DENVER (KDVR) — It has been 80 years since an executive order forced the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Colorado leaders are now reflecting on the state’s role during a dark chapter in American history, and how we can learn from the mistakes of the past.

The Amache National Historic Site, a former Japanese American internment facility near Granada in the Eastern Plains, is one step closer to being a part of the National Park System after being introduced by Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper back in 2021. The Amache National Historic Site Act just recently passed the Senate unanimously.

On Friday, Amache survivors, descendants, representatives from the National Parks Conservations Associations and Colorado lawmakers participated in a roundtable with U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to discuss the significance of the bill that now moves to the president’s desk, following unanimous passage by the House of Representatives Friday morning.

“I have been to that site several times and it has been maintained really by volunteers from the town of Granada, but the school principal and by his students who have been taken care of this for decades really,” Bennet said during an interview on FOX31 NOW.

Amache was one of 10 illegal internment camps established during World War II. It saw over 10,000 Japanese Americans pass through, and over 7,000 forcibly lived there following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Granada has generously donated the land to the National Park Service, and I think it’s vital that the American people understand the really dark chapter in our history, and it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity for Southeastern Colorado to continue to play a role in articulating our nation’s history,” Bennet said.

You can watch the full roundtable on FOX31 NOW in the player above.