Poston Pilgrimage – Oct 25 & 26, 2024
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The Poston Pilgrimage is an opportunity to learn more about the Poston Incarceration Camp, where approximately 18,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Visit the current Poston site, learn of our preservation efforts, attend our various workshop and hear from our keynote speaker.
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In collaboration with the CRIT Tribal Council, we are upholding the memories of camp life and highlighting the significant links and relationships between the Japanese American incarcerates and members of the tribal community.
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Our Poston exhibit is housed within the Museum of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Tribe has generously donated space for our Poston Community Alliance exhibit. It features a map of Poston’s three camps where visitors can locate the exact barrack and apartment where their family resided.
The pilgrimage is organized by the Poston Community Alliance, which is actively working to preserve the stories, artifacts, and historic structures of Poston, a World War II Concentration Camp, located on the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation.
The registration fee includes Poston site visits, workshops, lunch and the banquet. Once you have registered for the Pilgrimage, an Eventbrite link will be sent to you to schedule your workshops and Poston exhibit viewing time. Registration will open later in 2024.
Vendors and Volunteers can email us at postonalliance1@gmail.com.
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Schedule 2024
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Registration 10am - 6pm
Poston Exhibit Viewing - 10am - 5pm
Program on Poston Live & The Blue Jay Film 4pm
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Registration - 8:30 am
Board Buses - 9 am
Opening Ceremony at CRIT Museum 9:15 am
Visit to Poston Memorial Monument 10:30 am
Site Visit to Poston Site 11:15 am
Lunch at La Pera School 12:30 pm
Workshops at La Pera School 1:30 -3:30 pm
Banquet at the Blue Water Resort & Casino 6 pm
Keynote Speaker - Dale Minami 7 pm
Pilgrimage Closing 9 pm
October 25, 2024
October 26, 2024
Hotel Reservation
11300 Resort Dr, Parker, AZ 85344
928 669-7000
Oct, 24 - $89 / Oct. 25-26 $119 each day
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1012 S Geronimo Ave Parker, AZ 85344
928 669-6060
$116 includes breakfast
(Ask for the Poston Pilgrimage rate for October 25 - 26, 2024)
Workshops
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Designing & Constructing the Poston Memorial Monument 1:45 pm & 3:30 pm
Presenter: Reid Nishikawa
A short video documenting the design construction of the Poston Memorial Monument and conversation with one of the members of the Poston Memorial Monument Committee
The Go For Broke Spirit 1:45 pm & 3:30 pm
Presenter: Shane Sato
Over 20 years in the making, Shane Sato has been photographing Nisei veterans
from all across the country. In this workshop he will be sharing stories of the
veterans, why they volunteered out of the camps such as Poston, how the project turned into a two- volume book.
Poston’s Preservation Hands-on Furniture Building at the Poston Site.s 1:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Presenter : Barara Darden
Join Barbara Darden, Preservation Architect, and Jon Steward and Kyle Nettleingham, our Contractors, will be providing a "hands-on"workshop at the Poston Site for vintage furniture building. The furniture made will be placed in our historic building at the Poston Site. Bus transportation will be provided from La Pera School. The number of furniture builders is limited to 15. Observers are welcome. Time permitting, a private tour of the Poston Site will be conducted.
The Kindness of Color 1:45 pm & 3:30 pm (CANCELLED)
Presenter : Janice Munemitsu
The author, Janice Munemitsu, will share how the paths of two immigrant families intertwined during WWII and led to a landmark court case, which changed California’s educational laws.
Poston’s Farm Labor 1:45 pm & 3:30 pm
Presenter: Kathy Takemoto
A presentation of the history of how Poston’s infrastructure was developed based on wartime politics that led to Poston’s abundant agriculture.
Nikkei Farm History 1:45 pm & 3:30 pm
Presenter : Amanda Kim
The Kansha History: Nikkei Farm History project documents and publishes the
losses of Nikkei (Japanese American) farmers during World War II. These records
are a window into the family and community life of thousands of Japanese Americans. Today, volunteers are restoring this history by transcribing these records and making them searchable to descendants and the public.