Poston consisted of three camps and Gila River had two. 17 of us from Southern AZ Japanese Cultural Coalition & friends participated in this tour today of the remnants (concrete slabs, some stone steps, building mounts, abandoned koi ponds) of the Gila River Internment Camp, plus a white stone memorial built by the Gila River Indian Tribe on the hill overlooking the camp in 1995. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the Japanese Internment Camp on Gila River land near Maricopa. Out of those, over 13,000 were sent to the Gila River War Relocation Center southeast of Phoenix located on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The camp was located on the Gila River Indian Reservation about 50 miles southeast of … The Gila River War Relocation Center was an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Japanese Internment Camp – Butte Camp Monument – Indian Route 86 “There’s an old structure that used to be the cultural center of the Gila River community. The relocation center was located on the Gila River Indian Reservation, near an irrigated agricultural center. Land: Leased from the Pima Indian Reservation. Over 17,000 went to the other internment camp in Arizona, the Poston Relocation Center in the Colorado Indian Reservation. They were brought from California on trains. Regarding Gila River Internment Center - Rivers, Arizona. It was located about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Vegetation included mesquite, creosote, and cactus. The Gila River War Relocation Center was an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Scope and Content Note. The other Arizona camp was at Poston. In 1996, community members, scholars, and artists worked together to explore the experiences of Japanese Americans imprisoned in Arizona. For more info about Gila River, click here. The Gila River War Relocation Center was one of two concentration camps holding American citizens and legal residents of Japanese ancestry during WWII. This is the 15,000-acre Gila River Relocation Center, situated on land leased from the Pima Indian Agency. During its operation, the Gila River Relocation Center had been the fourth largest city in Arizona, following Phoenix, Tucson, and the relocation center at Poston. Location: 45 miles southeast of Phoenix, in Pinal County, Arizona, near Sacaton; the Superstition Mountains loomed in the distance. "No Trespassing" signs are posted and a permit must be obtained from the Gila River Indian Tribe to visit either site. 9066 signed on Feb. 19, 1942 by President Franklin Roosevelt, which forcibly removed 120,000 Japanese Americans from California/Oregon/Washington and part of Arizona into 10 large “relocation camps” in America. This is the 15,000-acre Gila River Relocation Center, situated on land leased from the Pima Indian Agency. The Canal and Butte Camps sites are sacred to the tribe; therefore public access is restricted. The Gila River War Relocation Center was an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) for internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Official name: Gila River Relocation Center. It was located about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Playwright Lane Nishikawa met with former inmates and developed a play, “Gila River,” that was performed by local community members at the Gila River Indian Community. The Gila River War Relocation Center was the only camp to have an active chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Gila River Internment Camp, photo taken by Frank Fujii, from Chandler Museum website This camp was one of two WWII internment camps in Arizona, caused by E.O. CHANDLER, ARIZONA - A city in Arizona memorialized a WWII internment camp for Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans on Saturday by unveiling … Both are operated by Japanese evacuees from the Pacific coast, the workers in the garnishing net factory being all non-aliens. Gila River occupied 16,500 acres in an arid desert valley where average summer temperatures reached over 100 degrees.