By Mike Ishii
NAP Contributor
View of the canal running alongside the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho. Photo credit: Tsuru for Solidarity.
About 250 pilgrims gathered in Twin Falls, Idaho, for the 2025 Minidoka Pilgrimage in July. Over the course of four days, we laughed, we cried, we listened intently to survivors of incarceration, we learned about our own families, we learned about communities today facing the state of violence, we communed with our ancestors at the site, we sang karaoke while dancing bon odori and more.
Mike Ishii, executive director of Tsuru for Solidarity, gave the keynote address during the education program. At the end of his address, Ishii called the audience to action: “Our family’s experiences, this place and our ancestors call out to us to make meaning of our history.”
Tsuru was also well-represented at the Art of the Descendants panel, with Kiku Hughes and Erin Shigaki sharing how their family histories inform the art they make today.
Tsuru hosted a pizza hang-out during the evening for pilgrims to talk with one another about their histories. We also discussed why we are called to take action to end mass surveillances, detentions and deportations of migrant communities in the U.S. From Minidoka, Idaho, to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, to FCI (Federal Correctional Institution) Dublin in Dublin, California, the aim is for no more U.S. incarceration camps!
Heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee for hosting Tsuru for Solidarity. Also, for its dedication to connecting our community, cultivating healing and in service of our survivors and ancestors who call us to let it not happen again.
During the 2025 Minidoka Pilgrimage, there was a rare opportunity — snapping a photograph of THE PHOTOGRAPHER Eugene Tagawa! (Eugene is in the front between Minidoka descendants: left, Miya Namba and right, Allison Namba.) He is a survivor of the Minidoka incarceration camp and has captured the images of Minidoka and countless events in Seattle’s Asian community over the decades. Eugene donates his time, energy and talents to many community organizations, including the Minidoka Pilgrimage. Domo arigato gozaimasu, Eugene!
