Qualla: Poston War Relocation Center

Poston War Relocation Center: Introduction

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clem Albers, Public domain. The Colorado River Indian Reservation Tribal Council saw the request coming and said no. They would not allow their land to be used as a prison for Japanese Americans. Having experienced forced relocation themselves, they refused to inflict that injustice on others. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Army commanders overruled them anyway, seeing opportunity: thousands of "volunteers" who could improve irrigation infrastructure on the War Department's budget, leaving permanent benefits for the reservation. Construction began in early 1942. Within three weeks, the first camp rose from the desert. By summer, over 17,000 people from Southern California lived behind a single fence stretching across three camps spaced three miles apart, in a place so remote that authorities decided guard towers were unnecessary. The internees gave their new homes sardonic names: Roasten, Toastin, and Dustin.

Image: Clem Albers | Public domain

Poston War Relocation Center: A City Built in Days

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clark, Fred, photographer, Photographer (NARA record: 8463820), Public domain. Del Webb, who would later become famous for building Sun City and other retirement communities, assembled a workforce of 5,000 to construct Poston I. Starting March 27, 1942, they completed the first camp in less than three weeks. Camps II and III followed within 120 days. The sc...

Image: Clark, Fred, photographer, Photographer (NARA record: 8463820) | Public domain

Poston War Relocation Center: Life Behind the Fence

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Steven Jarrett Bernstein, CC BY-SA 3.0. Conditions deteriorated rapidly. Tuberculosis spread through the crowded barracks, with 140 reported cases. Care for the sick was inadequate, leading to preventable deaths and lasting disabilities. By the end of 1942, heating systems still had not been installed, and clothing all...

Image: Steven Jarrett Bernstein | CC BY-SA 3.0

Poston War Relocation Center: Bonds Across the Wire

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Steven Jarrett Bernstein, CC BY-SA 3.0. Clara Breed was a librarian from San Diego who had met many of the children before their incarceration. She made a point of maintaining contact, corresponding with them throughout the war, sending books and gifts. The children wrote back, documenting daily life in letters that be...

Image: Steven Jarrett Bernstein | CC BY-SA 3.0

Poston War Relocation Center: What Came After

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hikaru Iwasaki, Public domain. The camp produced an extraordinary roster of future achievers. Jack Fujimoto became the first Asian American to lead a mainland U.S. university. Isamu Noguchi, already an established artist, volunteered to enter Poston and later became one of the twentieth century's most influent...

Image: Hikaru Iwasaki | Public domain

Poston War Relocation Center: Desert Memory

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Clark, Fred, photographer, Photographer (NARA record: 8463820), Public domain. When the camp closed, the land returned to the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Most buildings were removed or converted to agricultural use. Some structures remain, seriously deteriorated but still standing. In 1992, the Tribal Council that had once opposed the camp's construction ...

Image: Clark, Fred, photographer, Photographer (NARA record: 8463820) | Public domain