My Poston Pilgrimage Experience (Part 2 of 3)
There was so much to unpack that I recount my experience over three blog posts! Be sure to go read part 1, enjoy part 2 here, and then part 3 to learn about my whole experience.
The Monument
After the museum visit, we drove out to the Memorial Monument in Poston, about 15 miles from the museum. Dedicated in 1992 to commemorate 50 years since the camp’s opening, it is in the area of Poston Camp 1, where all 10 of my family members were held. The monument was a collaboration between CRIT donating the land and Japanese Americans raising the funds to build it. Many plaques surround the monument sharing the history of this land and the Japanese Americans who were forced to live there. The hexagon base represents a Japanese stone lantern, and the 30 ft. tall concrete pillar symbolizes “unity in spirit.” Perhaps, a deep spirit of community was one outcome of this incarceration camp - people living in close quarters, depending on each other for relationships, and holding hope that this would be a short season of their lives.
The memorial brick program was launched in 2017 for camp survivors and descendants to sponsor inscribed bricks to remember the courage and perseverance of Poston residents.
I sponsored one for my Munemitsu family and one for my mother’s Sasaki family. Right before I left home, I thought of bringing pictures of my family and this seemed the perfect time and place to remember them by name and by face. Every one of the Poston residents have their own story and I’m forever grateful that our family endured, persevered, and were able to move back to the family farm. Many had no homes to go back to and the end of camp was just the beginning of many hardships they had to face.
Off to dinner, we had a great meal at Tienda Caliente, a Mexican meat shop and restaurant. Best chips, authentic salsa and the fajitas were really delicious. If not for a scheduled dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, I would have gone back twice more to try more of the menu.
Friday: Welcome & Workshops
Most of the pilgrims arrived on Thursday night and Friday, so registration began Friday morning as did sales of Pilgrimage souvenirs, display tables and workshops.
Marlene had asked me to do a workshop on “Putting Together Your Family Story” and I did 4 sessions during the weekend. I had put together a resource packet of websites and organizations that were helpful to me. I had no idea how much the audience would know or want to know. We had some great discussions as I kept my presentation to 30 minutes and asked the audience to share resources that were helpful to them. It was a great exchange of resources, ideas, and sharing family history that had been uncovered.
The Friday night program featured two of my friends - Wayne and Shane. Wayne Osako of Stamp Our Story, the campaign for the 2021 stamp of the WWII “Go For Broke” Japanese American Soldiers, shared about the stamp and the process to make it a reality, years in the making. They also had the local Parker postmaster there to hand “cancel” the stamps as a memento of the pilgrimage. You can learn more at www.niseistamp.org.
The Go For Broke Spirit, the amazing work of photographer Shane Sato, were also displayed for sale. Shane, for over 20 years, photographed Japanese American veterans of the 442nd/100th/MIS who served during WWII. It is a significant collection of difficult history told beautifully.
In addition, there were a number of survivors who were born or lived in the camps as children and youth attending. Louise Nishikawa, a healthy 99 years old, and her son, Reid Nishikawa, shared some of her memories of the camp when she was a teenager. What a beautiful gathering of these men and women who endured so much as children and youth to come back to recount history to us, so this history will not repeat itself for any people or race.
There was so much to unpack that I recount my experience over three blog posts! Be sure to go read part 1, enjoy part 2 here, and then part 3 to learn about my whole experience.
In the Press
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