Two Day of Remembrance attendees view the works on display exploring Japanese American incarceration during World War II by artist Chris Hopkins. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.
Community members honored Day of Remembrance at two symbolically important sites in Puyallup and Tacoma, honoring the memory of the more than 125,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during WWII, and striving to prevent similar treatment to immigrants and refugees today at the hands of the U.S. government.
February 19 marks the anniversary of President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 of 1942, which ordered the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans in the West Coast.
Around 7,500 Japanese Americans from Seattle, King County, and western Washington were incarcerated at the Puyallup Assembly Center, euphemistically called Camp Harmony, which then and now was the site of the Washington State Fairgrounds. From there, they were taken to Minidoka and Manzanar concentration camps in Idaho and California.
The Puyallup Valley Japanese American Citizens League held a Day of Remembrance event on Saturday, Feb 21 at the Expo Hall on the Washington State Fairgrounds.
This year’s Day of Remembrance was in a different format from previous years. Guests took part in different five sessions with different speakers. They included a fireside chat with survivors Hana Konishi and Paul Tomita; a reading by author Tamiko Nimura from her new book, A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return To Tule Lake; a display of paintings by artist Chris Hopkins that explore the incarceration experience; and updates from Tsuru for Solidarity by Stan Shikuma and his team on actions needed to support immigrant and refugee communities currently being targeted.
Paul Tomita, a survivor, shares his family’s experience during and following incarceration. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.This year’s Day of Remembrance was in a different format from previous years. Guests took part in different five sessions with different speakers. They included a fireside chat with survivors Hana Konishi and Paul Tomita; a reading by author Tamiko Nimura from her new book, A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return To Tule Lake; a display of paintings by artist Chris Hopkins that explore the incarceration experience; and updates from Tsuru for Solidarity by Stan Shikuma and his team on actions needed to support immigrant and refugee communities currently being targeted. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.A “Reflections Table” was set for guests of the Remembrance Gallery to share personal stories and thoughts of the experience. The Remembrance Gallery is a permanent installation, open during different Washington State Fair events throughout the year. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.At the start of the program, guests were honored with a welcome prayer and song from the Puyallup Canoe Family and the Chiapas Education Project. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.A Day of Remembrance docent volunteer points at Paul Tomita’s name on the memorial wall. Paul Tomita, a survivor, was a speaker at the Day of Remembrance 2026. The monument is a permanent installation in the “Puyallup Assembly Center” Remembrance Gallery. It lists the names of over 7,500 people imprisoned on these fairgrounds. Their names are in alphabetical order according to family last names along with their government-assigned family number. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.Eileen Yamada Lamphere, President of Puyallup Valley JACL, made brief opening remarks welcoming guests and sharing the five sessions that explore the incarceration experience and the importance of supporting immigrant and refugee communities currently being targeted.Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.An activity table was set up by Tsuru for Solidarity to create protest signs for attendees to bring to the Tsuru for Solidarity action at the Northwest Detention Center, and at future events. Photo credit: Puyallup Valley JACL / Theo Bickel.
At 1 p.m. following the event in Puyallup, community members gathered for a Solidarity Day Action at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) organized by Tsuru for Solidarity and La Resistencia.
Activists and survivors of Japanese American incarceration shared about why they are fighting to shut down detention sites like the NWDC.
Joe Okimoto, a Nisei survivor of Poston and a member of Tsuru for Solidarity, speaks with the crowd at the Tsuru for Solidarity action on the parallels in history and how Japanese Americans must speak up to fight injustice today. Okimoto is a retired psychiatrist and former Asian Counseling and Referral Services medical director who was incarcerated at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and Poston concentration camp as a child. Photo by Theo Bickel.Activists march in front of the Northwest ICE Processing Center.Photo by Theo Bickel.Taiko performers kicked off the Tsuru for Solidarity Day of Remembrance to make noise for those detained inside.Photo by Theo Bickel.Via video chat, organizers were able to connect with a detainee inside the Northwest ICE Processing Center. He shared the inadequate healthcare and severe medical conditions he suffers through inside the facility. Photo by Theo Bickel.With gates to the Northwest ICE Processing Center behind him, Stan Shikuma, co-chair for Tsuru for Solidarity’s Child and Family Detention campaign, speaks to the crowd.Photo by Theo Bickel.The Northwest ICE Processing Center, in Tacoma is one of the largest detention centers in the country.Photo by Theo Bickel.Activists gather together in protest outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center, the Tacoma Dome far off in the distance.Photo by Theo Bickel.
Theodore Kenzo Dante Bickel is a Seattle-based photographer who has contributed to the International Examiner since 2024. He uses visual storytelling to showcase the vitality of the Chinatown-International District and contemporary Asian American communities in Seattle. He is Shin-Nikkei Japanese American. Born in Portland, Oregon, he grew up in the wilds of southwest Washington state. Theo, or “Tay-o” as his friends call him, found himself putting down roots in the C-ID shortly after arriving in Seattle in 2013. He has spent over a decade working in C-ID community non-profits in development, community engagement, civil rights advocacy, and communications. Theo was one of seven Seattle-based Asian American photographers that published the photography exhibit “Through the Eyes of a Tiger” in May 2023. The photo exhibit blended holistic, not homogenous, views of the C-ID in a critical time of regrowth and development.
