HISTORY of JACSC

2015:

The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, after collaborations with several other organizations, begins seeking support and funding for a Consortium of sites related to the Japanese American experience. Many organizations in the field recognized a need for many years to better network and collaborate among themselves to grow capacity. The HMWF earned funding from the National Park Service's Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program to jumpstart the organization of a consortium, titled the Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium (JACSC). The Consortium first met at Heart Mountain Interpretive Center in July 2015.  

2016:

The Consortium met again in Washington DC to build consensus on activity, establish major stakeholders, conduct East Coast outreach, and set priorities and goals. This meeting established the framework and mission for the group, while also expanding its participants. 

2017:

The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) applied for and received a second National Park Service Grant to continue the Consortium. Brian Liesinger, former Executive Director of HMWF, who had written both JACS grant to support the Consortium, was hired as the Coordinator for the Consortium project. 

2018:

Two significant planning and business meetings were held in February and October 2018. The group planned more strategic outreach and communication, as well as refining advocacy goals and overall mission. Continued outreach to new organizations allowed the JACSC to grow its base.  In February, the Consortium’s major stakeholders signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an administrative council. The council agreed to serve as the guidance body for the JACSC going forward. Through the MOU, the council pledges ongoing guidance, funds, and in-kind resources. 

Advisory council members established at that time included the Friends of Minidoka, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Japanese American National Museum, the Japanese American Citizens League. The National Japanese American Memorial Foundation would join the advisory councils in October of 2018.  

In March of 2018, the President’s proposed budget defunded the JACS grant program. In response, the Consortium launched a grassroots advocacy campaign to encourage legislators to protect the program. The effort paid off and the program was restored.

2019:

The JACSC convened in Washington DC to refine a business plan and create a dues model for sustainability. In addition, stakeholders spent significant time on Capitol Hill educating Congress about the formation of JACSC and its mission and advocating for the continuation of the JACS grant program.

The JACSC business meeting was held concurrent with the 90th annual Japanese American Citizens League national convention in Salt Lake City, July 31–Aug. 4, and reinforced the importance of membership support and expansion to sustain the Consortium goals. A JACSC conference committee also coordinated a JACSC tract of educational sessions during the JACL convention, educating attendees on the history of the Consortium, addressing family separation at the border, examining intergenerational trauma, best practices for NPS partnerships, and lessons learned from the redress movement. 

2020:

In January 2020 Mia Russell was appointed JACSC manager, taking over for Brian Liesinger as the sole staff. JACSC planned a spring advocacy meeting convening in Washington, D.C., to take place from March 31- April 2. The advocacy agenda, building on prior years, included meetings with members of Congress to inform them of the impact of Japanese American organizations across the country and to build support for continued preservation of the Japanese American confinement sites. This meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19, but the Consortium’s advocacy agenda has continued to move forward.

JACSC convened the first educational conference, from October 16-18, with a theme of “Connecting, Empowering, & Transforming Our Communities.” With the support of the Aratani Foundation and JACSC membership dues, 31 presenters provided 9 sessions as well as accompanying online resources. Please see conference session recordings and the digital resources on the Resources tab.