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Chris Villiers
Photography & Writing
Minidoka
Some things are best examined under the harsh light of day. The Minidoka War Relocation Center is such a place.
Down miles and miles of dusty Idaho farm roads, only a handful of its wood-and-tarpaper barracks remain. A crumbling root cellar serves as a reminder of more than ten thousand Americans, held against their will, cultivating potatoes and sugar beets, plowing fields and creating what later would become rich farmlands irrigated by water from the Snake and Columbia rivers.
As I wandered alone through the camp, I found myself drawn to the doors and windows. Wondering what it was like to be inside, staring out at the barbed wire and guard towers beyond. Wondering how felt to be imprisoned simply because of who you are.
Wondering, but never really able to know.
- July 2021