NJAHS is proud to spread word of ABC’s latest publication featuring Juju Chang in Amache Camp, Colorado.
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, near Granada, Colorado was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to unjustly incarcerate Japanese Americans. Over 10,000 people, most American citizens, were incarcerated at Amache from 1942-1945. Amache – a place to reflect, recommit, and further the pursuit of freedom and justice.
The smallest incarceration site by population—the Granada Relocation Center, as it was designated by the War Relocation Authority—was in Colorado, only 15 miles west of the Kansas border and less than 2 miles from the town of Granada. Although all WRA records refer to the incarceration camp as the Granada Relocation Center, early on, incarcerees began referring to the camp as Amache, after the camp’s postal designation. Because the camp and town were so close, it was feared that mail intended for the Granada Relocation Center would get confused with mail for the town of Granada. The postal designation of Amache was named after Amache Ochinee Prowers, an outspoken Southern Cheyenne woman who married the county’s namesake John Prowers. She was also the daughter of Chief Ochinee, a traditional Cheyenne leader, who was murdered during the Sand Creek Massacre. The connection between the incarceration camp and the tribe goes beyond a name; the land on which the camp was situated was once part of unceded Southern Cheyenne treaty lands.
Built to accommodate up to 8,000 people, Amache housed 7,318 incarcerees at its peak in 1943, making it the 10th largest city in Colorado at that time. During its three years of operation, 10,331 incarcerees passed through Amache. Its population often fluctuated due to work, education, and military leave programs, as well as indefinite leaves as part of the resettlement program.
