Tacoma Community House Spring 2022 English Language student from China. Interviewed by dindria barrow on April 27, 2022.

Tacoma Community House Spring 2022 English Language student from Iraq. Interviewed by dindria barrow on May 11, 2022.

Tacoma Community House Spring 2022 English Language student from Mexico. Interviewed by dindria barrow on May 11, 2022.

A large group of young, predominately Japanese, couples dance on the Fife High School gymnasium floor during a Japanese bazaar. (T. Times).

Japanese Americans--Fife--1930-1940; Bazaars--Fife--1930-1940; Dance parties--Fife--1930-1940; Ethnic groups--Fife--1930-1940; Ballroom dancing--Fife--1930-1940;

A group of the 16 original founding members of the Japanese American Citizen's League pose for their portrait on the stage of the Fife High School gymnasium during a Japanese bazaar held in November of 1937. The Japanese American Citizen's League was founded in 1929. (T. Times).

Japanese Americans--Fife--1930-1940; Bazaars--Fife--1930-1940; Ethnic groups--Fife--1930-1940;

Young native Americans dance to the rhythm of hot jazz at the annual gathering for the harvesting of the hop crop in Puyallup Valley. Audoma Park, 2 miles from Puyallup, has been reserved by its owner A. E. Applegate as a meeting place for the tribes. A dance floor has been set up for the younger tribesmen. A large group of men, women and children assemble on an outdoor concrete floor. Wires are strung from poles across the floor to hold a center light. A group of four musicians plays music from a sheltered wooden stage. Each year many of the tribes of Washington and British Columbia gathered in the Puyallup Valley at harvest time to pick crops and socialize with other tribes. (T. Times 8/30/1934, pg. 1)

Indians of North America--Social life; Migrant agricultural laborers--Puyallup--1930-1940; Migrant laborers--1930-1940; Hops; Dance floors--Puyallup--1930-1940; Dance parties;

Indian Festival. Photograph ordered by the News Tribune. Girls in native American costumes pose in a grassy area, with the Puget Sound in the background. (filed with Argentum)

Costumes--Native American;

The biggest enemy at "Camp Harmony" was boredom. Here a game of sandlot baseball has been organized to give this group some exercise and fresh air. More than 7,000 people of Japanese descent were interned at the camp. Men, women and children were crowded into a small living space. The orderly Japanese soon devised ways to keep their people occupied. Classes were mandatory for children and available for adults. Arts, crafts and recreational activities were devised. Entertainment was brought in; movies were shown. Every effort was made to make life appear ordinary.

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945;

While interred at "Camp Harmony", in May of 1942, three unidentified Japanese Americans built their own furniture for their barracks "apartments." The Puyallup Assembly Center "Camp Harmony" had been constructed by the Army in less than 3 weeks. The living quarters were makeshift barracks divided into "apartments," consisting of a single room no larger than 18 x 20 feet in which a whole family of up to 7 would live. Furnishings consisted of one army cot per person. Each "apartment" had a stove for warmth, one bare bulb hanging from the ceiling by a wire for light and one window. There was no running water. Toilets and showers were communal with no privacy dividers, until the Japanese built them themselves. As Spring passed, the detainees scrounged wood and tools and began constructing rough tables and chairs. Homes were created in the rough surroundings.

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Carpentry;

In the spring of 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, more than 100,000 residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly evicted from their homes in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Alaska and sent to temporary assembly centers, from there to be sent to internment camps in remote inland areas to sit out the war. The Puyallup Assembly Center, hastily erected by the Army in less than 3 weeks and known as "Camp Harmony," was utilized from April 28- September 12, 1942. On May 16, 1942, two year old Beverly Higashida and Lillian Fujihara were getting acquainted with Mrs. M. Kaniko and her seven month old son Wayne. The pictured group was all from Seattle. By the end of May, more than 7,000 people were crowded into the camp. The stoic Japanese made the best of a bad situation, forming their own government, schools and entertainments. The worst aspect of the camp was boredom in the confined quarters. A call went out for recreational materials, such as young Wayne's tricycle. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Children riding bicycles & tricycles; Fujihara, Lillian; Higashida, Beverly; Kaniko, Wayne;

Mrs. Mito Kashiwagi and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Y. Kashiwagi, decorate a window in the barracks at "Camp Harmony" with sheer curtains in this photograph from May, 1942. In the Spring of 1942, more than 100,000 residents of Japanese ancestry from WA., OR., CA. , AZ. and AK. were forcibly rounded up and sent to internment camps. The hastily erected "Camp Harmony" in Puyallup served as a temporary assembly center, where 7,000 residents from the Seattle and Tacoma area waited while more permanent detention centers were erected. They lived in makeshift barracks, where each family was assigned one room, approximately 18 x 20, with a heating stove, bare light bulb and one window. The barracks had no running water. They shared communal showers, one for each 250 detainees, and toilets. The interns set about making these green wood boxes a home. Wood was scrounged to make furniture, curtains were sewn and hung at the windows, and drawings and pictures from calendars were tacked to the walls. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Kashiwagi, Mito--Family;

Yasuda-Miyamoto wedding photo of the couple inside of a vehicle with plaid interior seating.

Yasuda-Miyamoto wedding photo of bride and groom cutting the cake with floral arrangements, fruit bowl and 7-Up bottle in the background.

On February 24, 2023, dindria barrow conducted a group oral history interview with four members/founders of the Black Women's Caucus of Washington State, Tacoma Chapter. Those interviewed and photographed include (from left to right): Dr. Thelma Jackson, Caucus founder; Susan Alexander, previous president; Chana Lawson, current president; and Wilma J. Muse, longtime member. In this interview, the origin story of the Caucus is described, and the purpose of the group is explained.

Interview with Frank Boykin filmed in 2022 for the documentary project "The Evolution of Collective Wisdom."

Interview with Jim Walton filmed in 2022 for the documentary project "The Evolution of Collective Wisdom."

Interview with Jonathan Johnson filmed in 2022 for the documentary project "The Evolution of Collective Wisdom."

On January 18, 1928, two unidentified Native American women were photographed weaving baskets while seated outside a wood-framed building. They have their heads down as they concentrate on their work. TPL-1546; G4.1-048

Indigenous peoples; Basket making;

Japanese American children from Fife line up on the steps of the First Presbyterian Church on February 8, 1928, dressed in traditional kimonos and with open fans. The tall young lady in the center of the photograph is their teacher, Miss Jones, who wears a kimono with thick obi. The positioning of the young girls on the steps resembles a gently opened fan. That afternoon the First Presbyterian Church sponsored a "Tea of Nations" which attracted 400 guests. Many countries in which the church had missionary programs were featured in a pageant of nations; these young girls may have been invited as representatives of Japan. They would be led in song by Miss Jones. G39.1-188A (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 2-5-28, D-1-article on Tea of Nations)

Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Children--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1920-1930; Kimonos; Fans (Accessories);

Tacoma Buddhist Shoso-kwai. The Shoso-kwai, which may have translated to "youth meeting," poses outdoors, sans coats, on February 19, 1928. The young girls belonged to the Tacoma Buddhist Church which met at the site of the Columbus Hotel on Market St. Two years later in 1930, the church would move to its present location on Fawcett Avenue. G39.1-189; TPL-2840.

Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Clubs--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Monty's Independents (Garagemen) were an all-black baseball team in the newly formed 9-member "Community" league in 1931. The Community League played a 16-game season. The league was notable for having not only an all-black team, but an all-Italian team headed by Al Greco, an all-Japanese team from Fife, and an all-Slavic team. Other teams in the league were Jack & Jill, the Tacoma Red Men, the 10th Field Artillery, Steilacoom, and McKinley Hill. Monty's opened their season on May 10, 1931, against Steilacoom where they lost 31-3 in a 7-inning game. (TDL 5-10-31, 2-B) TPL-3688; G39.1-173; G53.1-007; G39.1-165;

Baseball players--Tacoma--1930-1940; African American baseball players;

ca. 1890. "Chief Seattle's daughter" in Seattle.

Image title: Twin child healer. The North American Indian, v. 10, p. 94.

Indians of North America--Kwakiutl--1910-1920; Healers--Indians of North America;

Image title: With her proudly decked horse - Cayuse. The North American Indian, v. 8, p. 60.

Indians of North America--Nez Percé--1910-1920; Women--Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Portraits;

Image title: Flathead mother. The North American Indian, v. 7, p. 70.

Indians of North America--Salishan--1910-1920; Women--Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Portraits;

ca. 1912. A Primitive Quinault woman. Photograph by Edward S. Curtis. Scanned from Asahel Curtis lantern slide. Original print appears in The North American Indian, v.9 Plate # 293. The territory of the Quinaults extends along the coast from the Hoqium River to the Queets river. The tribe was less migratory than most of the north Pacific coast. They travelled to hunt and gather no further than a day or two from their home, although they did participate in limited whaling. They lived primarily off the abundant fish in their local rivers.

Indians of North America--Quinault--1910-1920; Women--Indians of North America;

Image title: Spearing salmon - Wishham. The North American Indian, sippl. 8. plate 276.

Indians of North America--Wishham--1910-1920; Men--Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Fishing;

Image title: Joseph - Nez Percé. The North American Indian, vol. 8, p. 24.

Indians of North America--Nez Percé--1910-1920; Men--Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Portraits;