Board Members Message by Heidi Kimiko Tolentino

This year’s Day of Remembrance opened with outstanding performances by Portland Taiko and Four Directions, a Native-American drumming group. It set the tone for the focus of the event, Shared Injustice: The Japanese American and Native American Experience. Both groups played pieces that represented a call to their communities to come together. There was a celebratory feeling in PSU’s Hoffmann Hall that was enhanced by former taiko performer June Schumann and one of the members of Four-Directions drumming with Portland Taiko and then a surprise performance by Consul General Furusawa who graciously took a turn on the taiko drum.

Leo Rhodes, a homeless advocate who himself had been homeless, shared his poem remembering the Japanese-Americans who were interned on the reservation where he grew up. Leo also spoke of his interactions with Poet Laureate, Lawson Inada, and the time they spent talking about their shared experiences.

After a welcome from Emcee, Jeff Selby, and from Portland JACL’s President, Kirk Tambara, the panel was introduced by moderator, Jackie Peterson. Ms. Peterson is Professor Emerita of History at Washington State University and received her PhD from the University of Illinois,

Chicago. She is a public historian, exhibit maker, documentary film maker, oral historian and public artist who works on behalf of Portland’s early immigrant communities. She has also been a lifelong advocate for indigenous rights for Native American tribes and civil rights for America’s communities of color.

The first two panelists, Yoji Matsushima and George Nakata, were both born in Portland’s Nihonmachi and have been life-long friends. Each spoke of the Nihonmachi community and its eventual forced abandonment because of Executive Order 9066; the Order sent many of the community’s Issei men to jail and their families to internment camps. Mr. Matsushima and Mr. Nakata shared their stories of having to close their family businesses, of taking only what they could carry from their homes, of traveling on trains to parts unknown and of having to make a new life behind barbed wire. Both men shared the numbers the government issued their families during internment. The Matsushima family – 15181 and the Nakata family – 15066. Mr. Nakata remembered being asked, “How can you remember that number when it was given to you at such a young age?” To which Mr. Nakata replied, “How could I forget?”

Mr. Matsushima and Mr. Nakata’s stories were followed by Donita Fry and Elizabeth Asahi Sato’s. Ms. Fry described her background as Shoshone Bannock

March 2014 • VoluMe 19, Issue 8

March 1• JACL National Board Meeting

San Francisco

March 2• OBT Spring Salmon Dinner

March 5, 7pm• Witness: The Legacy

of Heart Mountain Hollywood Theatre

March 9• Daylight Savings Time Begins

March 15• PNW District Meeting

Spokane, Washington

March 16• Nikkei Appreciation Luncheon

Spokane, Washington

March 16• Nichiren Mini-Bazaar

March 17• St. Patrick’s Day

Now thru March 21• Beyond Convention:

Women of Portland JACL PSU Library

april 6• Hanamatsuri Service

OBT

april 13• Hanamatsuri Service

Nichiren

Now thru June 15• Photographs of Frank Hirahira

ONE Legacy Center

2014 Day of remembrance

Board Members Message continuedfrom Fort Hall and Irish and French Canadian. She is a Council Coordinator of Naya Family Center and spent her childhood growing up on her tribe’s reservation in Southeastern Idaho. Ms. Fry spoke of growing up on the reservation and hearing the stories of her people from her grandparents. Her grandmother told her stories of being taken from her home and forced to live at boarding schools where her history and culture were stolen from her. Ms. Fry spoke of historical and intergenerational traumas that have affected her community and her own personal journey. She shared that these traumas continue to affect them and that there must be a collective healing to strengthen and rejuvenate the Native American community.

Elizabeth Asahi Sato, who followed Ms. Fry, is the Founder of Rise to Excellence, a Consultancy firm in Camas, Washington. She is also an America Leadership Forum of Oregon Senior Fellow and has served on a variety of local boards and commissions. Ms. Sato’s mother is Japanese and her father, Native American. Ms. Sato spoke of how the beat of the drums during the two performances reminded her of how much the Japanese-American and Native-American cultures have in common. She spoke of strength, respect, honor and the ability to overcome tremendous odds. She also called the audience to remember that the fight for social justice is not done. She argued that until a woman that looks like her can have access to education, to jobs and not experience discrimination, the work must continue. For her, this is not just an issue for her two communities, but for humanity as a whole.

The final two panelists were Mary Renville, EdM and Peggy Nagai, A.B., J.D. M.A. Ms. Renville is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota and works part-time for the National Indian Child Welfare Associate and has many years of

experience in both reservation and urban Native communities. Ms. Renville opened by asking the question of why discrimination happened to these two communities and other communities of color. Ms. Renville gave an historical recounting of the Catholic Church’s Doctrine of Discovery that gave European “explorers” a call to subjugate peoples they encountered and bring them to faith and gave these men the right to the “spoils of the land”. This doctrine has never been officially repudiated by the church and its historical and present day applications still affect communities of color today.

Ms. Nagae was the final member of the panel to speak. She is recognized for her work as a member of the National JACL Redress Committee, the lead attorney for Minoru Yasui in reopening his WWII Japanese American case, Yasui v. United States, and a Clinton appointee to the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund Board. Ms. Nagae spoke of the Doctrine of Scrutiny that was established during the Korematsu v. United States case and gave the United States’ courts the right to weigh the constitutionality of a law against the government’s interest. In the case of Korematsu, the Supreme Court found that the exclusion of the Japanese community from certain areas was lawful under this interpretation. She continued by explaining that this Doctrine of Scrutiny continues to affect the rights of Americans today. An example of this is the 2012 amicus brief, Hedges v. Obama, that gives the government the right to indefinitely detain and question people of suspicion. Therefore, Ms. Nagae argued, the work is not done and we must continue the fight so that what happened during Internment will not happen again. Her point was solidified with a final song from Four Directions, which brought the day to a close with a feeling of connectivity between the Japanese American and Native American communities.

Board Training for Non-profitsby Rich Iwasaki

Thanks to the financial support of Portland JACL, Jean Yamamoto and I recently attended the 10th Annual Nonprofit Organization Board Training in Corvallis, Oregon. Organized by the Center for Nonprofit Stewardship (www.nonprofitsteward.org),

the organization “educates and empowers nonprofit board members in sound financial, administrative and organizational stewardship.” Over 500 people signed up for this all day training workshop, the first of several scheduled this year for various venues around the state. Participants traveled from as far as Seattle, and many were repeat attendees.

Held in the LaSells Stewart Center on the campus of Oregon State University, the workshop opened with a keynote address by Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, who encouraged all non-profit organizations to update the information maintained on the state website: http://1.usa.gov/1akPxHV. In her address, she discussed three principals of leadership: collaborating with others, delegating tasks, and viewing from an overall perspective. Following her speech, attendees moved to the first of three breakout sessions, each of which consisted of 8-9 workshop topics which were selected at the time of registration. The first session I attended addressed the topic of emergency succession plans of directors and/or board members. Heidi Henry, a certified board trainer and organizational planner, explained that boards should be prepared if an unpredictable change in leadership occurs. Having a plan in place to weather a disruption would be critical in keeping the organization together and moving forward. The techniques and strategies she offered would also apply to the natural succession of board members and board recruitment as well.

The second session I attended was entitled “Strategic Thinking”, and while interesting, was very challenging. Most of us are not used to such forward-thinking concepts vs.conventional thinking. As it applies to organizations, strategic thinking involves more creative, divergent thinking and understanding how making current, on-going decisions and actions will affect the organization in the long term. (At least I think that’s how it works). Nonprofit consultant Arty Trost led the attendees through various ways of

thinking differently and showing what outcomes could result. It was a very worthwhile session, though a difficult one to grasp completely.

“Media Relations: What to Do When the Media Comes Calling” was the last session I selected, and an eye-opener for those of us not involved in the media spotlight. The workshop was led by John Marler, a charismatic communications consultant, Mike Corwin, PR and Business Development VP of OSU Federal Credit Union, and his wife Judi Corwin, Director of Marketing and PR at Corvallis Clinic. The focus was essentially on how organizations should prepare for and address the media in a worst-case scenario. One example used for training purposes was a hypothetical embezzlement story, and the three instructors outlined procedures and techniques that organizations should use if found embroiled in such a crisis. The instructors presented a mock press conference which clearly demonstrated that there are some very definite things a spokesperson must do as well as things he or she must avoid. While very interesting and educational to watch, information about positive PR and using the media was not addressed in that session.

Overall, I thought that the sessions were useful and informative; board members of any nonprofit organization will find the workshops educational and beneficial to their boards. Plans to bring the workshop to Portland next year was mentioned as a possibility, and if that occurs, I would highly encourage anyone to attend.

Photo taken by Setsy Larouche at the Oregon Buddhist Temple on December 23rd during a Minidoka Swing Band concert for Mr. Murakami, his wife, and daughter, pictured here with Todd Yuzuriha from the Band. The Murakami Family are from Hiroshima Japan and are in the music business there and have been talking to the band about a possible concert tour in Japan.

concert for Mr. Murakami

Photo © 2013 Chip Larouche

Jacl Dinner In honor of admiral harris in honolulu

Mochitsuki 2014

Members of Sahomi Tachibana Dancers perform at Mochitsuki 2014 in the Scottish Rite Temple auditorium, Portland, Oregon. Photo by Rich Iwasaki

Members of Sekko-Kai demonstrate kakizome calligraphy at Mochitsuki 2014, Scottish Rite Temple, Portland, Oregon. Photo by Rich Iwasaki

Mochitsuki committee member Chris Lee (left) helps a young participant pound mochi rice at Mochitsuki 2014, Scottish Rite Temple, Portland, Oregon. Photo by Rich Iwasaki

The Hawaii Chapter hosts a brunch for the members of the National Board and their guests.

National Board attends Dinner in honor of Admiral Harris, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet.

Priscilla Ouchida, Executive Director of JACL presents a Gyotaku print to Admiral Harris on behalf of JACL’s appreciation for his service.

Kiyoko Yumibeapril 2, 1926 – Jan 9, 2013

Recently, Portland JACL received a very large trust distribution from the estate of Kiyoko Yumibe. It was her desire to have scholarships awarded in her name to deserving Nikkei High School seniors and also Nikkei graduate students. This would be in her memory as an

ongoing way to honor her life and will be entitled the Kiyo Yumibe Scholarship. She recalled attending Japanese American Graduation Banquets where her grandnieces and grandnephews were in attendance and she was pleased with the ongoing tradition in Portland of honoring top students from our area.

Her niece, Christi Iwasaki, wrote the following about her Aunt: She was born April 2, 1926 to Isako and Sekichi Yumibe, the youngest of 3 daughters in Portland, Oregon. Her older sisters are Fumi Onchi who resides in Portland and Teri Iwasaki who passed away in 2005. Her father died prior to the US involvement in WWII, so during the war she, her mother and sisters were placed in the Tule Lake internment camp and later transferred to Jerome,

Arkansas and then to Heart Mountain, Wyoming. After the war, they returned to Portland and the family lived in what was known as Vanport before the big flood of 1948. She left Portland to work for the US Army as a civilian secretary which took her to Japan and later to South Korea where she lived until her retirement in 1981. She returned to Portland, and bought a home for herself and her mother in Aloha, Oregon where she resided until her death in 2013. Kiyo truly enjoyed her life whether abroad or at home in Portland, enjoyed traveling, and being with her friends and family. She never married nor had children of her own, nor went on to college, but was always proud of her nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and their accomplishments. Her many hobbies included reading, gardening, playing bridge, and actively followed the stock market. She also loved the opera and was an avid sports fan whether it was football, basketball or baseball. Her other passion was a love for the casinos where she often tried her luck. It is my hope that the recipients will remember her and what she stood for and continue her legacy of: Be Kind, Live with Integrity, Remain Youthful and Passionate for their Dreams and be Optimistic for the Future.

Portland JACL is very grateful for her generosity so we can award scholarships to deserving high school seniors as well as those going on to graduate school.

Chip Larouche (l), National JACL Vice President, Planning & Development, swears in the new Board of Directors of Portland JACL on January 12, 2014, at Chinese Village restaurant, Portland, Oregon. Board members include (l to r) Marlene Wong, Kirk Tambara, Jean Yamamoto, Setsy Larouche, Lynn Longfellow, Connie Masuoka, Susan Leedham, and Chris Lee.Photo by Rich Iwasaki

Chip Larouche, National JACL Vice President, Planning & Development, awards the President’s pin to outgoing Portland JACL co-presidents Susan Leedham (l) and Jean Yamamoto on January 12, 2014, Chinese Village restaurant, Portland, Oregon. The Portland chapter holds the annual member’s meeting and oshogatsu dinner each January,Photo by Rich Iwasaki

Jacl Installation luncheon 2014

JaVaVa aVaV esTaTaT BlIshes $5,000 scholarshIP hoNorING seNaTaTa or INouYe

Washington, DC. Starting in 2014, a $5,000 memorial scholarship honoring Sen. Daniel K. Inouye’s iconic career of public service, both in the military and in government, has been established by the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA). This scholarship will differ from other JAVA scholarships in that an applicant must be a student who is enrolled in an undergraduate program or is enrolled or to be enrolled in a graduate program and who can demonstrate that he or she will be pursuing a career in public service or in the military.

This special, annual scholarship will be funded from JAVA’s investment income as well as donations. The initiative won ready approval from JAVA’s Executive Committee and endorsement from Irene Hirano Inouye and the Inouye Institute.

The creation of the Inouye scholarship was one of several changes that JAVA has made for 2014 to The creation of the Inouye scholarship was one of several changes that JAVA has made for 2014 to The creation of the Inouye scholarship was one of several changes that JAits popular and growing scholarship program. The Inouye scholarship is the initiative of the outgoing chair of JAVA’s scholarship committee, Dr. Ray Murakami. He is being succeeded by Wade Ishimoto, who also serves as JAVA’s vice president.

JAVA is expanding the applicant pool this year. Descendants of a Nisei veteran of World War II who served in 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, Army Women’s Corp, or Army Nurses Corp will now be eligible to apply in addition to descendants of those who served in the 100thInfantry Battalion, 442nd RCT, or Military Intelligence Service. Students who are “collaterally related” (e.g. descendent of a brother or sister) to a World War II Nisei veterans would also now be eligible to apply. Eligibility is also being extended to a past and present member of Hawaii’s 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, US Army Reserves, who is in good standing and has served at least one year by the submission deadline of the application.

Undergraduates are likely to have interest in another major change in the JAVA scholarship offering. Undergraduates are likely to have interest in another major change in the JAVA scholarship offering. Undergraduates are likely to have interest in another major change in the JAJAVA will offer a Founders Scholarship, in the amount of $3,000, in the names of Phil and Douglas Ishio, father and son. Phil Ishio was the founder of JAVA. The Ishio scholarship will be offered for the first time exclusively to college undergraduates who have completed at least two years of studies.

In addition to the past JAVA memorial scholarships, funded at $1,500, JAVA will establish a scholarship in memory of Mitsugi Kasai, who actively worked to exhibit Japanese American World War II history memorabilia in the Salt Lake area until his death. Funding for this scholarship is provided through the special efforts of Judge Raymond Uno, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

The complete requirements, rules, and application forms will be posted on the JAVA website (JAVADC.org) in early to mid-March, and details about the 2014 program will also be available at that time through the Round Robin (JAVA’s weekly email news bulletin) and in the Advocate ( JAVA’s quarterly newsletter). Persons interested in applying for scholarships, and others who have questions about the program, are asked to defer their inquiries until they have reviewed the published requirements, rules, and forms. As the final date for receiving applications will be Saturday, May 31, 2014, there should be ample time for inquiries.

The names of the awardees of the Inouye, Ishio and memorial scholarships will be announced at the annual JAVA scholarship luncheon. This year, that event has been scheduled to be in July 2014.

Rich Iwasakirich@pdxjacl.org

Jim Kennedyjim@pdxjacl.org

John Kodachijohn@pdxjacl.org

Christopher Leechris@pdxjacl.org

Susan Leedhamsusan@pdxjacl.org

Lynn Longfellowlynn@pdxjacl.org

Connie Masuokaconnie@pdxjacl.org

Verne Naitoverne@pdxjacl.org

Heidi Tolentinoheidi@pdxjacl.org

President:Kirk Tambara

kirk@pdxjacl.org

Vice President:Marleen Ikeda Wallingford

marleen@pdxjacl.org

Treasurer:Chip Larouchechip@pdxjacl.org

Membership:Setsy Larouchesetsy@pdxjacl.org

Newsletter:Ralph Yamamotoralph@pdxjacl.org

secretary:Jean Yamamotojean@pdxjacl.org

Capturing a Generation through the Eye of a Lens: The Photographs of Frank C. Hirahara, 1948‐54 February 1 — June 15, 2014 

 Coming soon to the Legacy Center will be an extraordinary collection of post‐war photographs taken of Portland's Nisei, or second generation Japanese Americans, providing a revealing glimpse into their community and lives. Between 1948 and 1954, Frank C. Hirahara, a serious amateur photographer who worked for Bonneville Power Administration, captured hundreds of photographs depicting community picnics, beach outings to the Oregon Coast, teen socials and dances, wedding receptions, and life in the heart of Portland's Japantown.  As an active member of the Portland Photographic Society and the Oregon Camera Club, Hirahara also took photographs of aspiring local models, area landscapes and Portland's Rose Festival Parade. A native of Yakima Valley, WA, Frank honed his skills as a photographer while incarcerated during World War II with his family at the Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming.  This multimedia exhibition will finally share the stories these photographs have to tell! 

 Exhibit hours: Tuesday ‐ Saturday 11 am to 3 pm, Sundays noon to 3 pm. Admission is $5 ($3 for seniors/students, free for Friends of Oregon Nikkei Endowment).  Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center 121 NW 2nd Avenue Portland, OR 97209  Phone: 503‐224‐1458 E‐mail: info@oregonnikkei.org  

Your Portland JACL Newsletter comes to you thanks to DocuMart on SW Main in Portland, who prints it at a greatly reduced cost. Please consider them for your printing needs: (503) 228-6253.

A big thank you to Chris Onchi, as well, Chris has been printing our labels, making data entry changes, and assisting with the annual calendar for many years. Her business is Chris’ Mailing Service: (503) 452-6864.

Copies & Printing

Ikoi no Kai at epworth March 2014 Menu1333 SE 28th Ave, Portland, 503-238-0775Monday 3 - Ginger chicken / fried riceTuesday 4- Sukiyaki donburiWednesday 5 - ClosedThursday 6 - SabaFriday 7 - Thai pork / Thai noodle salad

Monday 10 - Tilapia / Singapore noodlesTuesday 11 - Baked pork Wednesday 12 - Closed

Menu Notes:• Meals include salad or

side dish and dessert• Mondays after lunch:

bridge and hanafuda Mar 6: Hyakudokai Mar 11: Fujinkai Board meeting 10:30 Mar 20: 35th Anniver-sary Bento : Reserva-tions required

Thursday 13 - RamenFriday 14 - Garlic herb chicken / pasta

Monday 17 - Corned beefTuesday 18 - Chicken karaageWednesday 19 - ClosedThursday 20 - Anniver-sary Bento*Friday 21 - Sweet and sour pork

Monday 24 - Chinese walnut shrimpTuesday 25 - Birthday SpecialWednesday 26 - ClosedThursday 27 - Mapo dofuFriday 28 - Black bean chicken

Monday 31 - Salad rolls / pho soup