During World War II, over 125,000 Japanese Americans were forced to live in internment camps in the U.S. After years of being in the camps, people 18 and older were administered a “loyalty questionnaire” that would determine if they were allowed to leave camps or sent to a “disloyal” camp.

Kyoko Oda (@nancyoda) and @georgehtakei are two survivors interviewed for Long Lead’s newest feature THE AGE OF INCARCERATION whose families were incarcerated at the most populous camp, Tule Lake.

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Kyoko Oda was born in the Tule Lake Station Detention Center while her family was interned by the U.S. government during World War II. In kindergarten, she was told to come back to school with an American name and from that point on, she was called Nancy.

In 2020, while compiling her father’s stockade diaries into book “Tule Lake Stockade Diary,” she decide to reclaim her name, Kyoko. It’s a name that her father had continued to call her all her life. It means “harmony.”

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Tadaima JAMP
October 15, 2023
Tule Lake Survivors and Descendants Speak Out
Due to Tule Lake’s designation as a “segregation center” for “disloyals,” its history has been especially repressed and misunderstood. Now, Tule Lake survivors and descendants are working to unearth family stories, resurrecting this site’s history—and gaining a deeper understanding of what it meant to say “no.” Akemi Johnson will facilitate a conversation with Tamiko Nimura, Kyoko Oda, and Diana Emiko Tsuchida, including a chance for the audience to ask questions.
Japanese American Museum San Jose
April 22, 2022
Tule Lake Stockade Diary discussion with Masumi Izumi,
Will Kaku, Kyoko Oda,  Hiroshi Shimizu, Barbara Takei

Tule Lake Docent Meeting
January 30, 2022
Topic: Food in Tule Lake during the Hunger Strike based on the Tatsuo Inouye Diary, “Tule Lake Stockade Diary.” A presentation for members of the Tule Lake Docent Committee that reveals the day to day abuse that the men in the stockade endured during a cold northwest winter. They were beaten, starved, and denied their human rights despite their innocence. No violations by Japanese and Japanese Americans have been found ever.

San Fernando Valley Japanese American Citizens League
March 26, 2022

Conversation at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Center with co sponsor Manzanar Committee on January 22, 2022

Conversation at the Japanese American National Museum on December 11, 2021