Tule Lake monument and the redress commission debate

Vol. 88, No. 44, May 25, 1979. 12 pages. View this issue

A stone monument at the Tule Lake camp site was nearing completion ahead of its May 27 dedication, and the plaque’s phrase “concentration camp” had upset some residents of the Tulelake-Newell area. Redress was the other main subject. Press conferences were held in four cities, and John Tateishi explained why the Redress Committee chose a commission approach. Martin Matsudaira and Masaaki Sumida offered other views, and JACL answered Senator Hayakawa’s claims about the wartime incarceration (often called internment).

Elsewhere, Clifford Uyeda recalled his summers in Alaskan canneries, and Bill Hosokawa wrote about returning to Singapore. Joseph D. Harrington’s Yankee Samurai chapter followed Nisei linguists on Okinawa. A U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report on bilingual education, Vietnamese refugees in Texas, and a bank joining the Diamond-1000 Club also appeared.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Monument at Tule Lake stirs controversy in area, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Construction of a stone monument marking the Tule Lake camp site is nearing completion ahead of a May 27 dedication. The plaque’s use of the term “concentration camp” has provoked unhappiness among some residents of the Tulelake-Newell area.
• Redress phase two: The commission approach, by John Tateishi, page 3. Tateishi explains why the Redress Committee chose a commission approach, arguing a direct appropriations bill would fail in the current Congress. He says the two-step strategy first seeks congressional findings on the Evacuation, then compensation legislation.

National

• Commission finds minority educators disenchanted with bilingual enforcement, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report says minority educators, including Asian Pacific Americans, are generally disenchanted with federal efforts to enforce bilingual education rules. The report urges a single high-level official to coordinate desegregation enforcement.
• Press conferences on redress held, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Redress press conferences were held on May 9 in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles alongside a Washington Post open letter to Sen. S.I. Hayakawa. Speakers at each event addressed media on the wartime incarceration and redress demands.
• New postal rate hits PC again, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Citizen faces a new second-class postage increase that adds to its existing $1,200 weekly mailing bill. The editor expects the charge to rise another 25-30 percent.

Community

• Vietnamese in Texas cling to culture, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Vietnamese refugee families in Grand Prairie, Texas, converted a former barbecue restaurant into a Buddhist temple where children are tutored in their language. Parents working low-paying jobs struggle to keep the culture alive among their Americanizing children.
• New Englanders discuss own plan for Day of Remembrance, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nisei in New England met at the University of Massachusetts to plan steps supporting redress and a local Day of Remembrance. Another meeting in June is planned and New York area participants are invited.
• Sumitomo Bank of Calif. joins Diamond-1000 Club, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sumitomo Bank of California became the first JACL Diamond Club corporate member, presenting a $1,000 check to National JACL President Dr. Clifford Uyeda. The bank has long supported local Japanese American community activities.
• Chicago testimonial planned for Kohachiro Sugimoto, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Kohachiro Sugimoto, publisher of the Chicago Shimpo, will be honored at a June 2 testimonial banquet. The article recounts his career, wartime incarceration, and decades of community service.
• Workers in Japan face shock: unemployment, by P.C. Staff, page 12. Japanese workers are confronting job insecurity as major firms cut staff and end guaranteed promotions after decades of economic growth. Mid-career retirement is replacing traditional seniority systems.

Commentary

• Seattle challenges on Redress, by Martin Matsudaira, page 3. The author argues that a Congressional commission approach to redress risks mobilizing opposition and substituting for community campaigning. He contends the community should keep control of the campaign rather than cede it to a commission.
• Semantic nonsense or thought provocation: Rest of nation gains when Hayakawa focus wrong, by Masaaki Sumida, page 3. The columnist argues that Senator Hayakawa’s controversial statements, though flawed, prompt the nation to reexamine wartime incarceration and civil rights. He suggests JACL is using public debate to achieve what courts have not.
• President’s Corner: Alaska, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. Uyeda recalls his summers working in Alaskan canneries during the 1930s, describing the primitive steerage quarters and the Issei labor contractors. He also reflects on a 1969 return trip and the landscape’s enduring beauty.
• Ye Editor’s Desk: Gasoline crunch in Southland, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. Honda examines how California’s gasoline shortage may force JACL to restructure district councils and hold sub-district meetings. He notes the crisis has already disrupted several planned events.
• Letter: JACL leadership, page 4. A reader calls on past national JACL presidents to offer guidance and urges keeping young leaders in charge. The letter stresses unity and pride in the JACL and Nikkei community.
• JACL rebuttal to Senator Hayakawa, page 4. JACL rebuts Senator Hayakawa’s claims that the wartime evacuation was for Japanese Americans’ protection and that Pearl Harbor justified it. The statement argues the redress issue concerns constitutional guarantees rather than money.
• East Wind: Or, ’til the end of time, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Marutani responds to readers about the Japanese national anthem, with Douglass Kendall providing a detailed explanation of the kanji and lyrics. The column reproduces the official English translation.
• From the Frying Pan: Singapore revisited, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa and his wife return to Singapore after decades, finding their old neighborhood transformed but their former bungalow still standing. He reflects on the hardships of their 1938 venture abroad and the value of youthful adventure.
• Chiaroscuro: Nikkei politics, by David K. Takashima, page 6. Takashima observes that the Nikkei community is becoming more politically engaged, citing new political clubs and Congressman Matsui’s election. He urges the community not to rely solely on Nisei legislators and provides a list of pending California bills of interest.

Military & Veterans

• Yankee Samurai: Spring of 1945, MIS combat activity crescendos in Okinawa, by Joseph D. Harrington, page 9. Harrington describes Nisei linguists on Ie Shima and Okinawa interrogating civilians, rescuing infants, and coaxing enemy holdouts from caves. The chapter details the difficulties of Okinawan dialect and the courage of individual soldiers.

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