Tulelake, CA: Tule Lake Internment Camp 2423a

Great news!!! Something that not many people realize is that the Tulelake camp held special stigma for its internees. Those who were found to be (or, in many cases, only thought to be) a certain risk to the US war effort were sent to Tulelake, so sections of it were like prisons, rather than "temporary internment." Guards and administration were rougher, food was worse and wages for labor were only pennies per day - much less than elsewhere.

There were outbreaks of riots due to conditions and life here was worse than at any other camp. There were likely some bad actors among those sent here, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, but there were also thousands who were either just suspected, or were completely innocent. So, they, too, carried the stain of Tulelake's reputation.

We must be careful to NEVER allow this kind of injustice again. Shockingly, we are again hearing the call for not just intolerance, but active, even violent, racism against Muslims as instigated and legitimized by Donald Trump.

It is important to remember this, that Tulelake was where those were sent who didn't just passively give in to internment. Unfortunately, the ability to stoke a fear of difference remains strong not only in our country, but in most.