Archive.fm

Idaho Matters

Looking back at Minidoka: One woman's family story

From 1942 to 1945, the family of Barbara Yoshida Berthiaume was incarcerated in the Minidoka Japanese internment camp in Eastern Idaho. But she didn’t learn about this dark chapter in her family’s history until she was in her senior year at Kuna High.

Broadcast on:
11 Sep 2023
A panorama view of the Minidoka War Relocation Authority center in 1942. This view taken from the top of the water tower at the east end of the Center, shows partially completed barracks.
A panorama view of the Minidoka War Relocation Authority center in 1942. This view taken from the top of the water tower at the east end of the Center, shows partially completed barracks.(Francis Stewart / U.S. Department of the Interior)

From 1942 to 1945, the family of Barbara Yoshida Berthiaume was incarcerated in the Minidoka Japanese internment camp in Eastern Idaho.

Barbara, who grew up in Kuna, didn’t learn about this dark chapter in her family’s history until she was in her senior year at Kuna High. Since then she’s been researching Japanese internment camps and sharing what she’s learned through talks around the country.

She lives in Washington now, but she’s coming to the Gem State this week for a series of talks about her family and what they experienced at Minidoka.