POSTON RESTORATION PROJECT NEWSLETTER The Poston Community Alliance, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and historical organization

S PR ING 20 08 www.p os t ona l l i a nc e .o r g

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OUR PROJECT LOCATIONThe Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT)allocated a parcel of land at the former siteof Poston Unit 1 for our project. This isapproximately 17 miles south of the townof Parker, Arizona off of Mohave Road,about 1/2 mile from the Poston MemorialMonument location.

The area in green, outlines land donatedby a resolution of the Tribal Council. Thegreen buildings are original buildings ofPoston Camp 1. This is the largestremaining infrastructure of all ten JapaneseAmerican internment camps. Now it is upto us to see our vision of a museum, interpretive and education center completed.

2007-2008 POSTON COMMUNITY ALLIANCE, INC. BOARD MEMBERSPresident Jon Villalobos, Colorado River Indian Tribes memberSecretary Ruth Okimoto, Ph.D, Poston camp III interneeTreasurer Marlene Shigekawa, Poston camp I interneeRepresentative At Large Jay Cravath, Ph.D, Colorado River Indian Tribes-Education DepartmentRepresentative At Large Dianne Kiyomoto, (daughter). Poston camp III internee

NEW NON-PROFIT STATUSThe Poston Restoration Project funds have been transferred from the Japanese American HistoricalSociety of San Diego (JAHSSD) to our new non-profit bank account. Thank you to the JAHSSD who hasserved as our tax-deductible donation trustee for the past 5 years as we applied for IRS 501 (c)(3) status.Special heartfelt thanks to Robert Batchelder, Treasurer of JAHSSD, for maintaining our financial recordsand writing checks from our funds to cover necessary expenses.

‘ORIGINAL’ POSTON BARRACK DONATEDThe barracks constructed at Poston were different than those atall the other centers. It is presumed that due to the extreme heatin southwestern Arizona, the double roof acted as insulation,however they were easily blown off during windstorms. Thebarracks were elevated off the ground on concrete blocks.

In 2005, we received notice from the City of Parker to relocatethe “double roof” barrack from its current site behind the LemonTree Nursery. This barrack (shown to the left) is the lastremaining structure in its original form. We need this importanthistorical building for our project.

There was an effort to move the building, but it has been delayed due to funding problems. Dr. Cravathhas updated the Parker town manager of our efforts. We need more money and volunteer help to stabilizeand relocate this barrack closer to our project site.

POSTON COMMUNITY ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2008

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NEW FENCINGIn 2005, the Colorado River Indian Tribal Councilapproved the purchase of fence materials to protect andsecure the Poston site. The cost of fence materials withthe Ahakhav Preserve’s labor hours for its installation,along with cleanup of the area by CRIT Farms, wasnearly $100,000.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESIn June of 2007, Dominion Environmental Consultants,Inc. completed a comprehensive asbestos and lead-based paints survey report. Two hazardous materials,lead and asbestos, were found on our site. The leadcontamination is from the use of lead-based paint on the buildings and the asbestos contamination isfrom the old roofing materials.

The Colorado River Indian Tribe Environmental Protection Office director, Cheyenne Garcia, met withLisa Swick, archeological compliance technician, Uyen Le, CRIT Deputy Attorney General, Rick Ench,tribal planner, and Dr. Cravath to review the reports and explain plans for follow-up. The Departmentof Defense will fund the cleanup.

STATUS OF NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION APPLICATIONDr. Michael Tsosie, the Director of the Colorado River Indian Tribe Museum, is taking the lead role toinclude Poston on the U. S. National Historic Register. We have the support and assistance of the ArizonaState Historic Preservation Office, which donated funds for an archeological evaluation—completed lastyear. Currently, Dr. Tsosie is working with the U.S. National Park Service to complete the application forNational Historical Site.

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT IN PROGRESSMembers of Poston Community Alliance (PCA) and representatives of the Colorado River Indian Tribe(CRIT) have agreed that a “memorandum of agreement” (MOA) is necessary to begin work on ourproject.. When signed, the agreement will designate the PCA to work with CRIT on fundraising and toobtain and preserve oral histories, artifacts and other materials for the project and its archives. BecauseCRIT holds the deed to the project property. it will be responsible for stabilizing, improving, andrestoring the site. CRIT will reserve the site for the development of our project’s interpretive andeducation center, where information will be available by computer and hard copy of people of Japanesedescent and the members of CRIT whose families were relocated from the Hopi and Navajocommunities.

With approval of the agreement, the PCA would be responsible for design, development, and operationof the facility when it is completed, through a long-term lease. In addition, both organizations will workto raise funds to build and maintain the facility. For more information, contact Dr. Cravath.

FAMILY HISTORY PROJECTWe continue to search and add to our growing list of former camp 1, 2 and 3 internees. Included are allwho arrived to the Poston camps, babies born in camp, internees transferred to the camp fromDepartment of Justice detention camps or from elsewhere, as well as block/apartment number, in-campwedding dates, those who served in the military, participation on sports teams, block managers,committees served, destination following leaving camp…...

Information is collected and maintained by Dianne Kiyomoto. If you have additional information toshare, contact Dianne Kiyomoto . email: kueyd@yahoo.com or mail to: 630 E. Quincy, Fresno, CA 93720 .

POSTON COMMUNITY ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2008

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ORAL HISTORY PROJECTThe Poston Oral History Project is a recording and sharing of interviews from former Poston interneesabout their past memories and internment camp experiences.

Many thanks to the following former Poston internees for recording their stories for futuregenerations:Abe, Franklin Abe, Herbert Abe, Amy (Nagata) Akaishi, Taro Asami, Louise (Mizote) Dwiggins, Toshi(Ikuma) Harada, Yas Hashimoto , Mary (Kinoshita) Higashi , Vi Hatano, Joanne (Ono) Iritani, Richard“Babe” Karasawa, Mitsuko Kawamoto, Yukio Kawamoto, Faye Kazato, Amy (Shiba) Kiritani, Lilyan(Nagata) Kiyomoto, Midori (Koba) Koga, Masahiko Konatsu, Nob Kurokawa, Marion (Nakamura)Masada, Lillian Morizono, Ed Nagata, Gordon Nagata, Haruye (Nakamura) Nagata, Grace (Mori) Oda,George T. Ohama, Ruth Okimoto, Michiko Okuma, Aiko Owashi , Toshi (Awaya) Sakai, Akira Tajiri,Yasuo Tokita, Tak Tsutsui, Aiko (Yano) & Tom Uyeoka, Ada (Nishida) Yamamoto, Junichi Yamamoto,Sumiko Yamamoto.

We also have recorded interviews on the building of the Poston Memorial Monument. Thanks to TedKobata ,Jim Kobata and Jim Namba (all former internees from camp 2) for sharing their experiences. These oral histories will be stored and available at our new learning center. We are still searching formore former Poston internees to record oral histories. If you would like to be contacted to record youroral history, contact: Dr. Cravath at 928-669-8831 or email cravath@gmail.com .

MUSEUM COLLECTION PROJECTWe are looking for Poston artifacts for our future museum. The following items have been donated andcurrently stored safely at the CRIT Tribal Museum until our building project is completed.

ITEM DONOR POSTON CAMP

4 painted & carved bird pins Nob Kurokawa camp 3

The First Year: Story of the Red Cross in Poston"(Red Cross Membership Directory)

Kuni Iwo camp 2

1944 Campus Echoes Yearbook (High School) Lilyan (Nagata) Kiyomoto camp 3

1945 Campus Echoes Yearbook (High School) Lilyan (Nagata) Kiyomoto camp 3

1 suitcase for relocation to Poston Malcolm Matsumoto ??

Personal photos of camp 3 Y. George Y. Kiyomoto camp 3 visitor

Personal photos of camp 3 Lilyan (Nagata) Kiyomoto camp 3

Personal photos of camp 2 George T. Ohama camp 2

Personal photos of camp 2 Marion (Nakamura) Masada camp 2

Poston Chronicles newspaper Mary (Morioka) Ishida camp 3

Pacific Citizen (JACL newspaper) Mary (Morioka) Ishida camp 3

POSTON COMMUNITY ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2008

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“PASSING POSTON” A HUGE SUCCESSOn February 13, 2008, the world premiere of anew documentary about incarceration of personsof Japanese descent at the Poston Camps, wasshown to audiences of over 800 at the ColoradoRiver Indian Tribes’ Theatre in Parker, AZ. Anumber of former internees came to the event.Special screenings included a morning showing atParker High School, with discussion, and aninvitational screening followed by a reception atthe Bluewater Resort and Casino. A specialmemorial was held at the Poston Monument aswell. Watanabe Flower Garden in Phoenixprovided a wreath (pictured here) that includedfoliage like that used for Mary Higashi’s weddingat Camp One on May 23, 1945. Pictured are thecast and co-producers. From left to Ruth Okimoto,Kiyo Sato, Joe Fox, Mary Higashi, Jay Nubile and Leon Uyeda. Contact Dianne Kiyomoto or Dr. Cravathfor information to purchase a DVD.

…THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS 2007 SPONSORS…

Barbara (Katayama) & Kevin Domingos (Hyde Park, MA)Dianne Kiyomoto & Dale Kuey (Fresno, CA)George & Lilyan (Nagata) Kiyomoto (Fresno, CA)Jeanette Nishimori (Fresno, CA)June (Kiyomoto) Kitagawa (San Francisco, CA)Kathy Stogbauer (Kingsburg, CA)Laurie (Asami) Wong (Reedley, CA)Marlene (Okajima) Garcia (Clovis, CA)Michiko K. Okimoto (Stanford, CA)Wisconsin JACL (Brookfield, WI)

Special Memorial Donations:Dianne Kiyomoto & Dale Kuey-in memory of: Rev. Tadashi Akaishi (Eastchester, NY)Dianne Kiyomoto & Dale Kuey-in memory of: Yukiyasu “Tom” Uyeoka (Fresno, CA)

OUR CURRENT PROJECT NEEDS: Financial support for the “ Poston Restoration Project” Funding will allow us to build the museum Collecting 1942-1945 artifacts & other evidence of Japanese

Americans at Poston Increasing our supporting membership

Donations can now be made payable to:Poston Restoration Projectc/o Marlene Shigekawa956 Hawthorn DriveLafayette, CA 94549

If you prefer to receive these newsletters electronically and reduce yourcarbon footprint, go to our website: www.postonalliance.org.