Resolution No. 2024-17 Supporting BIJAEMA and Minidoka National Historic Site - Approved 102224Page 1 of 5
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-17
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of Bainbridge Island, Washington
supporting the protection of the Minidoka National Historic Site and urging the
Washington State Congressional Delegation to support and protect it from the U.S.
Department of the Interior’s proposed Lava Ridge wind project located on federal
land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
WHEREAS, in 1942 a monumental wrong was perpetrated under the cover of
government authority. The rights of citizens of Japanese ancestry were ignored, and they were
imprisoned. Wartime hysteria and racism combined to support this injustice; and
WHEREAS, eighty years ago, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed Executive Order No. 9066, which authorized the removal of anyone of Japanese
American ancestry from the entire west coast of the United States; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 1942, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American community
was notified that they would be forced from their homes in 6 days and sent to an unknown
destination; and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 1942, 227 Bainbridge Islanders of Japanese American
descent were herded aboard the Ferry KEHLOKEN, on their way to a concentration camp in
California. Most of this group were ultimately transferred to Minidoka, Idaho, where they joined
other Japanese Americans from Washington and Alaska Natives; and
WHEREAS, after World War II ended, over half of the exiled Islanders returned to
Bainbridge Island where they were welcomed and resumed their roles as valued members of the
Bainbridge Island Community; and
WHEREAS, members of the Japanese American community around the country
pushed for public acknowledgement of the wrong that had been perpetrated; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, President Clinton designated the Minidoka Internment National
Monument, where most of the Bainbridge Islanders spent their incarceration, as a unit of the
National Park System; and
WHEREAS, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community was involved in
developing the Minidoka general management plan; and
WHEREAS, at the same time, leaders of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American
Community and other concerned citizens decided to create a Memorial to the exclusion
experience on Bainbridge Island; and
WHEREAS, as authorized by legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, the
NPS completed the "Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial Study of Alternatives and
Environmental Assessment," in December 2005; and
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WHEREAS, in 2006, NPS completed the general management plan that identified
Minidoka's fundamental resources and values including protecting Minidoka’s viewshed,
immersive setting and sense of remoteness and isolation; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, then-Rep. Jay Inslee worked with Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray
and the Idaho Congressional delegation to pass bipartisan legislation to expand the Minidoka
National Historic Site to include the Eagledale Ferry Dock site as a satellite unit; and
WHEREAS, together Minidoka and the Bainbridge Island Memorial help tell the story
of the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the military service and
sacrifice of Nisei soldiers and the courage to resist the U.S. Government’s violation of civil
liberties. These sites are sacred ground. They serve as places for healing, education,
remembrance and inspiration; and
WHEREAS, on his first day in office President Biden issued an Executive Order on
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government; and
WHEREAS, in August 2021, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) announced the
beginning of the permitting process for the proposed Lava Ridge wind project which would be
located on federal public land in Minidoka’s viewshed; and
WHEREAS, the NPS mission is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural
resources and values we hold dear. NPS has a statutory mission to protect Minidoka's
fundamental resources and values unimpaired for the benefit of future generations and to tell the
stories of the living conditions of incarcerees; and
WHEREAS, the preservation and protection of Minidoka and Japanese American
confinement sites is important for the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, for
Japanese Americans everywhere, and for the country as a whole in the ongoing struggle against
racial injustice and to live up to our nation’s highest ideals; and
WHEREAS, with support from Congress, the National Park Service has made
significant financial investments in Minidoka and the Bainbridge Island Memorial through the
Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant program and other funding sources, which
has leveraged significant investments from the Japanese American community and local
partners; and
WHEREAS, in February 2022, President Biden wrote that “Preserving incarceration
sites as national parks and historic landmarks is proof of our Nation’s commitment to facing the
wrongs of our past, to healing the pain still felt by survivors and their descendants, and to
ensuring that we always remember why it matters that we never stop fighting for equality and
justice for all. My Administration is committed to maintaining these national parks and
landmarks for future generations and to combating xenophobia, hate, and intolerance;” and
WHEREAS, as part of the February 2022 “National Day of Remembrance: 80 Years of
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Reckoning” event, Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the incarceration of Japanese
Americans is “an act we cannot forget … It is only by understanding our past we can build a
better future;” and
WHEREAS, on March 8, 2022, the City of Bainbridge passed Resolution 2022-11
opposing the Lava Ridge project and calling on its Congressional representatives to protect
Minidoka from the Lava Ridge wind project; and
WHEREAS, in March 2022, the Board of Commissioners, Kitsap County, Washington
passed Resolution 033-2022 in support of the Minidoka National Historic Site; and
WHEREAS, the Japanese American community supports the designation of Minidoka’s
viewshed as Traditional Cultural Property (TCP), Area of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC) and other protective measures, subject to local support, traditional land uses and valid
existing rights; and
WHEREAS, in early 2023, during the draft environmental impact statement public
comment period, the Japanese American community sent comment letters to BLM in support of
the No Action alternative. The community also expressed support for renewable energy, but not
if projects have disproportionate impacts on environmental justice communities; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress passed appropriations legislation in March 2024 to bar
the use of appropriated funds during federal fiscal year 2024 to permit the Lava Ridge wind
project unless and until certain conditions are met; and
WHEREAS, the BLM used non-appropriated fund to issue the final environmental
impact statement in June 2024, which stated that BLM’s preferred alternative would have
“disproportionately high and adverse impacts on the Japanese American community and Indian
Tribes;” and
WHEREAS, in July 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year
2025 annual Interior appropriations bill (H.R. 8998) which included a provision to stop the Lava
Ridge wind project (Sec. 124); and
WHEREAS, in August 2024, the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific
American Affairs and over 1,000 Minidoka survivors, descendants and allies sent letters to
President Biden in support of the No Action alternative in the BLM Record of Decision; and
WHEREAS, in August 2024, U.S. Senator James Risch of Idaho introduced Senate bill
(S. 4936) to delay the Lava Ridge wind project, which may be considered by the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee in September 2024; and
WHEREAS, the protection of Minidoka’s viewshed demonstrates our nation’s
commitment to telling the whole story and acknowledging the wrongs of the past. Dr. Frank
Kitamoto, who was incarcerated in Minidoka as a child, stated: “This is not just a Japanese
American story but an American story with implications for the world.”
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NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. To advance racial, environmental and reparative justice, the City of
Bainbridge Island supports the No Action alternative in the BLM’s Record of Decision and,
alternatively, an indefinite delay in the signing of the ROD if BLM supports an action
alternative.
Section 2. Subject to local support in Idaho, the City of Bainbridge Island supports the
proposed Minidoka Traditional Cultural Property (TCP), Area of Critical Environmental
Concern (ACEC) and other administrative efforts to protect Minidoka’s viewshed, cultural
landscape, immersive setting, views of distant mountains, sense of remoteness, feeling,
association and Congressionally-authorized park purposes.
Section 3. The City of Bainbridge Island supports Section 124, a legislative rider
included in the FY 2025 Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 8998), that would block the project.
Section 4. The City of Bainbridge Island supports S. 4936, a bill to direct the
Government Accountability Office to study the impacts of the Lava Ridge wind project on the
Minidoka National Historic Site.
Section 5. The City of Bainbridge Island is committed to Nidoto Nai Yoni, which
translates to “Let It Not Happen Again.”
Section 6. The City of Bainbridge Island invites Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to
visit the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial and meet with Bainbridge
Island residents prior to the signing of the Record of Decision.
Section 7. The City of Bainbridge Island respectfully requests the support of its elected
representatives in Congress to protect Minidoka through pending legislation and administrative
decisions by the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies.
Section 8. If any one or more sections, subsections, or sentences of this resolution are held
to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portion of this resolution and the same shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 9. This Resolution shall take effect and be in force immediately upon its passage.
Joe Deets, Mayor
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ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
By: _____________________
Christine Brown, MMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: October 18, 2024
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: October 22, 2024
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-17