09.18.06

Cantwell, Murray Sponsor Legislation Honoring Bainbridge Island Internees

Bill would codify Park Service-endorsed plan to preserve Eagledale ferry dock site as part of National Parks system

WASHINGTON, DC – Friday, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation in the Senate to include the Eagledale ferry dock site on Bainbridge Island in the Minidoka Internment National Monument, a unit of the National Parks System. Cantwell and Murray have been working with Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA), local partners, and surviving internees to preserve the site, which served as the point of departure for members of the Japanese American community forced into internment camps during World War II.

“By preserving this historic landmark and connecting it to the Minidoka National Monument, current and future generations can appreciate the sacrifices and strength of the Japanese American community,” said Cantwell. “We must make sure we never forget this solemn chapter in our nation’s history.”

In May 2006, the Interior Department finalized its report recommending the Eagledale Ferry Dock site be designated the Nidoto Nai Yoni National Memorial and a satellite site of the Minidoka Internment National Monument, which was established by President Clinton in January 2001. The Minidoka site in Jerome County, Idaho marks the place where many of those forcibly removed from Bainbridge Island were eventually sent. The dock site marks the place where the first 227 Japanese Americans interned during World War II were forcibly removed from their homes and communities. The three-year Interior Department study was authorized and funded by legislation championed by Cantwell and Murray in the Senate and Congressman Inslee in the House. Construction of the memorial began earlier this year with the help of funding from private donors and the State of Washington.

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