Correspondence
2022
This is a record of all correspondence between the Wakasa Memorial Committee and the Topaz Museum Board
WMC to TMB
December 23, 2022
WMC expresses serious concern with the public release of the Topaz Community Outreach report.
TMB Press Release regarding joint meetings with Utah State Historic Preservation Office
September 17, 2022
TMB announces that there will be joint meetings between TMB, WMC, Utah SHPO, and NPS to discuss preservation of the Wakasa Monument.
WMC to TMB
September 14, 2022
WMC responds they are unable to commit to planning an 80th anniversary ceremony until the preservation of the Wakasa Monument is addressed.
WMC also expresses concern about the Topaz Community Outreach Project and how it was run.
TMB to WMC
September 8, 2022
TMB invites WMC to collaborate on planning an 80th anniversary commemoration of James Wakasa's murder. TMB asks WMC to submit a proposal regarding programming.
WMC to TMB and Friends of Topaz
August 26, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC invites TMB and Friends of Topaz to attend a town hall style meeting in person in San Francisco on September 9. No one from the TMB responds. One member of Friends of Topaz attends and two others respond that they are unable to attend.
WMC to TMB
July 26, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC expresses concern for the condition of the Wakasa Monument and the lack of attention to stabilization even though it has been in the courtyard of the museum for one year.
TMB to WMC
July 24, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB complains that Topaz descendants asked Jane Beckwith and Scott Bassett to see the video recording of the Wakasa Monument removal.
TMB to WMC
July 21, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB acknowledges notification of the upcoming visit to the site and museum by Topaz survivors, descendants, and allies.
WMC to TMB
July 20, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC notifies TMB of the upcoming trip of Topaz survivors, descendants, and allies to Topaz for the Procession of Flowers program and visit to the museum.
TMB to WMC
June 16, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB sends their community outreach website and invites WMC to comment.
TMB says, "The community archaeology project that you suggest in your
letter of June 6, 2022 is not a priority at this time."
WMC to TMB
June 6, 2022
KEY POINTS:
Follow request to the Topaz Museum Board to implement a community archaeology project at the Topaz National Historic Site.
WMC to TMB
April 28, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC makes four requests:
1. A full professional excavation of the Memorial Site carried out as a Community Archaeology project.
2. 3-D analysis of the Wakasa Monument and analysis of all four facades.
3. The board publishes regular progress reports about the treatment of the stone to their website and facebook pages.
4. Joint committee format meeting between the Topaz Museum Board and Wakasa Memorial Committee.
WMC to TMB
April 11, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC shares Flowers for Wakasa video on the anniversary of his killing.
TMB to WMC
April 8, 2022
KEY POINTS:
"During the past nine months, the Topaz Museum Board has repeatedly and publicly apologized and expressed its desire to collaborate with the WMC in atonement, and in respect for the WMC. We have not received the same respect from the Wakasa Memorial Committee. We cannot continue to meet with a committee that professes to want to work cooperatively on the one hand, and then vilifies the Museum and spews vitriol on the other."
WMC to TMB
April 4, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC notes that TMB never responded to letter offering potential dates for a second meeting. New dates are suggested.
WMC to TMB
March 2, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC suggests dates for next meeting and asks if TMB has received the draft of the joint statement discussed at Feb. 15 zoom meeting.
WMC's takeaway from the NPS assessment report released Feb. 4.
TMB to WMC
February 15, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB thanks WMC for meeting and looks forward to establishing a working relationship.
WMC to TMB
WMC to TMB
TMB to WMC
February 14, 2020
KEY POINTS:
WMC's three representatives are Nancy Ukai, Satsuki Ina, and Kimiko Marr. WMC suggests an agenda. TMB agrees to agenda suggestions.
TMB to WMC
February 10, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB sends Zoom information and requests the names of the three representatives from WMC for meeting.
TMB to WMC Advisory Council
January 30, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB explains that emails requesting input were sent out to "influential leaders with extensive networks in the community, including many not involved with the WMC."
TMB asks why they were not invited to any discussion regarding the 2023 ceremony. [Note: there have been no official meetings to plan a ceremony]
TMB to WMC
January 28, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB expresses disappointment that WMC asked for postponement of meeting. TMB was surprised to hear that WMC had been discussing plans for a 2023 ceremony without them, "legal stewards of the Topaz site."
WMC Advisory Council to TMB
January 25, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC Advisory Council requests TMB to send all communications to them through WMC. To move forward they suggest:
1. Development of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to productively guide discussions
2. Recognize the "necessity to utilize a mediator to establish meeting protocols and expedite policy decisions
3. Provide WMC "an organized outline of what you wish to learn from input, e.g., a survey on topics relating to stewardship, present care, and final disposition of the monument.
They concluded by writing, "It is important that ceremonies of remembrance belong to the survivors and descendants of incarceration. They should guide the ceremony, speeches, and memorial programming, and related activities. This is a very important aspect of communities working through generational trauma."
WMC to TMB
January 24, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC asks for postponement of the meeting until the NPS assessment is released.
TMB to WMC
January 19, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB list their three representatives (Scott Bassett, Sherrie Hayashi, Ned Isokawa) and the zoom meeting information.
TMB to WMC
January 14, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB notifies WMC that they have "already begun contacting community leaders for their advice on how best to outreach to Topaz stakeholders and the Japanese American community."
TMB suggests a total of nine people (3 TMB, 3 WMC and 3 stakeholders) for the ceremony planning committee.
TMB to WMC
January 12, 2022
KEY POINTS:
TMB rejects idea of the full WMC and TMB meet. TMB offers potential meeting times/dates.
WMC to TMB
January 7, 2022
KEY POINTS:
WMC proposes the full TMB and WMC meet and suggest a mutually agreeable moderator who could help facilitate the meeting.
Correspondence
2021
WMC to TMB
December 22, 2021
KEY POINTS:
WMC thanks TMB for hosting the welcome dinner and for agreeing to invite NPS to do the assessment.
TMB to WMC
December 5, 2021
KEY POINTS:
TMB proposes meeting in January to begin planning 2023 ceremony for Wakasa. TMB denies request for Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) because "an MOA with the Wakasa Memorial Committee would set a precedent for other groups to request their own MOAs which likewise would usurp the decision-making responsibility that the board of directors is required to solely retain."
TMB again refuses to release video footage from the July 27, 2021 excavation.
WMC to TMB
November 23, 2021
KEY POINTS:
WMC accepts TMB's invitation to a dinner and invites TMB to attend the ceremony at the site of Wakasa's murder. WMC notifies TMB that 12 WMC members and stakeholders will be attending the NPS assessment.
TMB to WMC
November 20, 2021
KEY POINTS:
TMB invites WMC members traveling out to Delta for the NPS assessment to dinner with three board members.
TMB requests to attend ceremony for Wakasa at Topaz site.
WMC to TMB
November 12, 2021
KEY POINTS:
WMC suggests the video footage of the July 27 dig be given directly to NPS for use in their assessment rather than WMC since they feel as though it could be edited to look bad.
WMC expresses that they will perform a ceremony at the site of the murder in order to consecrate the land that was disturbed by the dig.
WMC again asks for a Memorandum of Agreement between the two parties and suggests mediation to help facilitate the agreement.
TMB to WMC
November 3, 2021
KEY POINTS:
TMB says they are pleased to have three board members plan with three WMC members, an event at the site for the 80th anniversary of Wakasa's murder. TMB proposes that this "group's responsibilities also extend to future plans for the Wakasa monument and the excavation site."
TMB addresses the request for archaeological assessment by contacting the National Park Service to perform an assessment of the monument and site before winter comes.
TMB refuses to release video or photos of the original excavation "as there are concerns the the video may be edited in ways that portray the process in an unfavorable manner."
WMC to TMB
October 25, 2021
KEY POINTS:
WMC restates the six steps from their previous letter and acknowledges Jane Beckwith's apology as well as TMB's willingness to have a memorial ceremony at the site. WMC requests that TMB respond to the other four points that were not addressed in their previous letter. WMC emphasizes the urgency for an archaeological assessment before winter comes.
TMB to WMC delivered through a third party
October 12, 2021
KEY POINTS:
TMB asks WMC to stop publicly criticizing them. Jane Beckwith takes "full responsibility for the decision" and apologizes. TMB will be enlisting the broader JA community to "decide the future of the Wakasa Monument and to plan a memorial" on the 80th anniversary of Wakasa's killing.
WMC Statement About Stone Removal with Photos
October 8, 2021
WMC releases statement about the removal of the Wakasa Memorial Stone including photos obtained from the Utah Historic Preservation Office.
National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) to TMB
September 15, 2021
KEY POINTS:
NTHP asks whether the TMB intends to consult stakeholders and experts regarding "future plans for protection, preservation, and interpretation of the Wakasa Monument, its Memorial Site, and the Topaz National Historic Landmark." NTHP also recommended three initial steps to TMB:
1. Initiate a mediation process among the TMB and WMC utilizing an independent, professional, and mutually acceptable mediator
2.Through mediation, establish a binding Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between TMB and WMC
3. TMB publicly commit to collaborate with the WMC to jointly plan the best ways to protect, preserve, and interpret the Wakasa Monument, its Memorial Site, and the Topaz National Historic Landmark
Wakasa Memorial Committee (WMC) to TMB
September 7, 2021
KEY POINTS:
WMC states that the members of the 14-person Ad Hoc committee who had been working with TMB were stunned to find out that the monument had been removed without notifying any stakeholders. WMC provides six steps to begin repairing the trust between TMB and stakeholders:
1. Recognition of the WMC and its Advisory Council
2. Apology for Desecration of the Memorial Site.
3. Archaeological Assessment and Release of Video and Photography.
4. Partnership and Consultation with the WMC.
5. Memorial Ceremony at the Topaz site.
6. Mediation between TMB and WMC.
TMB response to NCWNP District, JACL
August 19, 2021
KEY POINTS:
TMB apologizes for not notifying the JACL or stakeholders of the removal. TMB maintains claim that it was removed to protect from potential vandalism and blames the Discover Nikkei articles written by Mary Farrell and Jeff Burton. TMB reiterates that the removal was done in a professional way with two videographers and three TMB members present.
NCWNP District, JACL to Topaz Museum Board (TMB)
August 8, 2021
KEY POINTS:
NCWNP JACL district governor expresses displeasure with the way the monument was excavated and that none of the original Ad Hoc committee was informed about the removal.
Wakasa Monument Stone is removed from Topaz site
July 27, 2021
No Japanese Americans were notified or present