Wyoming Heart Mountain Foundation to Present ‘Joy at Heart Mountain’ Nov. 18

The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF) is coming to the University of Wyoming, Tuesday, Nov. 18, as part of International Education Week.

Aura Sunada Newlin, executive director of HMWF, and Haruka Takaku, Japan Outreach Institute coordinator, will present “Joy at Heart Mountain: Building Connections and Reclaiming Culture at a WWII Japanese American Incarceration Site.” Join the Center for Global Studies from 4-5:30 p.m. at the College of Business’ Scarlet Auditorium. The presentation is part of International Education Week and open to the public.

Between 1942 and 1945, some 14,000 people of Japanese ancestry were unjustly incarcerated at the Heart Mountain camp between Cody and Powell. Located on the camp site, HMWF operates a nationally acclaimed museum and retreat center. It also preserves the camp’s few remaining structures. Now a Smithsonian Affiliate, the site is emerging as a hub for cross-community discussions about democracy, heritage, civil discourse and the rule of law.

During their presentation, Newlin and Takaku will discuss how the HMWF is converting what was once a place of rupture into a place of connection. Specifically, they will share how Takaku’s role is enabling Heart Mountain to honor incarcerees’ heritage by offering Japanese cultural programming and deepening connections between Wyoming and Japan.

Newlin is a fourth-generation Wyomingite, fourth-generation Japanese American and executive director for the HMWF. Her heritage involves intertwined stories of imprisonment at Heart Mountain and Tule Lake, segregated military service, and hardships suffered by railroaders who were fired because of their Japanese ancestry. Newlin earned both her doctorate and master’s in anthropology from Case Western Reserve University and received her bachelor’s degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Wyoming. Her work has been profiled by the Women in Wyoming podcast and gallery exhibit, UW’s Featured Alumni series and Wyoming PBS.

Takaku is from Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international studies from Meiji Gakuin University, and she spent her school life traveling throughout Japan and abroad during every long vacation. Before joining the Heart Mountain staff in August 2024, Takaku worked at Meiji Gakuin’s International Peace Research Institute. She also coordinated and led international excursions through a travel agency specializing in educational tours and worked as a conference coordinator.