Tule Lake War Relocation Center was an internment camp in the northern California town of Newell near Tule Lake. It was used in the Japanese American internment during World War II. It was one of the largest and most controversial of the camps, and did not close until after the war, in 1946.

History

Among the Japanese Americans interned at Tule Lake were internees from other camps who refused to take a vow of undivided loyalty to the U.S. and were sent to this "Segregation Camp," or had given answers on the loyalty questionnaire that suggested they were untrustworthy or security risks. As a result, it had the highest level of security of any of the camps.

At the beginning of the internment, Japanese Americans and resident aliens of Japanese descent were given a questionnaire to determine their loyalty to the United States. Question 27 on the questionnaire asked, "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?" while 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?"

A number of those who were sent to Tule Lake had found the loyalty oath's questions confusing, while others, certain that they were to be deported to Japan no matter how they had answered, feared that answering the questions in the affirmative would cause them to be seen as enemy aliens by the Japanese. Others chose to answer "no" to both questions in protest of their imprisonment.

Some of the Tule Lake internees had participated in demonstrations against the internment policy at other camps,and many residents had renounced their U.S. citizenship. Unsanitary, squalid living conditions, inadequate medical care, poor food, and unsafe working conditions had prompted protests at several camps. In November 1943 a series of meetings and protests over poor living conditions at Tule Lake prompted the Army to impose martial law over the camp (www.tulelake.org/history.html)

Starting in 1974, Tule Lake was the site of several pilgrimages by activists calling for an official apology from the U.S. government. This Redress Movement culminated in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The pilgrimages, serving educational purposes, continue to this day.

On December 21, 2006 U.S. President George W. Bush signed H.R. 1492 into law guaranteeing $38,000,000 in federal money to restore the Tule Lake relocation center along with nine other former Japanese internment camps. "H.R. 1492". .

Notable Tule Lake internees

• Violet Kazue de Cristoforo (1917–2007), a Japanese American poet. Also interned at Jerome.
• Yamato Ichihashi (1878–1963), one of the first academics of Asian ancestry in the United States.
• Harvey Itano (born 1920), American biochemist best known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases.
• Hiroshi Kashiwagi (born 1922), a poet, playwright and actor.
• Bob Matsui (1941–2005), a 13-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Jimmy Murakami (born 1933), a Japanese American animator and director.
• George Takei (born 1937), an American actor best known for his role in Star Trek.
• George T. Tamura (born 1927), an artist.
• Takuji Yamashita (1874–1959), an early 20th century civil rights pioneer. Also interned at Minidoka and Manzanar.

References

See also

• Manzanar War Relocation Center

External links

• Tule Lake Committee History, photos, and VR panoramas.
• National Park Service: Confinement and Ethnicity (Chapter 15) Camp plan and photos.
• PBS documentary

Written works about Tule Lake

• To The Stars, autobiography of actor George Takei, who was interned (as a child) at Tule Lake because of the answers which his mother had given on the infamous "Loyalty Questionnaire."

"The Climate of the Country" by Marnie Mueller. http://www.curbstone.org/bookdetail.cfm?BookID=67