This year, the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition has been preparing for educational programs, exhibit materials and a booklet for a tour in the United Kingdom.
Board members Nancy Takayama and Conrad Caspari initiated the project with Professor Rachel Pistol. who is a digital historian and author of modern British and American history.
Retired Professor Russell Endo of the University of Colorado, whose grandfather, Heigoro, was held in Tuna Canyon, wrote the following introduction for the opening at Southampton University on Nov, 17:
“When the United States entered World War II on Dec. 7, 1941, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies began arresting Japanese, German, and Italian immigrant community leaders who were seen as threats to national security. This was done in response to three presidential proclamations which derived their authority from the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
“In addition, because of agreements with Latin American governments, thousands of men, women, and children from 18 countries were sent to internment camps in the United States. Over the course of the war, a total of about 16,800 Japanese, 11,000 Germans, and 3,300 Italians were incarcerated in accordance with these presidential proclamations.”
The book “Tuna Canyon Detention Station” is based on primary sources such as diaries, letters, pictures, and interviews. Descendants of the detainees have participated in Legacy Projects I and II to further understanding of this dark part of American history.
Tuna Canyon President Kyoko Nancy Oda said, “The exhibit is our educational outreach that will be accessible to a whole new global audience. We are bringing a large collection of virtual programs to accompany the exhibit.
“Our goal is to remember the 2,000 men and some women detained just 14 miles from L.A. City Hall. Although we have been awarded Los Angeles City Historic Cultural Monument #1039, there is no monument or place to reflect on the injustices that occurred then and even today.”
The new exhibit has been fabricated in the U.K. by JCRR Design and funded by the British Association of American Studies.
The book project was funded by the UCLA Aratani CARE grant. Copies can be ordered online for a donation at www.tunacanyon.org. There is also a downloadable PDF of the book.
Tuna Canyon Detention Station is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to illuminate the U.S. government’s World War II incarceration of Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants and others at Tuna Canyon so that such injustice is never again experienced by any group.