In February of 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which resulted in the internment of 120,000 people of Japanese Ancestry, 2/3 of whom were U.S. citizens. One of the camps that these people were sent to was Tule Lake. At the beginning of the internment the internees were forced to answer a questions that intended to separate the "loyal" Japanese Americans from the "disloyal" Japanese Americans. Tule Lake was set aside for those Japanese Americans that were judged to be disloyal. Because of the supposed disloyalty of its prisoners the policies concerning resistance to internment and War Relocation Authority were extremely strict, leading to army occupation, violence and martial law. In March of 1946 Tule Lake closed.
By the 1960's Japanese Americans who began to participate in the Civil Rights Movement began to organize pilgrimages to Tule Lake. Since 1974 nine pilgrimages have been made by students and community activists.
In 1988, because of the active participation and support in the remembrance of the internment camps and the fight to obtain redress, an official apology and a $20, 000 compensation was awarded through the signing of the civil liberties act.
In remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the closing of Tule Lake, the Tule Lake Committee, the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations and the Sansei Legacy Project are sponsoring a pilgrimage to Tule Lake. This pilgrimage will be a unique opportunity to share stories about experiences in the internment camps or to learn more about others' experiences there. People of all ages, ethnicities, religions and camps are welcome to share this experience. The trip begins with a bus ride up to Tule Lake Internment Camp, which offers time for people to meet others. The Tule Lake Pilgrimage, as in past years, will include tours of the internment camp site as well as an original barrack and the stockade. Everyone will have the opportunity to see various landmarks at Tule Lake including Abalone Mountain (pictured above), Castle Rock, as well as the foundations of the numerous barracks and the bathhouse. Other activities included are cultural programs and an interfaith memorial service for those who died in the internment camp, as well as intergenerational discussions, oral history sessions and a slide show of Tule Lake.
Overall, the Tule Lake Pilgrimage is an opportunity for anyone interned in the camp to share his/her camp experience and it is also a chance for people of other generations and ethnic groups to learn about the internment experience so that it may be prevented from happening again.
For more information contact:
L. Shoji Chin
415-493-0521
e-mail: snakash220@aol.com
Donna Kato, "Ex-internees visit Site Of Shame," San Jose Mercury News, Sunday, 29 September 1991, Morning Final, California News, p. B Donna Kato, "Pilgrimage to the Past: Japanese Americans Return to Tule Lake to Reclaim their Emotions and Close a Painful Chapter," San Joe Mercury News, Sunday, 6 October 1991, Morning Final, Living Sec., p. 1L Donna Kato, "The Story of Another Generation Helped Me to Rediscover My Own," San Jose Mercury News, Sunday, 6 Oct 1991, Morning Final, Living Sec., p. 1L Donna Kato, "Tule Lake's Background," San Jose Mercury News, Sunday, 6 October 1991, Morning Final, Living Sec., p. 82
Erin Kimura
