More than 120,000 Japanese Americans were held captive inside 10 internment camps nationwide during World War II – including two in Arizona, built on Indian reservations by the U.S. War Relocation Authority without tribal consent.
On Arizona’s western border, the Colorado River Indian Tribes has made a point to preserve the remnants of one such war-time prison, Poston, while the Grand Canyon State’s other camp sits hidden in the shadows of Phoenix.
It’s slowly fading away.
‘Most people on the street don’t know about the camps’
The Gila River Indian Community has strict rules about accessing the abandoned 16,500-acre site, originally known as the Rivers Relocation Center. It was named after Jim Rivers, an Akimel O’odham killed in World War One. Now, it’s more commonly called Gila River, and the camp’s location is mainly off-limits…