The Tule Lake Committee announces an in-person Tule Lake Pilgrimage this July 5-8.
Registration materials will be posted on Feb. 19 at www.tulelake.org.
“We look forward to seeing old and new friends at the 2024 pilgrimage to Tule Lake,” said Hiroshi Shimizu, pilgrimage chair. “However, we continue to face challenges caused by the persistence of COVID. With masking, vaccinations and testing, we can protect one another and have another ‘best ever’ pilgrimage.”
The number of spaces for 2024 pilgrims is also impacted by COVID, as those registered for the 2020 pilgrimage — which was canceled due to COVID — are offered pre-registration this year. They have until Jan. 31 to complete registration and payment if they wish to join the 2024 pilgrimage.
Remaining spaces in the 2024 pilgrimage community will be prioritized for survivors and descendants of Tule Lake and those who want to help preserve the historic Tule Lake Segregation Center site.
Tule Lake is unique among the 10 War Relocation Authority concentration camps, converted into the only maximum-security segregation center used to imprison and punish over 12,000 Japanese Americans who said “no” to America’s injustice.
“In today’s political climate, Tule Lake is evidence of the threat to democracy caused by racist, anti-immigrant hysteria and greed,” says Shimizu. “This is a sacred place that tells an American story of protest against injustice, a place that should be cherished, not bulldozed, fenced off and erased.”
Pilgrimage registration forms should be completed and snail-mailed. Payment is by check only. The registration fee is $650 per person. For those needing assistance, grants are offered that will defray up to $300 of the registration fee. The fee is all-inclusive and covers charter bus transportation, lodging, meals and all activities during the four-day pilgrimage.
If you lack Internet access and need registration forms mailed to you, or if you want more information, contact Shimizu at (415) 317-2686 or hshimizu@pacbell.net.
“We expect registration to fill very quickly this year, and encourage families of survivors and descendants of Tule Lake and those who share our passion to preserve Tule Lake’s social justice history to complete their registrations promptly,” pilgrimage organizers said.
Pilgrimage Details
Pilgrimage participants travel together in deluxe, chartered buses that depart from San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Union City, Sacramento, Seattle and Portland.
Accommodations are dormitory rooms at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. There are two housing options: standard double-occupancy rooms are included in the registration fee; a single-occupancy room is an extra $50 per person. Rooms in the four-bedroom/four-person air-conditioned Village Apartments cost an extra $100 per room/per person. The apartments have no elevators and are further from the main activity building.
Activities over the four-day pilgrimage include a tour of the Tule Lake concentration camp site and a memorial service. Intergenerational discussion groups and open forums provide an occasion to learn, share experiences and help heal the multi-generational wounds of the incarceration.
The final night’s closing cultural program is held at the Ross Ragland Theater in downtown Klamath Falls.