Tule Lake Segregation Center National Monument was an
internmentInternment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of ‘interning’; confinement within the limits of a country or place"...
camp in the northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
town of
NewellNewell is an unincorporated community in Modoc County, California in the United States. It is located west-northwest of Alturas, at an elevation of 4042 feet ....
near
Tule LakeTule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County, California, along the border with Oregon. It is fed by the Lost River....
. It was used in the
Japanese American internmentJapanese American internment refers to the forcible relocation and internment in 1942 of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese residing in the United States to housing facilities called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The internment of...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was one of the largest and most controversial of the camps, and did not close until after the war, in 1946. In December 2008 it was chosen by President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
as one of nine sites—the only one in the contiguous 48 states—to be part of the new
World War II Valor in the Pacific National MonumentThe World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument is a United States national monument honoring several aspects of American engagement in World War II. It encompasses 9 sites in 3 states totaling :...
.
Among the Japanese Americans interned at Tule Lake were internees from other camps who refused to take a vow of undivided loyalty to the U.S.
Tule Lake Segregation Center National Monument was an
internmentInternment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of ‘interning’; confinement within the limits of a country or place"...
camp in the northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
town of
NewellNewell is an unincorporated community in Modoc County, California in the United States. It is located west-northwest of Alturas, at an elevation of 4042 feet ....
near
Tule LakeTule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County, California, along the border with Oregon. It is fed by the Lost River....
. It was used in the
Japanese American internmentJapanese American internment refers to the forcible relocation and internment in 1942 of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese residing in the United States to housing facilities called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The internment of...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was one of the largest and most controversial of the camps, and did not close until after the war, in 1946. In December 2008 it was chosen by President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
as one of nine sites—the only one in the contiguous 48 states—to be part of the new
World War II Valor in the Pacific National MonumentThe World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument is a United States national monument honoring several aspects of American engagement in World War II. It encompasses 9 sites in 3 states totaling :...
.
History
Among the Japanese Americans interned at Tule Lake were internees from other camps who refused to take a vow of undivided loyalty to the U.S. and were sent to this "Segregation Camp," or had given answers on the loyalty questionnaire that suggested they were untrustworthy or security risks. As a result, it had the highest level of security of any of the camps.
At the beginning of the internment, Japanese Americans and resident aliens of Japanese descent were given a questionnaire to determine their loyalty to the United States. Question 27 on the questionnaire asked, "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?" while question 28 asked, "Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?"
A number of those who were sent to Tule Lake had found the loyalty oath's questions confusing, while others, certain that they were to be deported to Japan no matter how they had answered, feared that answering the questions in the affirmative would cause them to be seen as enemy aliens by the Japanese. Others chose to answer "no" to both questions in protest of their imprisonment.
Some of the Tule Lake internees had participated in demonstrations against the internment policy at other camps. Many residents had renounced their U.S. citizenship, often due to deception or coercion. Most of the Tule Lake renunciants later had their citizenship restored, largely through the vigorous efforts of civil rights attorney
Wayne M. CollinsWayne M. Collins was a civil rights attorney who worked on cases related to the Japanese American evacuation and internment.-Biography:Collins was born in Sacramento, California and was raised and educated in San Francisco....
.
Unsanitary, squalid living conditions, inadequate medical care, poor food, and unsafe working conditions had prompted protests at several camps. In November 1943 a series of meetings and protests over poor living conditions at Tule Lake prompted the Army to impose martial law over the camp.
Starting in 1974, Tule Lake was the site of several pilgrimages by activists calling for an official apology from the U.S. government. This Redress Movement culminated in the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 is a United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese-Americans who had been interned by the United States government during World War II. The act was sponsored by California's Democratic Congressman Norman Mineta, an internee as a child, and Wyoming's...
. The pilgrimages, serving educational purposes, continue to this day.
On December 21, 2006 U.S. President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
signed H.R. 1492 into law guaranteeing $38,000,000 in federal money to restore the Tule Lake relocation center along with nine other former Japanese internment camps.
Notable internees
- Violet Kazue de Cristoforo
Violet Kazue de Cristoforo was a Japanese American poet and composer of haiku. Her haiku reflected the time that she and her family spent in detention in Japanese internment camps during World War II. She wrote more than a dozen books of poetry during her lifetime...
(1917–2007), a Japanese American poet. Also interned at JeromeThe Jerome War Relocation Center was a Japanese American internment camp located in southeastern Arkansas near the tiny town of Jerome. Open from October 1942 until June 1944, it was the last relocation camp to open and the first to close; at one point it contained as many as 8,497 inhabitants.,...
.
- Yamato Ichihashi
Yamato Ichihashi was one of the first academics of Asian ancestry in the United States. Ichihashi wrote a comprehensive account of his experiences as an internee at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center where he was imprisoned in World War II along with other relocated Japanese Americans.Ichihashi...
(1878–1963), one of the first academics of Asian ancestry in the United States.
- Harvey Itano
Harvey Akio Itano is an American biochemist best known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases. In collaboration with Linus Pauling, Itano used electrophoresis to demonstrate the difference between normal hemoglobin and sickle cell hemoglobin; their 1949 paper...
(born 1920), American biochemist best known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases.
- Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi is a Nisei poet, playwright and actor. For his writing and performance work on stage he is considered an early pioneer of Asian American theatre.-Biography:...
(born 1922), a poet, playwright and actor.
- Bob Matsui
Robert Takeo Matsui was an American politician from the state of California. Matsui was a member of the Democratic Party and served 13 terms in the U.S...
(1941–2005), a 13-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Jimmy Murakami
Teruaki "Jimmy" Murakami, , is a Japanese American animator and director with a long career working in numerous countries. Among his best-known works are the animated adaptations of the Raymond Briggs books When the Wind Blows and The Snowman...
(born 1933), a Japanese American animator and director.
- Yuki Shimoda
Yuki Shimoda was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week, "Farewell to Manzanar" in 1976. He also co-starred in a 1960s television series, "Johnny Midnight" , with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of the silver screen, early television and the...
(1921–1981), an actor.
- Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi
Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi was a United States federal judge.-Early life:Takasugi was born in Tacoma, Washington. When he was 12 years old, he and his family were interned in the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, part of the World War II internment of 130,000 Japanese Americans.After the war,...
(1930–2009), first Japanese-American appointed to the federal bench.
- George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an Japanese American actor, best known for his role in the television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. He played the father of Hiro Nakamura, Kaito Nakamura, on the NBC television show Heroes...
(born 1937), an American actor best known for his role in Star Trek.
- George T. Tamura
George T. Tamura is a Japanese American artist.In 1942, soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor , Tamura and his family were interned in the Japanese American internment camp, Tule Lake Relocation Center in Northern California. Tamura was fifteen...
(born 1927), an artist.
- Takuji Yamashita
Takuji Yamashita , born in Yawatahama on Ehime, Shikoku, Japan, was a civil-rights campaigner. In spite of social and legal barriers, he directly challenged three major barriers against Asians in the United States: citizenship, joining a profession, and owning land.-Biography:Yamashita emigrated to...
(1874–1959), an early 20th century civil rights pioneer. Also interned at Minidoka and ManzanarManzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
.
See also
- Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
War Relocation Center
- Marvin Opler
- The Cats of Mirikitani
The Cats of Mirikitani is a documentary film originally released in 2006.-Synopsis:In 2001, Japanese American painter Jimmy Mirikitani, over 80 years old, is living in the streets of lower Manhattan. Filmmaker Hattendorf takes an interest, and begins to engage with him to create a documentary of...
Documentary about Jimmy Mirikitani
External links
Written works about Tule Lake
- To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei
To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu is an autobiography by actor George Takei, first published by Pocket Books in 1994. Takei describes his early childhood and the time his family spent in Japanese American internment, and experiences which shaped his motivation...
, autobiography of actor George TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an Japanese American actor, best known for his role in the television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. He played the father of Hiro Nakamura, Kaito Nakamura, on the NBC television show Heroes...
, who was interned (as a child) at Tule Lake because of the answers which his mother had given on the infamous "Loyalty Questionnaire."
"The Climate of the Country" by Marnie Mueller. http://www.curbstone.org/bookdetail.cfm?BookID=67