2023

Last Wednesday my sister, Marcia, and I took a road trip to Twin Falls Idaho to attend the 2023 Minidoka Pilgrimage. Minidoka was an American concentration camp where up to 13,000 Japanese Americans were denied their civil rights and were incarcerated during World War 2. https://www.nps.gov/miin/index.htm
The first stop on our journey was lunch in Goldendale, WA. We continued east with stops in Baker City, overnight in Ontario, then on to Boise before reaching Twin Falls.
The Pilgrimage kicked off with a social and dinner at Koto Brewing Company. https://koto.beer/
We connected with our relatives from Texas, my Auntie Toku, cousins and theirs spouses and kids. Twelve Texans in all ranging in age from 1 to 91!
Opening ceremony was at the College of Southern Idaho followed by a full day of enlightening educational seminars.
Saturday morning we took a bus to Minidoka National Historic Site where we went to the Visitors Center then had a walking tour of the site guided by the NPS. It was quite moving walking where my grandparents, mother, aunts, uncles and older cousins trod 80 years ago. We returned to the college for an afternoon of small group Intergernerational Legacy Sessions. My session was informative, bonding and surprisingly (to me) emotional and cathartic. I guess generational trauma is a real thing. Later that evening we headed to the Fairfield Inn for cocktails, karaoke and dancing (imagine line dancing to Uptown Funk by a 90+ year old) and Japanese Bon Odori.
The closing ceremony was held at Minidoka with speeches given by various leaders of the JA community, National Park Service and Crow Nation. It was touching witnessing the survivors take part in the Native American sage smudging ceremony.
As always I was proud to locate my father's name on the Honor Roll where the names of JA soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service fought for and served their country while their loved ones were incarcerated. https://goforbroke.org/history/unit-history/442…
We visited Shoshone Falls before starting our long drive home.
Thank you to the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, Friends of Minidoka https://www.minidoka.org/ and National Parks Service for a fantastic experience. Thank you Marcia for driving.
Today we're bound for a 12 night stay at Neskowin Creek RV Park on the central Oregon Coast.Read more