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Gila River, Butte Camp, Japanese-American Concentration Camp, Arizona, March 25, 1995 / GRB-1-18-11 (from the series Japanese-American Concentration Camps)
Gila River, Butte Camp, Japanese-American Concentration Camp, Arizona, March 25, 1995 / GRB-1-18-11 (from the series Japanese-American Concentration Camps)
Gila River, Butte Camp, Japanese-American Concentration Camp, Arizona, March 25, 1995 / GRB-1-18-11 (from the series Japanese-American Concentration Camps)

Gila River, Butte Camp, Japanese-American Concentration Camp, Arizona, March 25, 1995 / GRB-1-18-11 (from the series Japanese-American Concentration Camps)

Artist (American, 1945 - 2017)
DateMarch 25, 1995
Mediumchromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 10 × 12 in. (25.4 × 30.5 cm)
Support: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Patrick Nagatani, 2017
Object number2017.12.54
DescriptionBig white structure in the center of composition, shadow of a tree in the left toward center, marks of a car tires in center foreground and shoes trace on the soil around it, two concrete stairs between the white structure and the soil ground in foreground, desert landscape with mountains in background, blue sky with clouds
Text Entries
Typically known for his photographic narratives and colorful constructed imagery, Patrick Nagatani shifts to a more documentary style in his series “Japanese-American Concentration Camps.” In the early 1990s, the artist traveled to and photographed the sites of ten inland camps created by the U.S. government during World War II to forcibly detain citizens of Japanese descent. Families across the nation were required to leave their homes, businesses, land, and property to live in these isolated camps under challenging conditions. Among them were Nagatani’s parents, who were both incarcerated as young adults, his mother at Manzanar and his father at Jerome; his maternal grandfather was separated from his family and held at the Justice Department Internment Camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nagatani’s parents later met married in Chicago, Illinois and, like many prisoners of war, did not discuss their incarceration with their children. The artist and his siblings grew into adulthood knowing very little of their parents’ experiences. This photographic series was his way to explore and claim that family history.

The Gila River War Relocation Center was an American concentration camp in Arizona, for the incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast and Hawai'i. It was located within the Gila River Indian Reservation (over their strong objections) about 30 miles (48.3 km) southeast of Phoenix. With a peak population of 13,348, it became the fourth-largest city in the state, operating from May 1942 to late September 1945. It comprised two separate camps, named 'Canal' and 'Butte'. Construction began on May 1, 1942, and the official opening took place less than two months later, on July 20. Canal Camp closed on September 28, 1945. Butte Camp was shut down on November 10, 1945; and the Gila River Relocation Center was officially closed on November 16, 1945.

Gila River was considered one of the least oppressive camps of its kind. It had only a single watchtower, and its fences were among the few that lacked barbed wire.


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