Tule Lake National Monument facts for kids

Tule Lake National Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
View of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center
Location in California Show map of California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Northeast side CA 139, Newell, California
Website	Tule Lake National Monument
NRHP reference No.	06000210
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 17, 2006
Designated NHL	February 17, 2006

The Tule Lake National Monument is a special place in Modoc and Siskiyou counties, California. It mainly includes the site of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. This was one of ten concentration camps built in 1942 by the United States government. These camps were used to hold nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forced to leave their homes on the West Coast. More than two-thirds of these people were United States citizens.

In 1943, this facility was renamed the Tule Lake Segregation Center. It became a high-security camp for prisoners who were seen as disloyal or caused problems in other camps. People who protested the unfairness of the camps, including those who answered "no" on a "loyalty questionnaire," were sent here. At its busiest, Tule Lake Segregation Center held 18,700 people, making it the largest and most debated of the ten camps. Over four years, 29,840 people were held there.

After World War II, Tule Lake was used to hold Japanese Americans who were going to be sent to Japan. This included some who had given up their US citizenship because they felt pressured. Many people fought for their rights in court. While many were allowed to stay in the US, they didn't get their citizenship back right away. The camp finally closed on March 20, 1946. Years later, in the 1960s, a group of people who had been held there successfully got their US citizenship restored through court decisions.

California later made the Tule Lake camp site a California Historical Landmark. In 2006, it became a National Historic Landmark. In 2008, President George W. Bush made the Tule Lake Unit part of the new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. This monument marks important places from the war. Besides the camp remains, this unit also includes Tulelake camp and a rock called the Peninsula/Castle Rock. In 2019, the Tule Lake unit became its own separate monument, the Tule Lake National Monument.

Why Tule Lake Was Built

Tule Lake War Relocation Center - Master Layout

In early 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. This order allowed the military to remove certain groups of people from the West Coast during wartime. After the Pearl Harbor attack, military leaders ordered nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed and held. Two-thirds of these people were US citizens. Later studies showed that this decision was based on racism, fear during wartime, and poor political leadership.

The War Relocation Authority (WRA) built ten camps, which they called "relocation centers," in faraway rural areas. The Tule Lake Relocation Center opened on May 27, 1942. It first held about 11,800 Japanese Americans. Most of these people came from areas in California, Washington, and Oregon.

The Tulean Dispatch was a newsletter for the camp. It started in June 1942 and ended in October 1943. This was when Tule Lake became a segregation center. It was the shortest-running newspaper of all the camp newspapers.

The Loyalty Questionnaire

In late 1943, the WRA created a questionnaire to check the loyalty of Japanese Americans in the camps. This "loyalty questionnaire" was first for men old enough for the military. The government wanted to see if they were loyal enough to join the army. Soon, all adults in the ten camps had to fill it out.

Two questions caused a lot of confusion and anger among the prisoners:

• Question 27 asked: "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?"
• 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?"

Young men felt insulted by Question 27. The government had taken away their rights as citizens, and now asked them to risk their lives. Many answered with conditions, like "I'll serve when my family is free," or didn't answer at all.

Many people had problems with Question 28. Many felt insulted that the question suggested they were loyal to Japan. Most US citizens had never even visited Japan. Non-citizens, called Issei, worried they would be sent to Japan no matter how they answered. They also feared that saying "yes" would make the Japanese see them as enemies. Some people, especially those with dual citizenship, worried they would lose their Japanese citizenship. This would leave them stateless if they were forced to leave the US. Some prisoners answered "no" to both questions to protest their imprisonment and loss of rights. Many Issei and Kibei who didn't speak much English simply didn't understand the questions.

Tule Lake Becomes a Segregation Center

Japanese Americans who protested or resisted the unjust World War II detention were segregated and imprisoned at Tule Lake. More than 24,000 men, women and children were confined here.

In 1943, the center was renamed the Tule Lake Segregation Center. The WRA decided to use it to separate prisoners who were thought to be disloyal or who caused trouble. It became a high-security prison and quickly turned into the toughest of the government's 10 camps. Prisoners who answered "yes" to the loyalty questionnaire were allowed to move from Tule Lake to other WRA camps. About 6,500 "loyal" Tule Lake prisoners moved to six other camps.

More than 12,000 Japanese Americans were labeled "disloyal" because of their answers to the loyalty questions. These people were gradually moved to Tule Lake during 1943. The camp became very crowded. Living conditions were poor and unhealthy. There was not enough medical care, bad food, and unsafe or low-paying jobs. These problems led to protests by prisoners at Tule Lake and other camps.

On November 14, after many meetings and protests about the poor conditions, the army took control of Tule Lake. This is called martial law. The army built more barracks in early 1944 for a second group of segregated prisoners. This pushed the population to 18,700. The camp quickly became violent and unsafe. Martial law ended on January 15, 1944. But many prisoners were angry after months of curfews, searches, and limits on fun activities and jobs.

In 1944, a lawyer named Ernest Besig learned about a temporary prison, called a stockade, at Tule Lake. Prisoners were being treated badly and held there for months without fair trials. Besig asked civil rights lawyer Wayne M. Collins for help. Collins used legal threats to get the stockade closed down. A year later, he closed it down for good when it was reopened.

On July 1, 1944, the Renunciation Act of 1944 became law. This law allowed US citizens to give up their citizenship during wartime without leaving the country. Once they did, the government could treat them as enemies and deport them. Many Nisei and Kibei prisoners were angry about how their US citizenship had been abused. They felt there was nothing left for them in the US. Some were also pressured by camp authorities or pro-Japan groups. A total of 5,589 chose to give up their citizenship. Ninety-eight percent of these people were at Tule Lake, where conditions were very harsh.

Internees transplanting celery at Tule Lake War Relocation Center

In 1945, after the war ended, the other nine WRA camps closed. Japanese Americans slowly returned home or moved elsewhere. Tule Lake stayed open to hold those who had given up their citizenship and Issei who had asked to go back to Japan. Most of them no longer wanted to leave the United States. Those who wanted to stay in the US and get their citizenship back were held at Tule Lake. They had hearings to decide their future. After the last cases were decided, the camp closed in March 1946. Even though these Japanese Americans were released, those who had given up their citizenship could not get it back right away. Wayne M. Collins filed a class action suit for them. A judge said their renunciations were not valid because they were made under pressure. But the Department of Justice overturned this ruling.

After a 23-year legal fight, Collins finally helped restore the citizenship of these people in the late 1960s. Collins also helped 3,000 of the 4,327 Japanese Americans who were originally going to be deported to stay in the United States.

Victory for Tule Lake Draft Resisters

Mr. Masaaki Kuwabara (1913–1993)

Some Japanese American men who refused to join the army wanted to use their cases to challenge their imprisonment and loss of rights. The case United States v. Masaaki Kuwabara was the only World War II-era Japanese American draft resistance case that was dismissed because the government violated his rights. This case helped set the stage for later important cases like Korematsu and Ex parte Endo in the Supreme Court.

Judge Louis Earl Goodman helped Masaaki Kuwabara, who was from California. The judge chose a defense attorney for him. This attorney argued that the government had violated Kuwabara's rights as a US citizen. Judge Goodman agreed. He ruled against the United States, which had imprisoned Kuwabara in a camp, called him an "Enemy Alien," and then tried to draft him. Kuwabara had refused to join the army until his rights as an American citizen were given back to him.

Events Since the 1970s

Japanese American activists started looking back at the civil rights issues of the forced removal and imprisonment of their people. In Hawaii, where many Japanese Americans lived, only a few were interned. Japanese American groups began to teach the public and gain support for their cause. They also asked the government for apologies and payments. The Japanese American Citizens League eventually joined this movement.

Pilgrimages to Tule Lake

Since 1974, people have made special trips, called pilgrimages, to Tule Lake. These trips are made by activists who want the US government to officially apologize for the unfair treatment of Japanese Americans. The pilgrimages happen every two years, around the 4th of July, and continue today. They are also used for education.

This movement for justice gained wide support. In 1988, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law. This law included an official government apology for the injustices and payments to those who survived the camps. A similar law was passed in 1992 for more Japanese Americans.

Groups organize these pilgrimages around different themes to help educate people:

• 2000 – 'Honoring our Living Treasures, Forging New Links'
• 2002 – 'As We Revisit the Meaning of Patriotism and Loyalty'
• 2004 – 'Citizens Betrayed'
• 2006 – 'Dignity and Survival in a Divided Community'
• 2009 – 'Shared Remembrances'
• 2010 – 'Untold Stories of Tule Lake'
• 2012 – 'Understanding No-No and Renunciation'

Federal Grant Program

On December 21, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a law creating the Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program. This program set aside $38,000,000 in federal money. This money is used to preserve and explain the history of the Japanese American incarceration sites. This includes temporary sites, the ten WRA camps, and other internment camps.

How the Monument is Managed

Map of the Tule Lake National Monument

The Tule Lake National Monument is managed by two groups: the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). It covers a total area of 1,391 acres (5.63 km²).

The monument has three separate parts:

• The Tule Lake Segregation Center, managed only by the NPS.
• Nearby Camp Tulelake, managed by both the NPS and USFWS. The USFWS owns the land, and the NPS takes care of the buildings and educational programs.
• A rock formation called the Peninsula/Castle Rock, managed only by the USFWS.

Locally, the USFWS duties are handled by the Lava Beds National Monument and the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Notable People Held at Tule Lake

Many important people were held at Tule Lake. Here are some of them:

• Violet Kazue de Cristoforo (1917–2007), a poet.
• Mitsuye Endo (1920–2006), whose Supreme Court case helped Japanese Americans return to the West Coast.
• Mary Matsuda Gruenewald (1925–2021), a writer of memoirs.
• Taneyuki “Dan” Harada (1923–2020), a painter and computer programmer.
• Hiroshi Honda (1910–1970), an American painter.
• Yamato Ichihashi (1878–1963), one of the first Asian professors in the US.
• Emerick Ishikawa (1920–2006), a weightlifting champion.

Recent UC Berkeley valedictorian Harvey Itano at Sacramento Assembly Center in May 1942, prior to his incarceration at Tule Lake

• Harvey Itano (1920–2010), a biochemist known for his work on sickle cell anemia.
• Shizue Iwatsuki (1897–1984), a Japanese American poet.
• Hiroshi Kashiwagi (1922–2019), a poet, playwright, and actor.
• Taky Kimura (1924–2021), a martial arts teacher.
• Daisuke Kitagawa (1910–1970), a reverend and priest.
• Mary Koga (1920–2001), a photographer and social worker.
• Tommy Kono (1930–2016), an Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting.
• Joseph Kurihara (1895–1965), who gave up his citizenship.
• Masaaki Kuwabara (1913–1993), a key person in a draft resistance case.
• William M. Marutani (1923–2004), a lawyer, judge, and commission member.
• Bob Matsui (1941–2005), a US House of Representatives member for 13 terms.
• Toshiko Mayeda (1923–2004), a Japanese American chemist.
• Tsutomu "Jimmy" Mirikitani (1920–2012), an artist and subject of a film.
• Fujimatsu Moriguchi (1898–1962), an American businessman.
• Sadako Moriguchi (1907–2002), an American businesswoman.
• Tomio Moriguchi (born 1936), an American businessman and civil rights activist.
• Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno (born 1945), an American businesswoman.
• Pat Morita (1932–2005), an actor famous for Karate Kid films. He was held as a child.
• Jimmy Murakami (1933–2014), an animator and director.
• George Nakano (born 1935), a former California State Assemblyman.
• Alan Nakanishi (born 1940), a California politician.
• James K. Okubo (1920–1967), a US Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient.
• James Otsuka (1921–1984), a conscientious objector during WWII.
• Otokichi Ozaki (1904–1983), a poet.
• James Sakoda (1916–2005), a psychologist and computer modeling pioneer.
• Minako Sasaki (1943–2023), an actress.
• Toshiyuki Seino (born 1938), an American judo athlete.
• Joan Shigekawa (born 1936), a film producer and arts administrator.
• Yuki Shimoda (1921–1981), an actor.
• Sab Shimono (born 1937), an actor.
• Hana Shimozumi (1893–1978), an American singer.
• Noboru Shirai, author of "Tule Lake: An Issei Memoir."
• Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi (1930–2009), the first Japanese American federal judge.
• George Takei (born 1937), an American actor best known for Star Trek. He was held as a child.
• George T. Tamura (1927–2010), an artist.
• Kazue Togasaki (1897–1992), one of the first Japanese American women doctors.
• Teiko Tomita (1896–1990), a tanka poet.
• Taitetsu Unno (1930–2014), a Buddhist scholar and author.
• Harry Urata (1917–2009), a music teacher.
• Jimi Yamaichi, a Tule Lake survivor and draft resister who shares his memories.
• Koho Yamamoto (born 1922), an American artist.
• Takuji Yamashita (1874–1959), an early civil rights pioneer.
• Kenneth Yasuda (1914–2002), a scholar and translator.
• David Ikeda (1920–2015), a painter and store owner.

Understanding the Words We Use

Since World War II ended, people have debated the words used to describe Tule Lake and other camps where Japanese Americans were held. Tule Lake has been called a "relocation camp," "relocation center," "internment camp," "concentration camp," and "segregation center." This debate continues today. Activists and scholars believe that government terms like "relocation" and "internment" are softer words for forced removal and concentration camps.

In 1998, the term "concentration camps" gained more acceptance. This happened before an exhibit about the Japanese American imprisonment opened at Ellis Island. At first, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the National Park Service didn't want the term used. But after a meeting, Japanese American and Jewish American leaders agreed on using the term. They released a joint statement that was part of the exhibit:

A concentration camp is a place where people are imprisoned not because of any crimes they have committed, but simply because of who they are. Although many groups have been singled out for such persecution throughout history, the term 'concentration camp' was first used at the turn of the century in the Spanish–American and Boer Wars. During World War II, America's concentration camps were clearly distinguishable from Nazi Germany's. Nazi camps were places of torture, barbarous medical experiments and summary executions; some were extermination centers with gas chambers. Six million Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust. Many others, including Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals and political dissidents were also victims of the Nazi concentration camps. In recent years, concentration camps have existed in the former Soviet Union, Cambodia and Bosnia. Despite differences, all had one thing in common: the people in power removed a minority group from the general population and the rest of society let it happen.

The New York Times also supported using "concentration camp" for the exhibit. Jonathan Mark, a columnist for The Jewish Week, wrote, "Can no one else speak of slavery, gas, trains, camps? It's Jewish malpractice to monopolize pain and minimize victims." David A. Harris, from the AJC, said, "We have not claimed Jewish exclusivity for the term 'concentration camps.'"

On July 7, 2012, the National Council of the Japanese American Citizens League agreed to the Power of Words Handbook. This handbook asks for "truthful and accurate terms" and to stop using misleading words. It aims to describe the denial of rights, harsh conditions, and racism against 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans held in America's World War II concentration camps.