8VDP8

“Uncovering the Gardens at Amache,” an episode of the Preservation Technology Podcast produced by the National Park Service highlights garden finds of the 2022 field season at Amache: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/podcast-116-uncovering-gardens-at-amache.htm. 

In this blog published by our research partner, the Institute for Field Research, Dr. Bonnie Clark reflects on how community archaeology has helped to build momentum for Amache's new status as a National Historic Site: https://ifrglobal.org/blog/ifr-site-becomes-national-park/ 

Project director, Dr. Bonnie Clark, was interviewed for the NPR podcast, Cultivating Place, about the Amache gardens.  You can access it here: https://www.cultivatingplace.com/post/finding-solace-in-the-soil-gardens-gardeners-of-amache-japanese-american-prison-camp 

The 2022 University of Denver Amache Field School was a great success!  Thank you to all who visited us in the field or contributed in other ways.  We'll have a short report on our findings this fall, but you can check out pictures of our work on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DUAmacheResearchProject 

The DU Amache Project was honored to team in 2020 with TADAIMA! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage.  The pilgrimage has ended, but the programming is still available.  Here is a compilation:

Former Amache incarcerees reflect on their participation in the DU Amache Project in this hour-long program, Amache Kids search for their past: https://youtu.be/0uo_jJlELk

The DU Amache Project Director Dr. Bonnie Clark contributed this 36-minute video on the archaeology of gardens and gardeners at Amache: https://youtu.be/ABato1qNvoU

DU Amache alumni Dana Ogo-Shew and co-field directors Dr. April Kamp-Whittaker and Dr. Bonnie Clark participated with other confinement site archaeologists in a live Q&A panel called "Ask an Archaeologist."  A video of that 1.5 hour conversation is availalable here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7T6-Laq7c&t=1183s

Kamp-Whittaker and Clark presented The Heritage of Sport: https://youtu.be/S3BNwznG3h0 This 35 minute video draws together data from archaeology, archives, and community collaboration as an example of the work of the DU Amache Project. One theme highlighted in the video is the role of sport in building resiliency during internment, the senior theisis topic of Amache descendant and project intern Riki Eijima.  To find out more about Riki's work you can watch this presentation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/11qbv5y1bm7eebd/Riki%20Eijima%20Comps%20Presentation.mp4?dl=0 read her Senior thesis here: Riki Eijima Occidental Senior Thesis.pdf 

Find out about the connection betweeen bonsai and Amache in this podcast featuring Project Director Bonnie Clark: https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/0/8/b/08b34baf9abdfc98/Bonsai_Behind_Barbed_Wire.mp3?c_id=53277656&cs_id=53277656&destination_id=1493435&expiration=1570299336&hwt=43511ed38c7667c547152bfceaec84a7

Co-Field Director April Kamp-Whittaker is featured in this article by Arizona State University, where she was a Ph.D. student. Congratulations, April! Follow this link to learn more about her research: https://asunow.asu.edu/20190621-archaeologist-studies-experiences-interned-japanese-americans

Regina (Ting-chun) Huang, completed her MA thesis, entitled: Whose Community Museum Is It? Collaboration Strategies and Identity Affirmation in the Amache Museum in the Spring of 2019. Read more about Regina and her work here: https://www.du.edu/ahss/news/story/student_huang.html

Dr. Bonnie Clark was interviewed in March 2019 as part of the podcast, Denver Orbit.  You can access the podcast through this link: http://www.denverorbit.com/podcast/episode-thirty-four-nine-zero-six-six/ 

Tomi Eijima, an Amache descendant and 2018 High School intern, reflects on her experience at Amache in an article for the national newspaper of the Japanese American Cititzens League, The Pacific Citizen.  Eijima 2018_PacCitizen.pdf 

Project Director, Bonnie Clark, was recently interviewed about the DU Amache Project and her research on gardens there. The interview, as well as resource links, are available at: https://www.du.edu/…/interview-v…/gardens-of-internment.html#

In June 2018, the field school hosted a tour group from History Colorado. A lovely reflection on the experience is here in visitor Donna Bryson's blog: https://www.donnabryson.com/blog/2018/6/24/concentration

Pacific Citizen June_15_28_2018.pdf

In this article, Amache descendant Athena Asklipiadis writes about her experience at the 2018 Amache pilgrimage, including her time with project director, Dr. Bonnie Clark.

The Amache project produces both short summaries and longer technical reports for each field season.  If you are interested in any of the technical reports, please email bclark@du.edu.  A selection of shorter reports are available below. 

2018 DU Amache Field School Summary.pdf

2016 Field school summary DU Amache.pdf

DU Amache Project 2014 Field School Summary

The Archaeology of Gardening at Amache summary for 2010

The Archaeology of Gardening at Amache 2008 synthesis.doc

The small DU Amache crew of 2021 hosted Paul Zaenger. His reflections on the experience were published in this piece for Writers on the Range https://writersontherange.org/a-japanese-american-internment-camp-has-much-to-teach-us/ 

This newspaper article discusses the relationship of archaeological research to the recent return of a recreation hall to Amache.  The article can be accessed here: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/05/18/granada-war-relocation-center-amache-wwii-internment-camp-historic-site/

The DU Amache Project is one of the highlighted case studies in the Spring 2018 issue of American Archaeology.  The online version includes additional project photos: https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org/the-case-for-collaboration/

A Case For Collaboration - Archaeological Conservancy

https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org/the-case-for-collaboration/

Unvcovering the holes of our past Eijima 2016.pdf

This article in the Pacific Citizen was written by one of our 2014 interns, Riki Eijima.

Project Director Bonnie Clark discusses the DU Amache Project on this November 2016 podcast: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/archaeology/3

asakawa article exhibit .pdf (2015)

This article by one of our community curators, Gil Asakawa, discusses his experience as working on Connecting the Pieces.  It was published in the Pacific Citizen, the national paper of the Japanese American Citizens League. 

Project Director, Dr. Bonnie Clark, was interviewed for the VoiceAmerica radio program, Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality, and 21st Century Archaeology, for a program on the archaeology of internment. Follow the link below to hear the broadcast:

Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality and 21st Century Archaeology | VoiceAmerica?

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/83003/releasing-the-stories-of-archaeology-of-internment

High Plains Public Radio produced two media pieces about our work in 2014.  You can access them through the links below:

Unearthing Amache: The story begins, July 2014

Camp Amache

Capturing Amache's Life Story (2014)

This article, which focuses on how we do the digital mapping at Amache, was published in the magazine, American Surveyor.

Click below to read a DU Magazine article about the 2012 field school and the DU Amache project.  This article received silver in the category of Communications & Marketing Programs - Periodical staff writing for external audiences from the CASE District VI Institutional Awards Program.

University of Denver MagazineAnthropology students uncover World War II-era history at Amache | University of Denver Magazine

http://magazine.du.edu/academics-research/anthropology-students-uncover-world-war-ii-era-history-at-amache/

Asian Avenue, November 2012

This magazine article overviews a presentation given by Dr. Bonnie Clark at the Denver Botanic Gardens in October, 2012.

Thousand Oaks man's visit to Colorado brings back internment camp memories (Aug 2012)

The DU Amache project was featured in an article about the archaeology of World War II in the magazine, Illustreret Videnskab (Science Illustrated) in the Fall of 2012. Produced by the largest magazine publisher in Scandinavia, the magazine’s print circulation is 800,000 accompanied by a website. Link to online article below:

Japansk interneringslejr: Udgravning åbner USA’s betændte sår | Illustreret Videnskab

http://illvid.dk/kultur-historie/fortidens-civilisationer/japansk-interneringslejr-udgravning-aabner-usas-betaendte

http://tribmag.com/shikata-ga-nai/

This online magazine recently featured an interview with DU Amache project director, Dr. Bonnie Clark.

This is a link to an Archaeology magazine article on the Archaeology of Internment, featuring a dicussion and a photograph of our research at Amache.  It was part of a larger article published by the maganize on the Archaeology of World War II.

Colorado Public Radio has done two stories on the field school: 

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/digging-life-internment-camp

and
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/ww-ii-internee-returns-camp-amache-archaeological-dig-2

Denver Magazine (March 2010)

Rafu Shimpo article (2008)

This article was written by Gary Ono, a former Amache internee, prior to his working with the DU Amache project in the summer of 2008

This is an article written after the field school by Gary Ono, former internee and volunteer with the 2008 field school.

This is an article written after the field school by Gary Ono, former internee and volunteer with the 2008 field school.

This print story includes a link to a video of the piece that aired on the Channel 7 10 pm news in the Summer of 2008.

From May 14-June 5, 2009, the DU Museum of Anthropology displayed an exhibit curated by graduate student April Kamp-Whittaker. Through the Eyes of a Child: Japanese American Internment was a visual representation of Ms. Kamp-Whittaker's master's thesis research on Amache. A combination of historical research and archaeological information were used to discuss the experiences of children at Amache. Issues such as daily life, the role of gardens, and children's play were discussed.

In case you missed the exhibit, click here to access a powerpoint slideshow containing photos of the exhibit cases as well as all of the text and images that were displayed during the exhibit. Come take a virtual tour of the exhibit! If you would like a dvd copy of the powerpoint please contact bclark@du.edu to have one sent to you! Thank you!

Through the Eyes of a Child Part1.ppt

Through the Eyes of a Child Part2.ppt