City of Snoqualmie has a civic duty to preserve and share vital Japanese American history

The following is testimony submitted by OCA Greater Seattle President Connie So to the Snoqualmie City Council regarding the impact that the Snoqualmie Mill development would have on Japanese American historic preservation:

March 26, 2022

Dear Snoqualmie City Councilmembers,

I am writing as a Teaching Professor at the University of Washington’s American Ethnic Studies department in Seattle, as the President of OCA Asian Pacific Advocates of Greater Seattle, and a resident of King County for 54 years.  In all capacities, I would be extremely disappointed if the City of Snoqualmie did not recognize the significance of the artifacts relating to the forced removal of the Japanese American saw mill employees and their families in 1942, and support efforts to retrieve and preserve the artifacts.

The development of the City of Snoqualmie and the entire Snoqualmie ridge owes much to the early Japanese American community. Despite facing racial hostilities, the Japanese were recruited to work in the saw mills and for the railroad in the region.  Unfortunately, in 1942, almost exactly 80 years ago, Japanese American employees and their families were forced to leave en masse and taken to American concentration camps. The forcefully uprooted Japanese Americans were only allowed to take what they could carry. Therefore, many of the personal items were tossed into the pit toilets of the bunkhouses. Overnight, Japanese Americans were gone and the bunkhouses destroyed by fire.

As I understand it, though the cultural significance of the “Japanese community site” is not disputed, the archeological professional who performed the site survey concluded: “That the systematic data recovery from the site is not feasible and further survey to delineate the resource would be likely to adversely affect the site.” The degree of difficulty or disturbance to the site should not be used as an excuse or to create a roadblock for the recovery of the artifacts. These were items that they could not take with them and did not want to have scavenged by human predators. Unfortunately, the “company” burned down the barracks and covered it over with logs, boulders and fill that is now between 9 and 16 feet thick.  

In other words, while the archeological consultants for Snoqualmie Mill Ventures, LLC indicate that they understand the cultural and anthropological importance of recovering artifacts, they would not recommend excavation due to the cost. An unwillingness to support efforts to recover the artifacts would indicate a callous disregard for the significance and circumstances under which the people painfully parted with their belongings and home.

The City of Snoqualmie has a civic duty to preserve and share this vital history in their jurisdiction. The forceful removal of Japanese Americans happened in their jurisdiction and to permit this history to disappear would be equivalent to destroying evidence of the event on one hand, making them complicit after the fact, but also destroying the dignity of the individuals this happened to, as well as the opportunity to prevent this type of thing from happening again. If cost is a factor, they – not the Japanese American community – should be seeking support from other sources, the state and federal governments, for instance, for the project.

Government exists to undertake these important responsibilities. Failure to support the recovery of the artifacts while knowing the tragic history, would be an injustice to those whose human and civil rights were violated in 1942. A lack of apathy in the current context, could be seen as an indication of indifference to the social justice issue we are faced with today. Simply put, your support of a full archeological excavation of the site would help to shed light on a historically significant episode of the past that has been buried.

Sincerely,

Connie So, PhD

Teaching Professor
American Ethnic Studies
University of Washington (Seattle)

President
OCA Asian Pacific Advocates of Greater Seattle

The following is a letter from the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW):

Re: Snoqualmie Mill Planned Development / Industrial Plan Application No: PCI 17-0001 Applicant: Snoqualmie Mill Ventures

On behalf of the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington (JCCCW), I am submitting the following comments for your consideration. The JCCCW was established in 2008 as a non-profit organization. Part of the mission of the JCCCW is to help preserve and share Japanese American history in Washington State. The JCCCW currently owns and operates programs and events in the buildings that housed the Seattle Japanese Language School (Nihongo Gakko). The Seattle Japanese Language School is a City of Seattle Historic Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Based upon the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and in particular Appendix E of the SEPA Cultural Resources Assessment of the Snoqualmie Mill Planned Development, the JCCCW is providing the following comments for consideration:

1) We believe that further archeological testing of the Japanese Community Site (45-Kl-1474) is warranted. At a minimum, additional data should be gathered in order to delineate the site, determine the potential number of artifacts, and collect samples.

2) We have initiated contact with staff at the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) to submit an application for the Snoqualmie Falls Company (SFCO) Mill Site to be listed on the National Register for Historic Places. We would also ask that the area which contained the Japanese bunkhouses (within 45-KI-1474) be included within the historic district boundaries.

3) We have already consulted with a regional archeologist at the National Park Service to identify potential federal support to preserve and protect the site if the SFCO Mill Site and Japanese bunkhouse area are listed on the National Register.

4) We have reached out to the University of Washington, through two departments: American Ethnic Studies and Archeology. Faculty in both departments have expressed support and willingness to work with the JCCCW and community stakeholders to work on this project.

5) The JCCCW officially requests an opportunity to discuss mitigation with the Developers and to be included in the development of an interpretive plan.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed project plan.

Sincerely,
Karen Yoshitomi