2024 Heart Mountain Pilgrimage: Preserve and Memorialize the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confinement Site (3 Days: Thu-Sat)NEW

PILGRIMAGE Event - The sessions, activities, and tours available during the event are listed below. These are first come, first serve and are not guaranteed to be available for every attendee. 

Each year as we prepare for the Pilgrimage event, we think of our Heart Mountain Heroes: some still with us and some now gone. There’s a quality they share, a desire to reach out to others no matter how different and make a connection. This year, we hope to honor that legacy by building bridges. They might be bridges that connect the past and present, or different cultures and communities, or simply two people who didn’t know they stood on common ground. We invite you to join us in this ambitious construction project. Let’s begin laying a path toward our shared future.

Event Dates
June 25 - 27, 2024 (3 Days: Thu-Fri-Sat) 

Heart Mountain Registration Links

Event Schedule
Thu: Opening Ceremony, Family Story Telling
Fri: Education Sessions, Film, Keynote, Cocktail & Dessrt, Guided Tours
Sat: Sayonara Banquet

Hotels & Complete Schedule
Check Web Site

Event Locations
Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, 1539 Rd 19, Powell, WY 82435
Holiday Inn, 1701 Sheridan Ave, Cody WY 82414-3821

**Pilgrimage Event takes place in Powell and Cody, Wyoming. On Thursday, and Friday, all of the events take place at the Holiday Inn in Cody, Wyoming (except for one event which is at an auditorium in downtown Cody, but we provide free buses to and from this event from the Holiday Inn). Then the daytime events on Saturday, all take place out at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, for which you have the correct address. 

Heart Mountain Interpretive Center Parking
Parking at the Interpretive Center is usually free and available, however on Saturday, there will be a $10 charge per car as it is extremely limited that day and we need to leave room for the buses (Hotels) and people who need the spots for handicapped parking.

People are welcome to park at that hotel or near there in Cody and just ride the buses. 

**Important Links (For ALL Event Information)
Heart Mountain Pilgrimage Website: https://www.heartmountain.org/visit/events/pilgrimage/

About Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF)
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) was formed in 1996 by a group of Wyoming citizens and former internees who were determined to tell the Heart Mountain “Relocation Center” story.

Since then, the organization has worked to preserve the site that represents a period in U.S. history following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them American-born citizens, were deprived of due process and forced to leave their homes and livelihoods. One of the Foundation's first projects was the restoration of the Honor Roll bearing the names of over 800 men and women who served in the U.S. military. A replica of the Honor Roll was completed in 2003. In 2005, a Walking Tour of the site was completed and Heart Mountain was designated as a National Historical Landmark in 2007.

In August 2011, HMWF opened the doors to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, a world-class museum dedicated to passing on the Heart Mountain story to future generations. Special emphasis is given to the experience of incarceration, the diverse personal responses of Japanese Americans to their imprisonment, constitutional issues, violations of civil liberties, and broader issues of race and social justice in America. The Center has received awards from the American Alliance of Museums, the Wyoming Education Association, and the National Association of Interpretation. In 2014, in collaboration with several partners, a restoration of the original hospital boiler house chimney was completed. The chimney was extensively stabilized in a manner that allows it to retain its historical significance, while ensuring that it will stand for decades to come.

Today, HMWF owns 53 acres of the original historic site and our staff serves as caretakers for an additional 70 acres of the site owned by the Bureau of Reclamation. The HMWF is overseen by a 15-member Board of Directors, led by Shirley Ann Higuchi, a descendant of Heart Mountain incarcerees. The Board includes former incarcerees, incarceree descendants, scholars and other local and national professionals, all dedicated to social justice, history, and the Japanese American perspective.

Event Title
Heart Mountain Pilgrimage (3 Days: Thu-Sat) Preserve and Memorialize the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confinement Site