News Release

MANZANAR TO PARTICIPATE IN “TADAIMA: A COMMUNITY VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE”

Tadaima Image

News Release Date: June 11, 2020

Contact: Patricia Biggs, 760-878-2194x3316

Contact: Alisa Lynch, 760-878-2194x3311

INDEPENDENCE—Manzanar National Historic Site will join other National Park Service (NPS) sites and Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages (JAMP) as part of Tadaima: A Community Virtual Pilgrimage from June 13, 2020 to August 16, 2020. This pilgrimage will run continuously for nine weeks, with new content provided daily. It is free and open to the public and will be available online at www.jampilgrimages.com.

Due to COVID-19, pilgrimage organizers across the country cancelled on-site events in the interest of public health and safety. Through the leadership of Hanako Wakatsuki, Chief of Visitor Services at Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, Idaho, the NPS has collaborated with 40 Japanese American organizations nationwide, as well as international partners, and other institutions. Denshō, Japanese American National Museum, Japanese Arts Network, Friends of Minidoka, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, and Full Spectrum Features are represented on the steering committee. A full list of partner organizations can be found at www.jampilgrimages.com/partner-organizations.

Each week of the nine-week program will focus on a theme, from immigration in the 1800s to redress in the 1980s. In addition to the ten War Relocation Authority sites, the virtual pilgrimage will explore the incarceration of the Japanese diaspora under different types of detention in the United States, Canada, and across the world.

Tadaima: A Community Virtual Pilgrimage offers an outstanding opportunity to explore history. For those who wish to explore the actual Manzanar site, the auto tour road, gardens, and cemetery remain accessible. Visitors may explore the site on foot, provided that they do not disturb or collect anything. They must bring their own drinking water and carry out their trash. All facilities remain closed until further notice. Virtual visitors may explore Manzanar online at www.nps.gov/manz, Facebook,  Instagram, or YouTube. Our non-profit and fundraising partner Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association offers an impressive selection of books, videos, jewelry, and other items at https://www.esiaonline.org/shop/manzanar-merchandise/2.