PANA Pilgrimage to Manzanar 2006

A Spiritual Pilgrimage: Journey to Manzanar WWII Detainee Internment Camp

In the spring of 2006 a Teaching/Learning Community hosted by PANA explored the theological dimensions of the collective memory of Japanese American Internment, its ongoing implications in the post-9/11 context, and the spiritual power of pilgrimage as response.

This first Manzanar Pilgrimage Teaching/Learning Community was a mixed learning community of seminary students, lay leaders, pastors, and community leaders, who met together for eight evening sessions and for a weekend on April 28-30, 2006 to join the annual Manzanar pilgrimage to the former site of the Manzanar War Relocation Center, at the Manzanar National Historic Site where the National Park Service Manzanar Interpretive Center is also located, in the high desert of the Owens Valley, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The Teaching/Learning Community was led by Joanne Doi, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister who has served in Peru, and a third-generation Japanese American born and raised in Los Angeles. Doi is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies (Contextual Theologies, Religious and Ethnic Studies) at the Graduate Theological Union. The title of her dissertation is “Bridge to Compassion: Theological Pilgrimage to Tule Lake and Manzanar.”

Course description:

STHR-1395: “AMERICA'S INTERNMENT: MANZANAR” (Spring 2006, 1.5 units)

April 2006 will mark the 37th annual pilgrimage to the former WWII site of Japanese American internment at Manzanar, California. Initially a ceremony to honor the dead by a Buddhist priest and a Christian minister, the pilgrimages have evolved into journeys that evoke layers of meaning, collective memory, healing and ongoing commitment for reconciliation, justice and compassion. It is a journey that “frees the pilgrim from all that prevents heart-unity with others” (Gandhi). In 2004 the National Park Service inaugurated the Manzanar Interpretive Center, marking its historic significance in the American memory and joins with the annual pilgrimage in learning from the past especially for today's post-9/11 context. In preparation for active participation and theological reflection on the pilgrimage that draws a diverse community together, this interdisciplinary course will examine its inter-religious nature (Buddhist, Christian, Shinto folk practice with Taoist elements), identity and race in Asian American history through place and memory (social geography/ spatiality/ racial formation theory), and a framework for theological interpretation (anamnesis, compassion).

Instructor: Joanne Doi, M.M.

15 max enrollment; auditors with permission of faculty.

Course enrollment was open to the public as well as to GTU students. Commitment to attending all eight sessions was required for course registrants; but a pilgrimage-only option was also available for those who could not attend the course and would still like to participate in the Apr 28-30 pilgrimage.

Meeting dates (mostly alternate Monday eves, 7:10-9:30pm):

  • 2/13/06 Information meeting
  • 3/6/06 Session 2
  • 3/20/06 Session 3
  • 4/3/06 Session 4
  • 4/17/06 Session 5
  • Apr 28-30 Pilgrimage to Manzanar
  • 5/8/06 Session 7
  • 5/15/06 Session 8

This course is a part of PANA’s Civil Liberty and Faith (CLF) Project, which forms and hosts Teaching/Learning Communities to create greater inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding, and promoting civil liberty, health, and well-being for all human beings and human communities. Teaching/Learning Communities are rooted in praxis, committed to crossing lines and bridging gaps between the academy and community.

Current information about PANA's annual Pilgrimage to Manzanar.