Forging New Relationships at the Gila River Incarceration Camp

Winter Speaker Series
Forging New Relationships at the Gila River Incarceration Camp

📅 Tuesday, February 25, 2025
🕕 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Huhugam Heritage Center
21359 S. Maricopa Rd., Chandler, AZ 85226 | 520.796.3500

During World War II, over 16,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated on the land of the Gila River Indian Community. For three years, they endured mass removal, racialized surveillance, and an unfamiliar desert environment while striving to build a life within the incarceration camp.

Over the past 11 years, in collaboration with the Gila River Indian Community, I have researched the archaeological remains of the camp. Using archaeological methods, archival research, and oral histories—including those of my own family—I have sought to deepen our understanding of the incarceration experience and the resilience of those who lived through it.

This talk explores the history of the Gila River incarceration camp and the relationships Japanese Americans formed with members of the Gila River Indian Community, the saguaro cactus, and the surrounding landscape.

Speaker: Koji Lau-Ozawa