Tule Lake Pilgrimage, one of the most beloved and popular camp pilgrimages, returned after six long years of cautious absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with some attendees having registered as far back as 2020. Approximately 365 eager pilgrims on seven chartered buses gathered from July 5-8 at Klamath Falls’ Oregon Institute of Technology, with about 63 percent of the total group attending for their first time.

It remains the only all-inclusive event that includes bus transportation to and from the site, all lodging and meals, and three days of presentations, tours and workshops. Now in its 23rd year, this pilgrimage is second only to Manzanar in length of tenure.

With this year’s theme of “Reframing the Narrative,” the pilgrimage was once again capably organized by the hard-working Tule Lake Committee helmed by its president Hiroshi Shimizu. This year, the Committee added a group of trained docents who, adorned in bright red happi coats, were on hand to lead bus tours and provide assistance throughout the event.

The pilgrimage began with a video opening by author/activist Satsuki Ina who, born at Tule Lake, could not be there in person. Having recently completed her memoir, “The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest,” Ina spoke to the full house in a specially recorded video about the impact of Tule Lake on her life as a distinguished activist leader as well as the significance of Tule Lake as a previously maligned segregation center.

The first full day of activities featured the traditional Castle Rock hike for those hardy enough to climb the 800-foot peak that provides the iconic landmark of the camp. Later in the day, the camp tour highlighted new findings regarding the recently discovered exact location of the infamous stockade that began as several tents known as the “bullpen” during Tule Lake’s period of martial law. The newly discovered precise location of the murder of James Okamoto by a security guard at one of camp’s entrance gates, was also shown.

Other tour stops included the War Relocation Authority Citizen Isolation Center that housed farmworkers from other camps brought in by the WRA during a Tule Lake workers’ strike; the Tule Lake camp cemetery; and the Block 73 latrine foundation.

Tule Lake committee members and docents conducted a thorough walk-through and explanation of the recently renovated jail, one of the only remaining structures at the site. Restored with funds from the Tule Lake Committee and completed in 2022, the jail served as a holding cell for Issei and renunciant males before being sent to camps run by the Department of Justice. It has long been the emblematic structure that differentiated Tule Lake from the other 10 camps.

This year’s traditional memorial service presided by Buddhist Rev. Duncan Ryuken Williams was noteworthy for a special processional ceremony honoring 333 men, women, and children who died at Tule Lake.

Members of the Sansei Granddaughters, camp descendants and artists hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, who created and carried a sacred shimenawa (sacred ropes seen at Shinto shrines) with the individual names of those who died, offered a tribute called “333 Souls.” Fourteen descendants of several of the Tule Lake deceased ancestors accompanied them were as they were heralded through the crowd led by the flute sounds of taiko artist Aki Oshiro.

Special guests this year were actor George Takei and Wayne Merrill Collins who addressed the crowd during its first plenary session to speak about legendary civil rights advocate Wayne Collins, the attorney who helped rescue more than 5,500 Tuleans who were in danger of being deported after renouncing their citizenship due to governmental duress. Takei’s mother, Fumiko Takei, was among those who narrowly escaped deportation thanks to assistance provided by attorney Collins. A panel discussion followed the screening of the new documentary about Collins, “One Fighting Irishman: Wayne Collins and the Renunciants,” and included filmmakers Sharon Yamato and Evan Kodani.

The thematic shift to a discussion of “Reframing the Narrative” followed with an insightful discussion moderated by University of California, Berkeley professor Andrew Leong, who is currently heading a team of Japanese scholars working on translating the Japanese-language Tule Lake literary journal, Tessaku (meaning “iron fence” or “iron stockade”) into English. Kicking off the discussion was author Frank Abe to talk about his recent publication with Floyd Cheung, “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration,” an anthology of primarily first-person accounts that contains several translated pieces from the original Tessaku journal. Kyoko Oda, a survivor born at Tule Lake, followed up with a discussion of her recently published “Tule Lake Stockade Diary,” a first-person account of her father’s imprisonment that she had translated into English.

Capping the weekend activities was a lively cultural program with an opening ceremony and remarks by the Klamath Tribes’ William Ray and Tupper Taylor. Poet Lawson Inada made a short presentation, followed by several talented performers culled from the open mic session the evening before. The evening also featured Tule Lake Taiko, the group of notable taiko artists from different areas who perform together exclusively for the pilgrimage.

Attendee reactions to this intensive three-day event, that also included several “healing circles” to address the psychological and emotional effects of the incarceration, are typically poignant. After six years of silence, this year was no exception. One attendee spoke of feeling spiritually reconnected with her ancestors on sacred land. Committee chair Shimizu emphasized that the pilgrimage provides a one-of-a-kind experience as the “vessel for our community to honor one another by sharing our stories in a safe and welcoming space.”

Shimizu confirmed the next pilgrimage has been set for July 2026, since it is typically held every other year around the 4th of July long weekend. Applications become available on Feb. 19, 2026, and applicants are urged to register as soon as registration opens online as this event sells out quickly.