We, the Wakasa Memorial Committee, are issuing this public call to action and cooperation, with the goal of having the community move forward to protect and preserve the Wakasa sacred site and its memorial stone, the most significant artifact discovered in any of the WWII Japanese American concentration camps. Four years ago, the Topaz Museum, in Delta, Utah, whose mission is to preserve the Topaz concentration camp, forcibly removed the murder memorial from its site and relocated it to the grounds of the museum. This was done without archaeological supervision or the participation of the Japanese American community.

[Note: this is an abridged version of a longer letter. To read the full version, click here.]

Four years later, the hallowed site remains unprotected. The stone has never been the subject of collaborative community discussion. In a time in which the telling of historical truths is under unprecedented attack, the story that the Wakasa memorial stone is telling is under threat. With the Topaz Museum Board in the preliminary stages of hiring its first executive director, this is a critical moment in determining the future of the site, the stone, and how our history is told. 

We are calling on the Topaz Museum to respond to five proposals, which are stated towards the end of this letter.

We are survivors and descendants of the Topaz concentration camp, other members of the Japanese American community, and allies, who came together in alarm over the Topaz Museum’s 2021 preemptive actions. Our members and advisors include scholars, archaeologists, museum and preservation professionals, civil rights leaders, writers, artists, filmmakers, and activists. We are committed to professional preservation and interpretation of the Wakasa site and stone; the centering of survivor and descendant voices; and incorporating collaborative community input and public education.

On April 11, 1943, James Hatsuaki Wakasa, 63, was walking his dog at Topaz when he was shot and killed by a watchtower guard. His fellow prisoners erected a stone memorial at the site of his murder. When the U.S. government ordered it destroyed, the prisoners chose, instead, to bury it. The stone remained hidden for nearly 80 years, until September 2020, when it was identified by two archaeologists visiting the site.

Ten months later, on July 27, 2021, a backhoe company working at the direction of the Topaz Museum dug up the monument; the stone was dragged out, trucked to the Museum, and deposited next to the museum building, where it remains today. 

Since then, the WMC has made repeated requests of the Topaz Museum for steps to be taken to professionally protect and preserve the stone and the site, for information about the removal to be made public, and to partner with the WMC on community education and engagement. We are still waiting for a response. This threatens to leave a lasting stain on their legacy and a permanent undermining of community trust.

We call for the following: 

Community archaeology: Carry out a community archaeology project modeled after those pioneered by the National Park Service unit at Manzanar, California, where local people, students and camp survivors and descendants are invited to work under the supervision of a professional in an investigation of the Wakasa site. 

Transparency: Release the videos of the 2021 excavation for the sake of the historical and archaeological record and so the public can understand what occurred and learn from it. Transparency is the basis for building trust and preventing future mishaps.

Professional Standards: All work should meet professional archaeological, conservation and interpretation standards so that the Topaz Museum will be a trusted place for discussion and the truthful telling of history. 

Inclusive Decision-Making: Let’s talk. In four years, there has never been a formal meeting between board members and community members, including our committee members who deeply care about this history; whose advocacy is supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and who have presented at national conferences on the Wakasa Monument to record our WWII history and its relevance today.  

Formal Partnership Framework: Create a clear, professional path for a partnership to ensure that both the museum’s institutional needs and the community’s cultural concerns are addressed.

The Wakasa Memorial Committee and the Topaz Museum want the same things: to preserve this sacred memorial stone and site, to honor James Wakasa’s memory, and to ensure that future generations learn from our shared American story. We call on the Topaz Museum and the community to join together to ensure that this happens, without further delay. Time is running out.

*Although the letter sign-on ended October 31, 2025—the 80th anniversary of the closing of Topaz—we are continuing to welcome signatures and support. Scroll to the end to sign the letter. Visit our website to receive our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. Contact us to let us know how you would like to support efforts to preserve Japanese American history.

In solidarity, 

Wakasa Memorial Committee, Advisory Committee, and Supporters

[header image: Yoshinori Asai, Wakasa Spirit Stone, Topaz, April 12, 2024]

Wakasa Memorial Committee

Patrick Hayashi, Topaz survivor; Ph.D. Public Policy - University of California, Berkeley; Artist; Associate President (Emeritus) - University of California System; Founding board member - California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund

Kiyoshi Ina, Topaz, Tule Lake, Crystal City survivor; Bismarck, ND, Santa Fe, NM, descendant

Hiroshi Shimizu, Topaz, Tule Lake, Crystal City survivor

Chizu Omori, Poston survivor

Emiko Omori, Poston survivor

Paul Tomita, Puyallup, Minidoka survivor 

Lauren Araki, Topaz descendant; Mile High JACL Board Member

Midori Hogg, Topaz descendant

Claudia Katayanagi, Topaz descendant

Mari Matsumoto, Topaz, Poston descendant

Glenn Mitsui, Topaz, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain descendant; Artist and Filmmaker

Gail Nanbu, Topaz descendant

Barbara Suyehiro, Topaz descendant

Diana Emiko Tsuchida, Topaz, Tule Lake descendant

Nancy Ukai, Topaz descendant

Julie Abo, Minidoka, Tule Lake descendant

Paula Fujiwara, Tule Lake descendant; MD, MPH

Janis Hirohama, Poston descendant 

Karen Kiyo Lowhurst, Heart Mountain descendant

Erin Shigaki, Artist, Minidoka descendant, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee co-chair, Tsuru for Solidarity

Brandon Shimoda, Fort Missoula, Heart Mountain, Poston descendant; poet/writer, Assistant Professor, Colorado College

Barbara Takei, Tule Lake descendant

Bif Brigman, Historian, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee past co-chair

Mary M. Farrell, retired U.S. Forest Service archaeologist

James E. Russell, PhD Anthropology 

Wakasa Memorial Committee Advisory Council 

Stacey Camp, Archaeologist; Director of the Campus Archaeology Program; Associate Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University

Marian Carpenter, John & Neville Bryan Senior Director of Museum Collections, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Bruce Embrey, Manzanar descendant, co-chair, Manzanar Committee

Art Hansen, Professor Emeritus History, Asian American Studies, California State University, Fullerton

Donald Teruo Hata, Gila River survivor, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University, Dominguez Hills

Tom Ikeda, Minidoka descendant, Densho Founding Executive Director

Satsuki Ina, Tule Lake, Crystal City survivor; Topaz, Bismarck, ND, Santa Fe, NM, descendant

Japanese American Citizens League, Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District

Tetsuden Kashima, Topaz survivor, Professor Emeritus, American Ethnic Studies Department and Sociology, University of Washington

Dr. Karen Korematsu, Topaz descendant, Founder & Executive Director Fred T. Korematsu Institute

Michelle G. Magalong, Assistant Professor, Historic Preservation at University of Maryland; Former executive director of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation

Roger Shimomura, Minidoka survivor, Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Renee Tajima-Peña, Heart Mountain/Tule Lake/Gila River Descendant,UCLA Professor of Asian American Studies; Filmmaker

Masako Takahashi, Topaz survivor, Artist, Takahashi Family Foundation

Karen Umemoto, Manzanar descendant, UCLA Professor of Asian American Studies and Urban Planning

Duncan Ryūken Williams, Buddhist Priest, Professor of Religion/American Studies & Ethnicity, University of Southern California

Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, survivors, descendants of the Japanese American incarceration (Minidoka and other prison sites), as well as allies

Tule Lake Committee, Tule Lake survivors and descendants

Japanese American Citizens League, Florin-Sacramento Valley Chapter

Puyallup Valley JACL

Asian & Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation

Mata Ashita: The Japanese Canadian Writing Circle, organized by Yonsei descendants of JC incarceration

New York Day of Remembrance Committee, Japanese American incarceration survivors, descendants, and allies

Japanese American Citizens League, Mile High (Denver) Chapter, our chapter membership consists of many descendants, including Topaz.

Sakura Foundation, Colorado nonprofit rooted in the Japanese and Japanese American experience

Japanese American Citizens League, Berkeley chapter, 1,152 Berkeley residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed to Tanforan and Topaz in 1942

Seattle Chapter Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Several chapter members who are survivors and many descendants of various camps.

Fred T. Korematsu Institute, national education advocacy organization committed to advancing racial equity, social justice, and human rights for all

Tessaku, Oral Histories of the Japanese American Incarceration

Japanese American Resource Center of Colorado (JARCC)

Japanese Arts Network

Nikkei Uprising, organization includes descendants of camp survivors

NCRR, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress; NCRR fought for redress and reparations for WWII JA former incarcerees

Stop AAPI Hate, U.S.-based coalition dedicated to ending racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

San Diego Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League

National Council on Public History

Nikkei Australia

San Jose Nikkei Resisters (SJNR)

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates

Refugees + Immigrants United Colorado

Nikkei Decolonization Tour, Community organization

Kioku Magazine, Japanese American cultural magazine

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Seattle Chapter, Community advocacy group

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Cleveland

UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union, College Club

Humboldt Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, Local Pan Asian community organization

Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership, business and community partner

Blue Bag Press, Buffalo, NY

Parkview Presbyterian Church, an historically Japanese American congregation, Sacramento

Japanese American Citizens League, Twin Cities Chapter

Japanese American Citizens League, Chicago Chapter, Our chapter has a number of survivors and descendents of survivors from across the incarceration camps

Alcatraz Occupation Advisory Committee

Sansei Granddaughters

Katie Masano Hill, Topaz, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake Gosei descendant

Kimiko Marr, Sharp Park, Santa Fe, Lordsburg, Topaz descendant

Scott Tsuchitani, Topaz, Rohwer, Tule Lake descendant

Ana Iwataki, curator and cultural historian; Manzanar and Jerome descendent

Christina Sharpe, Writer, Professor

Tamiko Nimura, creative nonfiction writer and public historian; Arboga, Sharp Park, Santa Fe, Tule Lake descendant

Hana Maruyama, assistant professor, public historian; Heart Mountain, Jerome & Gila River descendant

Akemi Johnson, Writer; Sharp Park, Angel Island, Santa Fe, Lordsburg, Tule Lake & Gila River descendant

Michelle Kumata, Minidoka descendant

Christina Hiromi Hobbs, Topaz, Minidoka, Poston descendant

Lois Harada, Artist; Poston descendant

Natalie Diaz, writer, enrolled at Gila River Indian Community

Brittany Arita, Designer & Artist; Manzanar, Minidoka and Rohwer descendant

Michael Prior, Professor, Macalester College; Tashme descendant

Lynda Joko, Tule Lake descendant, Poston descendant

Elena Tajima Creef, Professor at Wellesley College

Vince Schleitwiler, Dept. of American Ethnic Studies, University of Washington; Salinas, Santa Anita, and Poston descendant

Aisuke Kondo, Artist; Topaz descendant

Iyko Day, Professor, Mount Holyoke College

Mabel Imai, Walerga/North Sacramento Assembly Center, Tule Lake, Gila River survivor

Mary Teruko (Tanaka) Abo, Minidoka Survivor

Joe Masatsugu Abo, Tule Lake Survivor

Casey Kaneyo Hidekawa, Topaz と Amache descendant

William Li, Stanford University

Suzanne Hidekawa, Topaz and Amache descendant 

Resisters.com, writer and historian, Heart Mountain descendant

Saburo Fukuda, Topaz, Crystal City survivor, Bismarck, ND, Santa Fe, NM, Missoula, MT descendant

Heidi Aronson Kolk, PhD, Cultural Historian; Associate Professor, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis

Suzanne Kimiko Onodera, Rohwer descendant, artist and activist

Mira Shimabukuro, Writer, Teaching Professor, Author: Relocating Authority: Japanese Americans Writing to Redress Mass Incarceration

Lauren Sumida, Fort Missoula, Rohwer, and Tule Lake descendant

Esther Honda, Educator, Tule Lake descendent

Asta Sjogren-Uyehara, Creative Writing Student, Colorado College

Robert Yerachmiel Sniderman, Artist; Professor of Socially Engaged Art, Western Washington University

Poojit Hegde, activist, member of Diaspora Indians for Liberation, Stanford University Alumnus

Sharon Luk, Associate Professor and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair, Simon Fraser University

Isabella Nevin, Colorado College

Mia Ayumi Malhotra, Rohwer descendent

Erika Lee, Professor (Harvard University), Historian, Author

Dana Swensen, Sand Island, Lordsburg, Santa Fe descendant. Writer.

Go Sasaki Jr. , Tule Lake Descendent

James Okumura, Descendant of Santa Anita Detention Center, Jerome Incarceration Center, Tule Lake Segregation Center, Santa Fe DOJ Internment Camp, Ft. Lincoln DOJ Internment Camp, & Japan Deportee Survivors

Dot Devota, Professor and poet; daughter and partner had family in the camps

Dana Trummert, English Literature Student, Colorado College

Stanley N Shikuma, Poston and Tule Lake descendant

Sumi Hayashi, Minidoka descendent

Will Kaku, Nihonmachi Outreach Committee, Tule Lake/Bismarck DOJ descendent

Gemma Marx, Creative Writing Student, Colorado College

Haruka Sakaguchi, Shin-Nikkei, Photographer, Director of Loyal American and Creator of The Camps America Built

Stevie Redwood, supporter

Sara Ann Gilmore, poet, University of Iowa

Jen Yamato, film critic and journalist; Topaz, Tule Lake, Crystal City, Jerome, Heart Mountain descendant

Joseph Hall, Professor, St. Bonaventure University

Issa Nasatir, Student of Brandon Shimoda, Colorado College

Lindsey Webb, Professor, Grinnell College

Sasha Frere-Jones, writer

Daryn Wakasa, Descendant of incarceration camp survivors

Rachel Lauren Myers, Writer

Kou Sugita, writer

Patrick Shiroishi, Tule Lake descendant

Claire Robinson, Poet, friend and supporter

Kelly Akashi, Poston descendant

Christopher Ryan, supporter

Kiku Hughes, Comics artist and Topaz descendant

Patricia Bellucci, Visual Artist

Tracy Tsutsumoto, Crystal City & Minidoka descendant

Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, Santa Anita, Jerome, Tule Lake descendant

Kelly Shimoda, Fort Missoula, Heart Mountain, Poston descendant

Joanna Kaufman, Artist, writer, friend, tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Syd Westley, Yonsei. Grandparents were at Tule Lake and Minidoka. Writer and poet

Keiko Lane, writer, psychotherapist, Manzanar descendant

Alexa Luborsky, writer

Kristy Ame Carpenter, Topaz descendant

Sara Carminati, Sansei

Emily Yoshioka, Minidoka, Tule Lake, and Topaz descendant

Sara Lefsyk, Editor

Madeleine Mori, Manzanar descendant; writer and arts administrator, Sarah Lawrence College

Jennifer Kazuko Nakatsuka-Hill, Topaz, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake Yonsei descendant

Linda Hubbs, Teacher

Mark Finch, Account Manager - Publishing Industry

Dakota Pettingill, Friend of Topaz Descendant

Jean Winters, Mother of descendant

Amy Canales, ally

Em Halladay Ptacek Choi, Museum Educator, formerly Wing Luke Museum, formerly Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington

Jeff Marotz, activist

Richard Bowden, Grocery store manager

Lyn Ishizaki-Brown, Topaz descendant

Luis Martinez, Friend of Topaz Descendant

Susan Wheeler, Professor Emerita, Princeton University

Noah Angell, Artist / Author

Hachiro Yasumura, Jerome/Rohwer Survivor

Nora Yasumura, Santa Anita, Rohwer, Jerome Descendent

Kyle Kajihiro, Assistant Professor, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Susanne La Faver, my great-aunt Margaret d'Ille was Manzanar community welfare director

Lenore Chinn, artist, activist and friend of descendents

Carl Takei, Tule Lake descendant; attorney, Asian Law Caucus

Summer Brenner, writer

Russell Endo, Tuna Canyon, Jerome, Rohwer descendant

Jennifer Whitener, Engaged citizen who believes in protecting history and portraying it honestly

Rebecca A Green, Poston descendant, writer

Carole Teshima, Sansei researcher/writer of JA experience

Yoshiko Yeto, Gila River descendant

Steven Lustig, My family were imprisoned in European concentration camps administered by the Third Reich

Kyo Maclear, writer

Linda Sachiko Morris, Jerome, Rohwer, and Manzanar descendant; civil rights attorney

Rei Magosaki, Associate Professor, Chapman University

Alan Takashi Riley, Poston and Manzanar descendant, Kizuna Program Coordinator

Matthew Kenichi Muranaga, MFA, Amache descendent; Grand-Nephew of Medal of Honor Recipient, Kiyoshi Muranaga; Professor

Andrew Leong, translator and professor

Morgan Ome, Tule Lake descendant; writer and journalist

Christine Higurashi,  Rohwer & Minidoka descendant

Kimiko Tanabe, Topaz and Rohwer Descendant

Kathryn Fujiye Nuss Louis, Poston and Ft. Lincoln descendant, archaeologist and anthropologist

Gail Kudo Montgomery, Manzanar and Poston descendent

Alison Lubar, Tule Lake descendant

Maryn Masumiya, Tule Lake, Manzanar and Gila River descendant

Cassie Miura, Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies, Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Distinguished Chair in Nikkei Studies, San Francisco State University

Bryan Wright, Incarceration site volunteer and ally

Wesley Ueunten, Professor, Asian American Studies, SFSU

Francisco Cantú, writer, translator, teacher, ally.

Christine Ahn, peace activist

Alexandra Arai Cauley, Heart Mountain and Amache descendant

Dean K. Terasaki, Artist and ally

Rev. Kenji Kuramitsu, priest and psychotherapist. collateral descendant, Tule Lake

Susan Kiyo Ito, Writer, anonymous camp descendant

Ellen Bepp, Heart Mountain descendant

Jessica Kashiwabara, writer, Heart Mountain descendant

Lori Watanabe Saginaw, Tule Lake, Amache, Minidoka descendant

Benjamin Yoshimitsu Mirov, Tule Lake descendant

Sharon Tomiko Santos, Amache descendant, Washington State Representative

Lauren Iida, Granddaughter of Tule Lake and Minidoka survivors, visual artist

Cameron Asao, Poston descendent

Noriko Nakada, Heart Mountain/Gila River Descendent

Eileen Yamada Lamphere, President, Puyallup Valley Chapter JACL, and Tule Lake and Minidoka descendant

Saya Krehel, Topaz yonsei descendant

Todd Kaneko, Minidoka descendant; writer; professor, GVSU

Garrett Hongo, Distinguished Professor, University of Oregon

Sophia Terazawa, poet

Alden Hayashi, Jerome descendant

Divya Victor, writer, Director, non-Nikkei ally, Michigan State University

Jason Chang, Associate Professor, UConn

Katy Nishimoto, Editor, Yonsei, Rohwer descendant

Kelsey Viadro, Student, Colorado College

Arley Sakai, Writer, Organizer, Manzanar and Gila River descendant

John Takeo Yamamoto, Son of living Gila River & Crystal City survivors; San/Yonsei & JACL member

Saya Moriyasu, artist and activist

Joanne Kakuda, Heart Mountain and Tule Lake descendant

Natalia Arai, Minidoka descendant, MSW

Floyd Cheung, Professor, Smith College

Jane Wong, Poet, Associate Professor, Western Washington University

Madeleine Thien, writer

Naoko Wake, Professor of History, Michigan State University

Elena & Ben, Compassion Capacity Builders, Minidoka survivor

Evan Iwata, screenwriter, Minidoka descendant

Kerry Kunitomi Cababa, Manzanar, Santa Anita, Fort Missoula, Tuna Canyon, Heart Mountain, 442 KIA descendant

Takeo Rivera, Associate Professor, Boston University; great-grandson of Issei detainee

Steve Fujimura, poet/writer, Poston descendant

Dominic Dulin, Poet

Muriel Leung, Writer

Bradford Pearson, journalist and author of The Eagles of Heart Mountain

Deanna Masunaga, Poston/Heart Mountain descendant

Emily Mitamura, Poston & Heart Mountain descendant; scholar of gender, race, and empire

Joline Tang, Family

Tamiko Nishita-Hawkinson, Topaz, Poston descendant

Maria Filipina Abutin, Fullerton College APIDA, Administrative Assistant II, Transfer Center

Italia Quintana, activist

Tausif Noor, Writer and Curator

Viki A. Yamashita, Poston, Gila River, Crystal City descendant

Diana Arterian, writer

Dao Strom, poet, musician, arts organizer; De-Canon

Yanara Friedland, writer

Shanna Farrell, oral historian and writer

Roger Eardley-Pryor, Oral Historian, UC Berkeley

Anna Pegler-Gordon, Michigan State University

Vi Lee, BA Asian American Studies Candidate

Ali Meyers-Ohki, Yonsei, Amache Descendant, Writer, Filmmaker

Dale Castro, Heart Mountain descendant

Kendall Tani, artist, Gila River descendant

Kat Kiyoko Amano, Yonsei granddaughter of WWII veteran and MIS interpreter

Karen McAlister Shimoda, Daughter and son are yonsei descendants of Ft. Missoula, Heart Mountain, and Poston

Setsuko Winchester, Artist, historian and former Journalist; creator of the Yellow Bowl Project, and conceptualized Dissent Collars and Plate Project

Jeff Yutaka Amano, Artist, painter, third generation Hawaii

Laura Ng, archaeologist, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Grinnell College

Finnegan Natale, Descendant of Survivor of Gila River

Dr John Baker, My home, Ele’Ele, Kauai, Hawaii a Japanese American community on McBride Sugar Plantation.

Sam Nakahira, Manzanar and Tule Lake descendant, artist

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author

Gail Kuromiya, Daughter of Yoshito Kuromiya (Heart Mountain resister) and Haru Kuromiya (Manzanar and Crystal City)

Jon Lane, Parent of a Topaz descendant

Aileen Kitaoka, Rohwer and Tule Lake Descendant

Taka Fantone, Manzanar descendant, artist

Rosie Kar, PhD, Professor, Ethnic Studies, Fullerton College

Kimiko Guthrie, Rohwer descendent; writer, choreographer, educator

Riki Eijima, Amache and Topaz descendant

Nikki Nojima Louis, writer/director, Breaking the Silence: Japanese Voices in America; Puyallup & Minidoka survivor; Lordsburg & Santa Fe descendant

Takeyuki Tsuda, Professor of Anthropology, Arizona State University

Don Mee Choi, Writer

Chad K. Taniguchi, My grandfather Yenzo Taniguchi was held for months at the Kalaheo Stockade, Kauai, Hawaii. My uncle Tsuyoshi Kamishita and mentor Koji Ariyoshi were incarcerated at Tule Lake.

Mari Matsuda, Heart Mountain descendant, Prof. of Law emeritus University of Hawai’i William S Richardson School,of Law

Mary-Kim Arnold, Writer

Rev. Karen Yokota Love, Tule Lake descendant, Senior Pastor at Blaine Memorial UMC (Seattle, WA), Yonsei

Derek Ang, OT

Sarah Ichinose, Student at Colorado College, Gosei

David Gardiner, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Colorado College

Nancy Ríos, Cultural Worker

Cory Scott, Professor, Colorado College

Kent Weber, Professor, Michigan State University

Michiko Mitsunaga-Whitten, Kintsugi Psychotherapy, Gila River descendent

Max Granger, writer and translator

Alexandra Kleeman, Associate Professor, Cornell University

Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi, Gila River descendant

elin o’Hara slavick, artist, poet and educator

Susanne Slavick, University Professor, Carnegie

Sarah Slavick, Senior Lecturer, Lesley University

Farid Matuk, Writer

Sheila Pinkel, Emerita Professor

Tomoe Otsuki, Canada-based independent scholar and translator

Fady Joudah, Writer

Jennifer Scappettone, Associate Professor, University of Chicago

Eiichiro Azuma, Historian

Lisa Perez, Student at Fullerton College

Sumi A. Kawaguchi, Gila River descendant

Kenji Kinu, First generation Japanese American, Nisei, writer, poet, professional body modifcation artist

Victoria Matsuko Wigal, Amache Descendant

Susan Briante, writer, University of Arizona

Bo Jacobs, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima City University

Kiku Terasaki, filmmaker

Mark Matsunaga, My Grandfather, Roy Matsunaga, was a member of the JACL Chicago chapter

Corinne Araki-Kawaguchi, Gila Arizona descendant

Michael Araki-Kawaguchi, Gila, Arizona descendant (mother) 442nd (father)

Michihiro Sugata, Associate Professor, Cal Poly Humboldt

Stephanie Adams-Santos,Writer

Lauren V, a camp descendant

Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh, Poet and Writer, Nisei

Troy Osaki, Minidoka, Fort Missoula, Santa Fe, Camp Livingston, Crystal City descendant

Maggie Topalian, Heart Mountain & Tule Lake descendant

Scott T Watanabe, JA descendant

Brent Nosé, MD, Topaz and Gila River descendent

Robert Cota, Social & Eco-conscious Activist / Artist

Madeleine Slavick, author, photographer

Michelle Igoshi, Manzanar descendant

Karen J. Leong, Historian, University of New Mexico

Saya Namba, Born and raised in Hiroshima

Lilly Yee, Heart Mountain & Poston descendants

Kim Coco Iwamoto, Esq., Poston Descendant, Hawaii State Representative

Karen Matsushino, My husband's family were at Poston

lawrence-minh bùi davis, Co-Founder of the Center for Refugee Poetics, AALR, and the Asian American Lit Fest

Michele Miyamoto, Ellis Island, NY Descendent

Alicia Arnold, I have no affiliation but am half Japanese. My mom was in Yahata, 3 days before her 13 birthday, the day the bomb moved on to Nagasaki

Maritza N. Estrada, Writer

Travis Ito-Stone, Yonsei, Gila River descendant

Valerie Matsumoto, Topaz, Poston descendant, Professor of History and Asian American Studies, UCLA

Saretta Morgan, Writer

Kyoko Nancy Oda, Activist

Rocio Sanchez Mariano, Student

Nilufar Karimi, writer

Jessy Randall, Colorado College; curator, Amache Collection

Stewart T Kimura, sansei, Tule Lake descendent, Educator

Giovanni Hortua; Professor in Ethnic Studies

Marie Maghuyop, Creative Director & Event Coordinator, SBCCD Asian & Pacific Islander Association

Miyo Sandlin, Scholar

Fiona Amundsen, Artist, Educator

Tom and Ginger Sugimoto, Heart Mountain

Jonathan Okamura, Emeritus professor, UH Manoa

Rudy Juarez-Pinedo, Professor, Fullerton College

Keith T Amano, Retired teacher

Christina Leza, Professor of Anthropology, Colorado College

Denise Uyehara, Descendant of Heart Mountain and Rohwer

Alice Yang, history professor, UCSC

Emily McGatlin, Heart Mountain descendant

Lara Mimosa Montes, writer

Amanda Tewes, oral and public historian

Michelle Kuo, writer/professor, National Chengchi University

Serena Kojimoto, descendant of Topaz and Manzanar; jewelry artist in Los Angeles

Amber McClure, relatives held at Heart Mountain

Miguel Gutierrez, Professional Archaeologist

Zachary Brown, SFSU Student

Angelina Cam, Teacher

Skyla Sachiko Tomine, Tule Lake, Bismarck, ND, Descendant

Aline Lo, Associate Professor, Colorado College

Elizabeth Nishiura, Heart Mountain descendant

Keilani, Minidoka Tule Lake Survivor

Nathan Bizzack, cousin’s grandparents were incarcerated

Cole Walton, Activist

Tara Tamaribuchi, Artist, Tulelake descendent, longtime student of the late Nihon Buyo Master Sahomi Tachibana, who taught classical dance at Tulelake and Topaz, and donated the props we danced with that she made in camp to the Topaz Museum

Susan Watson, Japanese teacher

Vickie Hayashigatani, Member of JACL Placer County, Relatives sent to Idaho to farm

Michelle Halligan, Community Planner

Kierah Soderberg

Mariko Turk, Heart Mountain descendant

Dale Watanabe, Descendant of Minidoka Concentration Camp

Lourdes Nicholls, Manzanar descendant

Chris Weir, Amache descendant, Public Health professional, Gosei

Anne-Sophie Corry, Student

Tammy Ishimatsu, father served in the 442nd; he grew up in Utah so wasn't incarcerated, but had travel restrictions, curfew, etc. during WWII

Arlene H. Kikkawa-Nielsen, descendant of Tulare, Gila River, Tule Lake, and Poston Incarceration Centers, Member Diablo Valley JACL, Sansei/Yonsei

Margalit Goldberg, Colorado College

Kim Hayashi, Pianist and Teacher, father, Mitsuru Hayashi, was a member of the 442 Unit from WWII

Madeleine Galas, Printmaker

Steven Speciale, Teacher, artist, Jerome descendant

Hilary Plum, writer

Kristen Fujitaki, Manzanar & Tule Lake descendant

Grace M. Cho, Writer and Professor of Sociology, College of Staten Island, CUNY

Erin Rodarte, Historian

Alana Varner, Librarian

Min Pan, Student

Carolyn Nakamura

Steve Benson, non-Nikkei ally, writer

Patrick Mundt, Librarian, Colorado College

Melody Ebersole, Data Processor

Joyce Nakamura, Poston and Gila River descendant

Claire Nishida, Minidoka, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain descendant

Naomi Noe Tanigawa, Artist, activist, Manzanar descendant

Alyssa Watanabe Kapaona, Tule Lake descendant, Camp and Education Researcher, Hawai'i Gosei

Leanne Toshiko Simpson, Writer

Claire Hong, writer

Susette Min, Associate Professor, Asian American Studies, UC Davis

David Araki, Descendent of Camp Survivors

Margaret Honda, Crystal City and Poston descendant

Amanda Kim, Poston and Tule Lake descendant, community historian

Tokumaru Fujii, Probably one of the last nisei born in Tule Lake

Lynn Miyauchi, Minidoka Descendant

Teru Judy Kanazawa, LCSW, Psychotherapist, 15 of my close relatives sent to Lordsburg NM and Manzanar (maternal) and Poston (paternal) concentration camps

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, writer and teacher of Asian American studies, Rice University

Maria Carlos, writer, editor

Sarah Stolz, Manzanar and Poston descendant

Sharon Mizota, archivist, Gila River and Jerome descendant

Samuel Ogunsanya, Friend of topaz descendant

Keagan Cross, Friend of Topaz Descendant

Julia Hok, Master’s in Earth Systems, Stanford

Francesca Mejia, Friend of Topaz descendant

Edmund Fong, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies & Political Science, University of Utah

Brandon Lum, Friend of Topaz Descendant, sixth generation Hawaiʻi

Dr. Miko Charbonneau, writer, game developer, Manzanar descendant

Isabella Tilley, Friend of a Topaz descendant

Evelyn Kuo, friend of a Topaz descendant

Nathaniel Ramos, Engineer

Arushi Gupta, friend of a Topaz descendant

Robin Goka Huynh, San Jose Nikkei Resisters

Daryanna Lancet, Educator & friend of Topaz descendant

Konrad Aderer, filmmaker, Topaz descendant

Evelyn Nakano Glenn, Professor, Emerita University of California, Berkeley; I and my parents/grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were incarcerees at the Heart Mountain, Wyoming and Gila, Arizona internment camps during WWII

Natanya Pulley, Writer, Associate Professor, Ally

Connie Lu, friend of Topaz descendant

Kyra Dorado Teigen, friend of Topaz descendant

Lorna M. Fong, Arboga, Tule Lake descendant

Jocelyn Brody, Poston descendent

Tula Kurashige, Minidoka and Crystal City descendant, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee Youth Fellow

Tony Koji Wallin-Sato, Family friends of descendants of Topaz (multi-cultural nisei justice impact scholar and descendant of A-bomb survivors)

Ryan Kozu, Minidoka Descendant, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee Chair

Elsie DuBray, friend of a Topaz descendant

Natasha Varner, Writer and historian

Emily Takara, Friend of Topaz descendant

Carole Hom, ally

Mandy Fujiko Amano, Actor & Writer - my grandpa was in MIS

Elena Silvana, ally

Lindsay Fudenna Demary, Topaz descendant

Stefanie Fudenna, Granddaughter of Topaz survivor

Zola Ortiz, Friend of Minidoka and Crystal City Descendant

Lori M. Ideta, Humble descendant of 6 great-uncles who served in the 442nd/100th Battalion/MIS

Jade Cho, Writer

Dean Scheef, Account Manager

Kirsten Emiko McAllister, Professor, Simon Fraser University

Lynne Horiuchi, Independent scholar, Minidoka descendant

Heather Nagami, Poston/Rohwer/Jerome descendant

Miho Kim, Nikkei Decolonization Tour; Zainichi Korean racially targeted by Japanese empire, fighting for justice with solidarity of JA comrades

Sharon Suzuki-Martinez, Sansei writer

Shari Arai DeBoer, Tule Lake, Topaz, Amache descendant

Kathy Higuchi, Heart Mountain and Poston descendant

Kare‘l Lokeni, Community Member

Lena Newlin, Descendant of Heart Mountain incarcerees, Writer

Jennifer Sakai, Descendant of Gila River and Rohwer survivors

Jazmine Yuba, Poston and Gila River descendant

Dana Kawano, Tule Lake descendant, Artist

Steve Fudenna, Descendent of Topaz survivor

Courtney Chiyoko Beavers, Tule Lake Descendent

Elizabeth Ikeda Palmer, Descendant of Poston Survivors

Dashiell Krehel, Family of Topaz descendants, Lead Fabricator at the Natural History Museum of LA County

Naomi Suenaka Derr, Grandparents and mother incarcerated at Heart Mountain. Uncle and Aunty incarcerated in Manzanar. Cousin adopted in Manzanar.

Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten, Professor, Occidental College. Gila River descendant

David Togawa, My family were at Poston

Kristin Niizawa, Descendant of Poston & Rohwer survivors, grandfather served in 442nd/MIS

Henry Nakata, Jr., supporter

Jigna Desai, Professor of Asian American Studies (UC -Santa Barbara)

Marie Ogg, supporter

Lianne M. Araki, Amache and Topaz descendant

Sandra Hayashi Minner, Descendant of Poston and Tule Lake incarcerees and niece of 442nd veteran, KIA

Robin Dewis, Manzanar descendant

Dr. Roberto Ryukichi Santiago, Writer, Academic, Descendent of Yoshiko Tajiri: Poston III

Michael Harris, Spouse of Topaz and Tule Lake descendant, friend and supporter

John Toyama, Born at Hrt Mtn Wyoming

Claire Schwartz, writer

Debby Kajiyama, social practice artist, Tule Lake, Rohwer, Amache descendent

Saren Sakurai, Minidoka descendant

Ross Grier, Supporter

Johanna Hedva, writer

Leila A. Mills, Ally to Descendants

Alan Niizawa, Descendant of Poston & Rohwer incarcerees. Father served in MIS.

Jordan Stanger-Ross, University of Victoria

Mariko Peshon, PhD, Granddaughter of Topaz and Heart Mountain Survivor

LN, Ally of partner whose family was deeply impacted

Megan Kiyoko Wray, Writer, Tashme descendant

Julie Kanazawa, Descendant of Tule Lake, Rohwer, Jerome and Gila River

Liz Koe, writer

Brent Nakamoto, Heart Mountain descendant

Jackie Liu, friend of a Topaz descendant

George Uba, Heart Mountain descendant, Emeritus Professor, CSU Northridge

Nadia Holt, USJC Member

Robert George Lee, Historian, professor emeritus of Asian American history

Celina Su, researcher

Kathy Shindo Nuss, Fort Lincoln and Poston descendant

James Matsubayashi, Poston and Amache descendant

Frako Loden, CSU East Bay Ethnic Studies Lecturer

Dmitri Russell, Topaz yonsei descendant

Masumi Hayashi-Smith, Tule Lake and Gila River descendant

Michelle Makino, Decendent of Decendent of Heart Mountain, Gila River, Topaz

Kate Ostrozovich, Manzanar descendant

Margaret Johnston-Kitazawa, Manzanar and Heart Mountain descendant

Nicholas Nakatsuka, Topaz, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake Yonsei descendant

Wendy Slick, Friend of survivors and descendants- filmmaker

Youna Kwak, poet

Harry Akaki, Descendant of Topaz and Amache

Maya Cohan, Senior Director Operations

Marvin Rodriguez Gabut, PhD, Supporter

Rick Kanazawa, Topaz descendant

Brian H. Bix, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Minnesota

Cathy Silva, Poston descendant

Fred Sasaki, Heart Mountain descendant

Robbie Davis, Friend of someone born in Minidoka

Scott Friedman, Supporter

Caroline Kimura, Topaz, Manzanar, and Tule Lake descendant

Paul Osaki

Clyde Fugami, Minidoka descendant, writer, Sansei, RPh ret.

Shirley Omori, Poston descendant

James Pollard, Spouse's family was at Poston

Laurie Steelink, Cornelius Projects; Multidisciplinary artist and cultural practitioner

Halla Moran, Business

Patti Nakai, Jerome descendant

Howard Nakagiri, Poston descendent

Katie Pollard, Scientist

Rev. Perry K. Sakai, Rohwer descendant

Judy K Louff, Poston , Manzanar, & Tule Lake descendant

Mary Ichiuji, Poston (father) and Manzanar (mother) descendant

Yvonne Lau, Mother’s family was in Manzanar and my father’s was in Poston

Kari Kokka, Poston and Gila River descendent

Kirsten Lopez, Curatorial Coordinator, The Block Museum

Linda Craig

Terry Masaoka, Rohwer and Tule Lake descendant. Father served in MIS, uncle in 442

David D Pollard, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

Bernice Akaki, Supporter

V. Pollard, Retired

Jos.Nishimura, present at Wakasa’s funeral service at Topaz Utah; Topaz survivor

Danielle Stolz, Manzanar and Poston descendant

Jamie Ford, Author, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Tamiko Nicholson, Educator

Gazelle Samizay, Artist

Barbara Horiuchi, Sansei descendent of Heart Mt and Gila River incarcerees, daughter of a decorated 442nd veteran, relatives at Topaz, Tule Lake, and Manzanar. Visual artist and writer

Marc A. Beherec, PhD, RPA, Archaeologist

Teresa Shimogawa, Educator

Belle M. Nishioka, Topaz descendent ( father, aunt, grandfather), mental health counselor/ professor

Susan H. Kamei, Public historian, author, and educator about the incarceration; Santa Anita, Heart Mountain, and Poston descendant

Lydia Tanji, costume designer

Samantha Kaneshiro, SFSU Student and grandchild of Rohwer survivor and WWll/MIS veteran

Sonia C. Gomez, Assistant Professor of History

Toru Saito, Topaz survivor. We were assigned to Block 36 upon our arrival to Topaz in Sept. of 1942. Our address was Block 36, Barrack 6, Units C and D. James Wakasa's barrack was No. 7. We ate at the same mess hall and used the same latrine. I remember his dog. Our family of 5 kids and my mom were acquaintances of Mr. Wakasa. He was the only one who had a dog.

Mira Dingle, Supporter, Student at SFSU

Madison Salas, Heart Mountain and Tule Lake descendant, Student at SFSU

Jane Dusselier, PhD, Author of Artifacts of Loss: Crafting Survival in Japanese American Concentration Camps

Stanley Miyao, Tule Lake and Amache descendant

Melany Perez, SFSU Student

Linda Harms Okazaki, Genealogist and Educator; Spouse of descendant (Gila, Lordsburg, Santa Fe, Crystal City)

Naoko Shibusawa, Associate Professor, Brown University

Lorraine K. Bannai, Manzanar descendant, Professor Emerita, Seattle University School of Law

Matthew Lee, Programs Director of Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County; Gosei and descendant of Poston and Amache survivors

Dennis Nishitsuji, Mother's family moved to Rocky Ford

Allan Austin, Professor of History (Misericordia University)

Ryan Moran, Assistant Professor, University of Hawaiʻi

Elizabeth Kiku Ito, Gila River and Manzanar descendant , filmmaker/ animator

Michael Tanizaki Kurland, Grandson of WWII JA prison camp, Writer & Educator

Nancy J. Teshima, Topaz descendant

Marguerite Sullivan, Friend

Marissa Moss, Author, Barbed Wire Baseball

Saara Kekki, PhD, adjunct professor of Area and Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki

Cynthia Wright, Granddaughter of Ally

Tracy Slater, Ph.D., Writer

Scott Kurashige, Historian, Minidoka and Crystal City descendant

Heather Hathaway, Professor, Marquette University

Julia Shizuyo Popham, PhD Candidate, University of Colorado Boulder

Jennifer Ho, Ethnic Studies Professor, U of Colorado Boulder

Gerry Nanbu, Topaz Descendant

Yasuko Takezawa, anthropologist, Kyoto University/ Kansai Gaidai University

Chris Sweet, Social Worker

Mira Mattar, Friend

Laura Madokoro, Carleton University

Owen Fortunato Brakspear, PGTA, University College London

Margaret Nakagiri, Third generation daughter of parents incarcerated at Poston camps

Kevin Miyazaki, Visual artist, Tule Lake and Heart Mountain descendant

Brett Kodama, Filmmaker, Yonsei, Manzanar, Minidoka, and Heart Mountain descendant

Patricia M. Saito Hecht, Topaz descendant, Sansei

Josephine Park, professor, University of Pennsylvania

A.L. French-Tubo, Supporter and resident of Sacramento, the home from which many incarcerated were taken

Reed Sato, Tule Lake descendant

Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Author-illustrator, Sand Island and Honouliuli descendant

Jennifer Nelson, Associate Professor, Art History, University of Delaware

Elizabeth Doherty, librarian

Bekki Shibayama, Crystal City descendant

Megan Asaka, Professor; Manzanar, Minidoka, and Tule Lake descendant

Angela Urata, Tule Lake, Minidoka descendant

Micaela E. Canales, Tejana Midwife and Anthropologist

Eugene Fujimoto, Topaz descendant

Dean H. Yamada, Poston descendant

Marcia Yonemoto, Professor of History, Boulder, CO, and Amache and Gila River descendant

Jane Sujen Bock, Lawyer

Shari Kittaka, Topaz, Tule Lake & Heart Mountain descendant

Stephanie Morrill, Writer

Leah Yonemoto-Weston, Amache and Gila River descendent, yonsei

Isaac Gewirth, supporter

Jeff Chang, Writer and Cultural Organizer

Doug Yamamoto, Poston, Amache descendant

Nancy S Araki, Topaz descendant

Michael Bourdaghs, professor, University of Chicago

David K. Igasaki, Retired attorney. Poston and Amache descendant. Chicago.

Malia Cordel, JA Community Member, Sansei

Grant Williams, Minidoka descendant

Connie Chiang, professor, Bowdoin College; author of Nature Behind Barbed Wire: An Environmental History of the Japanese American Incarceration 

Ana Tanaka, Minidoka and Gila River Descendant, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee

John Howard, Emeritus Professor of Arts and Humanities, King’s College London

Kayoko Yokoyama, Psychologist

Cherstin Lyon, Professor of History

Terry Joyce, Data Engineer

Tia Morita, GIS Specialist, Manzanar Community Archaeology Volunteer, Manzanar and Gila Descendant

Jason Trail, Descendent of Topaz and Minidoka survivors

J Fujiwara, Tule Lake descendant

Tim Paulson, Labor Organizer

Eugene Minoru Tagawa, Survivor of Puyallup and Minidoka, Member of Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee

Roger Garcia, Film producer

Michael Aoki Deruelle, Historian, Brown University

Rea Tajiri, Artist, Professor, Film Media Arts, Temple University; Poston Descendant

Ross Ishikawa, Cartoonist, illustrator and Amache descendant

Jonathan van Harmelen, Visiting Assistant Professor, Oberlin College

Shakuru Shin Tajiri, Yonsei, Composer & Visual Artist, Poston Descendant

Stacey Sagara Shigaya, Topaz, Tule Lake, and Heart Mountain descendant

Tomo Estavillo Shibata, Shin-Nikkei, filmmaker

Yoko Morishita Fedorenko, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee

Nathlyn Hirohama, Ally

Jodi Hottel, poet and Heart Mountain descendant

Kenji Yamamoto, Filmmaker; My mother and father were imprisoned at Tule Lake

Sztompke Sound, Audio worker

Paisley Rekdal, Professor, University of Utah

Emma Brown, Renewable Energy Consultant

Janet Cole, Filmmaker colleague and friend of Poston Survivor

Rev. Dr. Aart van Beek, Presbyterian Church USA; I pastored to those incarcerated at Topaz for decades

Felicia Lowe, Filmmaker and friend of descendants

Eugene Corr, Screenwriter, filmmaker

Nay, Public Health Professional, Friends and Allies

Jocelyn Fabello, Filmmaker colleague and friend of Poston survivors

Aaron Boothby, poet

Joan Musante, Friend of survivor of Poston

Whitney Green, Landscape designer and friend of Emiko Omori.

Rachel A., Supporter

Christina Crowley, Friend of Survivor of Poston

Connie Nakamura; my father moved to Hiroshima just before the camps started. He is a Hiroshima bomb survivor

B. Ruby Rich, Friend of Survivor of Poston

Pat Ferrero, Emerita, Professor of Cinema, SFState University, ally

Mark Adler, Composer and friend

Kathee Yamamoto, Poston & Heart Mountain descendant

Kyle Kinoshita, Minidoka descendant

Vicente Franco, Filmmaker and friend

David Roh, Professor, University of Utah

Paul Jensen, supporter

John Haptas, supporter

Caroline Chung Simpson, Associate Professor (Emeritus), University of Washington; author of An Absent Presence: Japanese Americans in Postwar American Culture, 1945-1960

Robert Zagone, Film Director

The Reverend Deacon Polly Shigaki, Minidoka descendant

John M Shigaki, Minidoka survivor

Anne A. Cheng, Professor, Princeton University

Amelia Huster, Member of Berkeley JACL, descendant of Heart Mountain survivor

Jenny Walski, Supporter

Greg Robinson, Historian

Ryan Ueda, Rohwer descendant

Dr. Darren Aoki, University of Plymouth, Family interned in Alberta during WWII

John Streamas, associate profesor of ethnic studies, Washington State University

Masumi Izumi, Scholar of Japanese American History; Professor, Doshisha University

Matthew Basso, Associate Professor, University of Utah

Mirei Tashiro

Vincent J. Cheng, Distinguished Professor of English, University of Utah; Founding Director of the Asian American Studies Program, University of Southern California

Andrea Mariko Grant, University of Victoria

CB Films, Filmmaker, Friend, & Supporter

Lili Zhang, Friend of a Tule Lake Descendant

Bill Ong Hing, Professor of Law and Migration Studies, University of San Francisco

Alan Kuramoto, Manzanar descendent, Sansei son of a deceased MIS and interpreter

Genny Lim, San Francisco Poet Laureate, Co-author of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island

Jed Riffe, ally; Filmmaker

Tina Ferguson-Riffe, Chef

Suzy Nakamura, Tule Lake and Minidoka descendant

Cassidy Moore, supporter

Tara Fickle, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, Northwestern University

Bonnie Yoshida-Levine, Topaz descendant and archaeologist

Raymond Telles, Filmmaker, Friend, supporter

Michael Abe, Past Wrongs, Future Choices; Descendant of Japanese Canadian camp internees

Kathy Fujii-Oka, Artist, Activist, Descendant

Na Omi Judy Shintani, Sand Island and Tule Lake descendant, artist

真利子 mariko, tule lake descendant

Ikumi Yanagisawa, Lecturer, Nanzan University

Paul Espinosa, Filmmaker

Khine, Public Health Professional; Friends and Allies

Paula Miura, Amache & Rohwer descendant

Diane Benscoter, Supporter

Ella Uriu, Topaz descendent

Scott Uriu, Principal of URIU Architecture; USC Adjunct Associate Professor, SCI-Arc Faculty. My mother Lynne Uriu is a Topaz survivor

Mayu Kanamori, Independent artist & founding member of Nikkei Australia

Jeanie M, Descendant of Poston survivor

Joy Shigaki, Minidoka descendant

Jeannie Shinozuka, historian

Rita Newoman, Artist

Chloe de los Reyes, Crafton Hills College

Ryan Bartlett, Professor

Hunter Harris, physician

Danae Hart, Professor

Nancy Wang Yuen, Ph.D, Sociologist and Ethnic Studies professor, Crafton Hills College

Deborah Lewis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; PhD candidate at Indiana University of PA

Marita Sturken, Professor, NYU

Christiane Hayashi, Daughter of Topaz Survivor

Harvey Dong, Eastwind Books; Lecturer, Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies, UC Berkeley

Katherine Hite, Professor, Vassar College

Mitsuru Nelson, Grandfather: Manzanar - Grandmother: Poston

Chisato Kimura, Nikkei Uprising member; civil rights attorney

Erika Doss, art historian

Lily Murakami Ng, Minidoka Descendant

JB, anthropologist

Dr. Belle Huang, psychiatrist, Supporter

Cindy Rasicot, Author and Activist

Michele Oearson, Physician

Emily Scroggs, Teacher

Lois Cantor, Friend of Topaz survivor

Carol Brighton, friend

Bea Tam Dong, Co-owner Eastwind Books

Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan, The Asian American Education Project

Michiko, Make It Sew; granddaughter and niece to Topaz survivors

Diane Wu Chang, Friend and supporter of Topaz survivor

Regina Ip, Friend of a Topaz survivor

Jerry Liao, Washington University Student

Akiko Ichikawa, artist, researcher, shelter case manager

Linda Akutagawa, President & CEO, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP); aunt’s family incarcerated at Manzanar

Charles Wollenberg, Historian and author

Chingcha Vang, ally of Japanese internment camp families

Alvin Quach, Friend of a Topaz survivor

Michelle Suski, CPA, Friend of Topaz survivor

Baozhen Luo-Hermanson, PhD, Writer, Leadership Coach, Friend of Topaz a survivor

Linda Omori, Topaz descendant

Beth Godbee, Ph.D., Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice

Armando A. Garcia, counselor, San Bernardino Valley College

Hanna Song, CHLA

Marilyn Penland, Topaz descendant

Rodney Penland, Husband of Topaz descendant

Edward Ferrari, Professor, Crafton Hills College

Julie Adams Church, Close friend of camp survivor

Cindi Textor, Associate Professor, University of Utah

Marianne Tarcov, Professor, McGill University Department of East Asian Studies

Greg World, Painter and friend

Arnold Paguio, Director of Student Life, Chabot College; Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education Board of Directors

Frank Kobayashi, Poston descendant

Yuri Miyagawa, Topaz and Minidoka descendant

Fran Osborne, Independent Curator

Tony K. Yang, MPA, PhD, Historian

Xochilt Trujillo Flores, Educator

John Cummins, Associate Chancellor Emeritus, UC Berkeley

George Osterkamp, Writer/Producer

Brandi Bailes, Professor of Mathematics - 3rd Generation Lone Pine Resident

L. Erika Saito, Ph.D., Educational consultant, researcher, former K-12 teacher and professor; Crystal City Descendant

Matthew M. Briones, Associate Professor of US History, UChicago; Author

Jennifer Saoko Ikuta, Topaz descendent, former journalist

Dean Tsutsui, Amache descendant

Dr Chris Hasegawa, Poston Descendant

traci kato-kiriyama, Tule Lake, Manzanar, Santa Anita, Hiroshima/Kagoshima (child & grandchild descendant); Sansei/Yonsei; multi/transdisciplinary artist, author, educator, community organizer

Sayumi Irey, Ph.D. Educator

Robert (Bobby) Nakamoto, Dean and Advisor for Chabot College Nikkei Student Union, Professor, San Francisco State University. Topaz & Tule Lake descendant

Jeffrey Smith, Historian, Supporter

Jane Whitley, Artist and Friend/Supporter of Topaz Survivor

Rev. Brian Lee, Pastor of Simpson United Methodist Church

O Yun, Educator

Amy Bloom, Physician, ally

Sylvia Campbell, Sharp Park, Gila River, and Tule Lake Descendant

Afrânio Kritski M.D., PhD., Medical School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Kenneth Castro, MD, Professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Friend of WMC Member

Lisa S. Park, Professor of Asian American Studies, UC-Santa Barbara

Linda Trinh Vo, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Asian American Studies, UC Irvine

Cynthia Chee, MD

Ronald H. Wakimoto, Professor Emeritus, University of Montana, Fort Lincoln and Rohwer descendant

Tara Singh Bam, Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development

Prabodh Bhambal, Public health and education professional

Elhadj Adam Daouda, Justice advocate

Lauren Pang, Psychotherapist

Lia Selig, Activist

Rebecca Chiyoko King-O'Riain, Rohwer descendent and Professor of Sociology, Maynooth University, Republic of Ireland

Jack DeHovitz, Physician

Janelle Wong, Professor & Director, Asian American Studies Program, University of Maryland, College Park

K. Scott Wong, Williams College, Charles R. Keller Professor of History, Emeritus; Historian

Janet A. Hill, Rohwer and Tule Lake descendant

Nathalie Guillerm, Executive assistant, Gallimard Jeunesse, Paris, France

Andi Wong, artist/educator, friend of Poston survivor

Courtney Ozaki, Poston & Crystal City Descendent

J. Oliver, Writer and friend

Eledy Vargas Gonzalez, Ops Manager, Friend

Kerri Sakamoto, writer, descendant of Tashme internment camp, Canada

Matt James, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Victoria

Danielle Wetmore, Historian

Alys Briggs, Retired attorney

Jon Funabiki, Retired professor and journalist; Heart Mountain descendant

Moon-Ho Jung, Professor of History, Univ. of Washington

Millie Morimoto King, JARCC Board member; Rohwer survivor, Educator

Linda Yasumura, Tule Lake Survivor

Karen Komai Margolis, Parents, grandparents, uncle, aunt, brother incarcerated at Amache, Colorado

John S.W. Park, Professor of Asian American Studies, UC Santa Barbara

Midi Onodera, media artist

Leslie Shimotakahara, writer and Minidoka descendent

Janice Ogawa, Amache descendant

Lynne Yamamoto, artist

Keith Kojimoto, Topaz descendant

Amy Leung, Friend of Topaz descendant

Amanda Roper, Public Historian

Linda Yoshizawa, Artist, Rohwer and Gila River descendant

Sally Kobayashi Osborn, Poston descendant

Joseph Gabel, My grandmother and her family were all in the camps at Topaz

Deborah Taggart, Ally and friend to survivors of many camps

Emily Kazuko Hill, Topaz, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake Gosei descendant

Rev. Mark M. Nakagawa, Heart Mountain and Poston descendant

Kerry Greenhill, Clergy

Rachel Rich, Teacher

Donald L. Hayashi, Minadoka descendant

Rocky Mitarai, Heart Mountain descendant

Carin Johnivan, Teacher, writer

William Hoshiyama, Topaz descendant

Rev. Isaac Dunn, Chaplain

Roberta Jue, Speech and Language Pathologist

Carl Yoshizawa, Descendant of internee at Dept. of Justice camp

Matthew Woodman, Lecturer, California State University, Bakersfield

Eileen Takata, Santa Anita, Rohwer, Tule Lake, Crystal City Descendant

Leigha McReynolds, Professor, University of Maryland, College Park

Wendy Phillips, Member of the community

Dave Hilliker, Member of the community

Lara Okihiro, author and researcher

Terry Bae Marks, tmarks design, supporter

Court VonLindern, Spiritual Director, In Solidarity

Kristin Sesser, Ally, friend and relative of descendants of many camps

Matt Marumoto, Activist, JACL Washington D.C.

Tyson Fok, Member of the community

Bill Kitamura, Amache and Jerome descendant

Kelly Murdock-Billy, United Methodist pastor, cousin and friend of survivors and descendants

Miranda Cornell, Topaz descendant

Kellen Hatanaka, Japanese Canadian Internment descendant. Artist

Kayli Kimura, Japanese-American filmmaker

Margo Okazawa-Rey, Professor Emerita, San Francisco State U

Gwendolyn Diponio, College Professor

Richard Katsuda, Co-Chair, NCRR, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress, Tule Lake, Manzanar, Santa Fe descendant

Mike Yanagita, Activist, Descendant of Minidoka, MIS language school instructor at University of Michigan, and interpreter

Mark Mitsui, Heart Mountain and Tule Lake descendant, Retired Community College President

David Loomis, Retired Educator

Jordan Komoto, Minidoka Descendant

Kathy Ang, Friend and supporter

Kay Ochi, Co-chair NCRR, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress; Poston Survivor

Michael Kurima, SDJACL

Chisao Hata, Parents married in Poston, artist/activist/healing arts

Lisa Nakamura, clinical psychologist, Topaz descendant

Debby Nozawa-Tanigawa, Amache and Tule Lake descendant

Grace Fujii, Tule Lake and Amache descendant

Laurie Shigekuni, Lawyer, Amache and Rohwer descendant

erik mc daniel, activist

Jill Nishi, Minikdoka Descendant

Yas Imamura, Illustrator

Vicki Taylor-McNally, Golden Lotus Foundation

David Izu, Art Director 50 Objects/Stories, Poston descendant

Kelly Yuka Walton, Educator

David Eng, Professor, University of Pennsylvania

Rich Eijima, Topaz descendant

Daven Lowhurst, Attorney, married to a descendant of a Heart Mountain survivor

Lidia Lustig, Paleontologist

Elaine Chiu, LEAP, The work I do is to highlight stories of struggles that APIs in the US experience in order for us to learn and move towards a more just and equitable society.

Steven R. Lipshie, Engineering geologist and friend of the late Takeo Susuki, 442nd RCT veteran, who never talked about his service

Ray Zhang, Public Humanities Student at Brown University

Theodora (Teddy) Yoshikami, Tule Lake, Amache survivor, Independent Consultant

Kayla Abe, Poston descendant

Gregory Turner-Rahman, Professor, Washington State University

Will Stoutamire, Associate Professor of History, University of Nebraska at Kearney

John Huster, Father to children of Heart Mountain descendants

Bethany Tasaka, Poston descendant, Professor of Mathematics at San Bernardino Valley College

Anthony Matsushita, Minidoka descendent

Kathy Kobayashi, Family of Poston Survivor

C Bradley, Supporter, Friend

Arisa Yura, Japanese Australian artist

Catherine Ceniza Choy, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

Robin Mitchell, artist, educator, activist, concerned citizen

Jeff Spurrier, Journalist/writer friend of Topaz survivor

JoAnn Coffino, artist, friend

Tosh Tanaka, Topaz & Gila River descendant

Nick Patricca, professor emeritus loyola university chicago

Lisa Hirai Tsuchitani, Jerome and Tule Lake descendant

Michele Connor, Retired Filmmaker

Robert LaCour Greenberg, Retired

Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi, president National Association of Japanese Canadians, Toronto; Japanese Canadian Internment descendant

Sharon Yamashita, University of Toronto, Japanese Canadian internment descendant

Cheyenne Cheng, JACL National staff, ally through community work

Debra Jewell, Retired Landscape Architect

Susan Hayase, Gila River, Amache descendant

Les Takahashi, National Association of Japanese Canadians, Toronto Chapter Secretary, descendant of Japanese Canadian internment camps; also descendant of JA WW2 Pacific theater veteran

Jennifer Noji, Minidoka, Tule Lake, Gila River descendant; PhD

Donna Fujii, Husband Poston descendant

Veronica Toyomi Ota, Rohwer Descendant, educator and community organizer

Rena Lum, Ally

Bruce Callarman, Healthcare Administration

Jeffrey Yamaguchi, Rohwer descendant

Dr. Dina Bennett, Executive Director, American Jazz Museum

Ede Rothaus, Photographer

Gabriela Nakashima, Tule Lake and Topaz descendant, Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee Board Member

Debbie Fong, Parent of Tule Lake and Topaz descendants

Lois Van Beers, Retired

Roy U. Ebihara, Topaz survivor

Aiko Ebihara, Tule Lake survivor

Leslie Uchida Tsukamoto, Born in Topaz

Yuki Nishimura, Supporter

Nedra Deadwyler, Social worker, Public historian, artist

Dr. Warren Crichlow, York University, Supporter

Q.M. Zhang, Founder, Q.M. Zhang | MemoryWorks

Solis Falcon, Descendant of Gila, Amache, Jerome, Tule and Santa Fe

Alan Miyagishima, Descendant: Gila, Amache, Jerome, Tule, Santa Fe

Gary Smoot, Educator, descendant of Mari Tomota incarcerated at Rohwer Arkansas

Laura Chinn-Smoot, Educator, descendant of Mari Tomota incarcerated at Rohwer Arkansas

Reiko Fujii, Manzanar, Crystal City descendant

Lenore Uyeyama Kakita, MD. "My father, Dr. Hajime Uyeyama, told me about this tragedy. Our family was sent from Berkeley, CA to Tanforan, Tule Lake, and to AMACHE, Colorado."

Peter Barnet, Art historian, retired museum curator

Tina Takayanagi Barnet, Topaz descendent

Karen Chow, English & Asian American Studies & Women’s Studies faculty, De Anza College

Jean-Paul deGuzman, Lecturer, UCLA

Diana Y Kado, Daughter of Poston survivor

Eric Wada, Jerome and Granada descendant

Dr. Ailene Cua Crakes, Dean, Counseling and Student Development, MiraCosta College

Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Prof. of History and Asian American Studies, Brown University

Lisa Suman, Topaz descendant

Alberta Chew, Friend of descendants of Topaz

Christina Conklin, artist, activist, and ally

Gwenn Jensen, Oral historian, medical anthropologist

Patrice Wynne, Abrazos San Miguel, Social Entrepreneur

Cecealia Kiino, Relative, Topaz Survivor

Janice McCarty Design, Designer

Stephen Michael Clauser, Brother-in-law of survivor

Ronald Kiino, "I was incarcerated with my parents and grandparents at Topaz Internment Camp. As a Topaz internee I am the only living witness to the killing of James Wakasa. This despicable act of violence and racism should never be eliminated from history."

Leah Shelleda, poet and professor emerita

David Aoyagi Sigman, Gila River Descendant, Musician, Student at Colorado College

Maggie Nguyễn, Undergraduate student, Colorado College

Lillian Nunno, Public Historian

Don Oshima, Topaz survivor, Block 14D, Units C &D for our family of 9. Understand the soldier who shot James Wakasa was court martialed but found not guilty.

Valerie M. Wright, Museum Registrar

Marcia Donahue, Friend

Yvonne Kwan, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, San Jose State University

Susan E Ostrom, Pastor, United Methodist Church

Ross Merrin, "Uncle Ron of our children witnessed tragic event as a young boy and never forgot it"

Toby Egeth, Retired

John and Dianne Earnest, friend saw the event

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Professor of History and Asian American Studies, University of California, Irvine

Garrett Ito, Professor, and son & grandson of concentration camp survivors

Molly Murakami, Manzanar descendant

Ellyn Ito, Yonsei generation of American Citizens of Japanese descent incarcerated at Gila River

Michael Gross, supporter, retired teacher

Helen Gross, retired - software engineer

Nancy Tarr, Friend and ally of a survivor

J/DShaul, Friend of internment survivor

Sally M Bohna, Interested supporter

Matt Flores, Writer, educator

Chris Moore, poet, psychotherapist

Ariana Reines, Writer

Leslie Vilicich, Tule Lake descendant, art conservator

Margot Swetich, Writer, friend

Karima Walker, Artist, supporter

Abby L, I am Japanese American. I do not have family who have experienced Japanese American incarceration.

Kelley Van Dyck Murphy, Associate Professor, Washington Univ. in St. Louis

Dr. Tamara Cheshire, Professor and Ethnic Studies Dept. Chair Folsom Lake College

Joyce Belcher, Friend and ally

Sandy Tanaka, Crystal City descendant

Omar Berrada, writer

Wendy Shimamura Ryan, writer

Robert Nieweg, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Senior Vice President, Preservation Initiatives Division

Katelyn Rivas, Allied Media Projects; Writer, cultural organizer

Zac Clement, Topaz descendent

Jeffrey Pethybridge, poet, Naropa University

Cameron Quan, poet

Michèle Oshima, Topaz Descendant

Nga Vương-Sandoval, supporter

Eric Baus, Writer, Teacher

Erinrose Mager, Writer

Seiji Igei Nakaki, Yonsei Heart Mountain Descendant

Finn Kaoru Laubscher, Heart Mountain descendant

Katherine Terumi Laubscher, Heart Mountain descendant

JiaJing Liu, Friend of Poston survivor

Jourdene Rosella C. Aguon, Scholar

Mia Barnard, Public Library Employee

Susan Sumida Boulot, Minidoka descendant

Rich Iwasaki, Minidoka descendant

Kai Naima Williams, Writer, Tule Lake and Jerome descendent

Matteo Renteria-Powers, Friend and supporter of descendants

Maya, Ally

Aubrey King, poet

Sara Kurtz, Student of history

Joel Balzer, Counselor

Brooke Bisel, Minidoka and Gila River descendant, Kansha History Project volunteer

L. Kanegawa, Tule Lake descendant

Erin Selover, Celtic Wheel Buddhist Sangha

Aaron Bock, Supporter

Lorraine Makishima Seiji, Gila River Survivor

emiko yoshikami, Heart Mountain descendant

Cheryl P., Licensed clinical social worker and Ally

Kylie Bernard, Heart Mountain descendant, yonsei

Rick Laubscher, Supporter

Kevin Irie, Writer

Traci Chee, Topaz descendant, writer

Kela Landry, Topaz descendant

Lori Rodriguez, Friend of a survivor

Natalie Kimura, Topaz Descendant, Filmmaker

Abby White, author

Zêdan Xelef, poet and translator

Wenona Mineko Morris Galotta, Jerome and Rohwer descendant, teacher

Katie Takayanagi, Topaz descendant

Kelly Hoffer, professor, University of Michigan

Mona Oikawa, Writer and Senior Scholar, Tashme, Slocan, Schreiber descendant

Phillip Vitela, photojournalist

Doug Chin, OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Seattle Chapter, co-chair

Maryam Parhizkar, ally, researcher, teacher, poet

Cynthia Forney

Sharma Shields, Friend/ally (no family connection), Novelist and Writing Education Specialist, Spokane Public Library

Terry Uyeki, Minidoka and Gila River Sansei descendent

Nicole Sunahara Scandlyn, Great niece of Heart Mountain incarceree

Bridget Keaveney, MA Student (Waseda University), Supporter

Michele Sunahara Loudermilk, Yonsei, Heart Mt. descendant, journalist, JD

Lucy Carlson, supporter

Vicki Ozaki, Heart Mountain descendent, Sansei

Kristen Tang, Jerome and Rohwer descendant

Maria Mar, Ally

Mathias Svalina, Writer

Emily Duncan, Friend of Descendants

Xavier V, Artist

Liz and Patrick Tamayo, Supporters

Irene Sachiko (nee UYEYAMA) Kazmers, Tule Lake and Amache descendant. Rheumatologist.

Sophie Sarkar, Artist, Organizer, and Engaged Buddhist, Manzanar and Tule Lake Descendant

Halie Matsui, UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union, granddaughter of Gila River camp survivor

John Ichiuji, DDS, son of Poston and Manazar prisoners

Denise Teraoka, Heart Mountain descendant

Christina Kiino, Topaz Descendant

Stuart Miller, Spouse of Topaz Descendant

James Ichiuji, My grandparents were in the camps during wwii

Mary Bitterman, Supporter

Seiji Kawamura, Dr. of Pharmacy, SJSU (Student; ksjs.org DJ, & Global Ambassador)

Karen Yoshitomi, Tule Lake descendant, Executive Director, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of WA

Mitchell Higa, Manzanar and Tule Lake descendant

Calvin S Oishi, MD, Poston descendant

Naomi Natsuhara, Writer, Minidoka, Heart Mountain, Tule Lake descendant

Arlene M. Makita- Acuña, Amache descendant

Ryan Tana, Tule Lake, Lordsburgh Camp, Gila River descendant

Alan Kando Iijima, Topaz descendant

Martin Iyoya, Topaz Descendant

Judy Ichiuji, Topaz and Poston descendant

Grania Brigden, Doctor

Yves Dzialowski, Son of Warsaw ghetto and Gulag survivors

Peggy Sonoda, Gila, Poston and Amache descendant

Craig Kurumada, Linguist, musician, writer

Thom Eichelberger-Young, publisher

Alicia Tsuyako Tan, Rohwer, Jerome, and Poston descendant

May Takashima, Topaz survivor, age 93

Naomi Kawamura, Educator and Cultural Memory Scholar

Amy E. Davis, Historian

Kirsten Freeman, Architectural Historian, Preservationist

Rebecca Ozaki, Jerome & Heart Mountain survivor descendant

Alex Tretbar, poet and writer

M. Clement. My grandmother, Noriko Chiwaki Clement, and her family were sent to the Topaz interment camp during WW2.

Jeffrey Parker, Writer, engineer, father of a Japanese-American boy

Mike Corrao, Poet and Book Designer

Jenkin Benson, writer

David G. Kim, Graphic Desiger, classmate of Erin Shigaki

Donald Kunz, co-chair, Friends of Yamasaki

Amie Zimmerman, writer

Brooks Kolb, co-chair, Friends of Yamasaki

Henry Goldkamp, writer

Miri Karraker, writer

Reuben Gelley Newman, writer

Geoffrey Olsen, poet

Esther Poirier, Friend of Minidoka survivors and descendants

Carmen Tsuboi Chan, Minidoka, Tule Lake, Heart Mt + Twenty-Four Eyes by Sakae Tsuboi sansei descendant + retired Elem Principal

J Clement, Descendent Topaz survivor

Ronald Kobata, descendant-Nyssa, OR labor camp, Minidoka. Heart Mountain; Buddhist Churches of America, retired

Alice Ito, Tule Lake and Minidoka descendant

Karissa Tom, Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee Board member; Crystal City, Poston, Heart Mountain descendant

Dave Nakashima, Topaz and Tule Lake descendant

Beth M Weinstein, co-founder Remembering Spaces of Internment (ReSI)

Reiko H. True, PhD, Professor Emerita, Alliant International University

Sandra Honda, Minidoka & Tule Lake descendant

Shirley Tabata Ponomareff, Maui raised of immigrant parents

Michele Koenig, M.D, Psychiatrist who worked with trauma victims. Friends of issei, nisei and sansei survivors of Japanese internment camps.

Karen Akada Sakata, Minidoka Descendant

Selena Moon, Historian

Hiroshi Myoraku, Topaz survivor

Marcella Durand, Poet

Amy Myoraku, Minidoka survivor

Laura Marris, writer and translator

Camila Nakashima, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, Crystal City Pilgrimage Planning Committee; Tule Lake & Topaz descendant

Emi Maeda, Student Poet

Daryl Doami, Topaz descendant

Lane Nishikawa, Film Producer/Director

Elise Tran, Writer

Lauren Yamagata, Gila River descendant, Sansei, Event Planner

Tony Tsuboi, Minidoka descendant, Tule Lake descendant, Heart Mountain descendant

R. Bell, Artist

Brian Shibayama, Crystal City Pilgrimage 2025 co-chair, Crystal City, Tule Lake, Minidoka descendant

Caity Bishop, Tule Lake Committee, Tule Lake and Poston Descendant, Archaeologist

Zander burgess, Supporter

Pam Morita-Bishop, Proud descendent of Poston, Tule Lake and Snow Country Prison Survivors

Rob Buscher, Yonsei, Board Member of JACL Philadelphia, descendant of forcibly removed Japanese Americans, Lecturer at University of Pennsylvania Asian American Studies Program

K. Natalie Hayashida Ong, I am a survivor of Manzanar and Minidoka camps along with my Saburo Hayashida family for 3-1/2 years!

Marvin Inouye, Heart Mountain descendant / activist

Kazumu Julio Cesar Naganuma, Crystal City survivor and board chair. "My parents, sisters, brothers and I were kidnapped from Callao, Peru and interned at Crystal City."

Susan Yanagihara, Minidoka descendant

Kazuko Oyamada Iwahashi, Topaz survivor

Debbie Kashino, Minidoka descendant

Tim Thomas, Historian/Museum Curator, Monterey JACL Heritage Center

Marc Stein, San Francisco State University, historian

Ila de Leon, Friend of descendants of Minidoka and other camps

Mikka Gee Conway, Poston descendant

Linda Lee, Supporter

Betsy Sakaizawa Hasegawa, Descendent of US citizens incarcerated at Heart Mountain, Tule Lake, Bismarck, and then renunciants to Japan; Santa Fe, Jerome, and Amache; and my father was a decorated officer with the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regiment

Steven Nakashima, Tule Lake and Topaz descendant

Jane Dickson, teacher

Louise Tsuboi and Shiro Kashino, Minidoka Survivors, Daughter/Grandaughter of Issei/Nisei Incarcerated at Minidoka, father 442; JACL and Lifetime NVC Foundation member

Kyle Tana, Tule Lake, Gila River and Lordsburg descendent

Jill Israels, descendant of Manzanar and Poston survivors

Geneva Seaboy Morsette, Retired Activist, human services, professor, SWCC, Spikan community college, Native American Alcatraz prison and Park Advisory committee

Christopher Iijima, Topaz descendent

Michelle Huey, descendant of both Tule Lake and Amache camp survivors

Kris Urbanrezlife Longoria, Artist, Writer, Ally

Gino Barichello, Advisor, Alcatraz Occupation Advisory Committee

Fawn Oakes, Organizer, Advisor of Alcatraz Ruins & Exhibit; Ally

Brian Ang, Poet

Paul Mitsuo Kurose, Sansei Minidoka Descendent

Kathryn Kanaya Nishimura, Tule Lake and Jerome descendent

S. Nobuko Suzuki, Tuna Canyon, Santa Fe, Lordsburg, Crystal City, Heart Mountain and Gila River descendantart Gila River descendant

J Katsumata, Relative of survivor

Starr Sumie Miyata, descendent of someone incarcerated primarily at Missoula but moved through 5 other camps

The supporters—individual and organizational—listed above signed on during the letter's open period, September 22-October 31, 2025. 

October 31 is a day of significance, as it is the 80th anniversary of the official closing of the Topaz concentration camp in Utah.

However, we are continuing to welcome signatures and support. The following individuals and organizations signed on after October 31. One "ancestral" supporter and all anonymous signatories are listed below them.

Etsu Nakamura Garfias, Survivor of Tule Lake, Jerome, Amache

Ann Linhares

Norma Tsuboi, Tule Lake survivor

Rev. Danny Fong, Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Elizabeth Shimotsuka, Topaz and Poston descendant

K Yasuda, Topaz and Poston descendant

Shannon Carpenter, Granddaughter of Topaz survivor

Cathleen Sonoda Cohen, Poston, Gila, Amache descendant

Laura Mariko Cheifetz, Topaz & Poston descendant

venus sera, wife of topaz descendant

Gordon Aoyagi, Gila AZ Descendant

Maren Schiffer, Editor and Teacher

Regina Kong, Writer, Artist, Researcher

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Writer who has written on the Japanese American incarceration

Susan Kunimatsu, Minidoka and Tule Lake descendant

Kristin Okimoto, Manzanar descendant

Sandy Sugawara, Amache descendant

Wendy Matsubuchi, Pre-WW2 Yonsei, descendant of 4 Incarceration grandparents, teacher

Dale Watanabe, Minidoka Concentration Camp descendant

Volodymyr Petruniv, Supporter

Mary Asaki Ishimoto Morris, Jerome, Rohwer, Manzanar descendant

Shawn Halifax, non-Nikkei friend and ally, Public historian and museum professional, Stono History Consulting

Marge Taniwaki, Manzanar survivor

Ndeye Ndao, Refugees + Immigrants United and Ndeye Ndao Consulting

Carole Yokota, Tule Lake, Gila River descendant

Richard Hamai, Minidoka Descendant

Kathryn Tolbert, researcher, writer

James Lee and Jane E Hansen, Friend