NS'DE PAG Who are the Hanforci Hibakushas? OSConedionHott Issue: 12825/ Vol 125, tl NationalPacificPijtjlicatioh of the Japanese American CitizensCifizeiiLeague (JACL) J1.50 potipald (U.S., Can.) / $2.30 (Japan Ah) #2826/ Vol. 125, No. 2 JACL website: www.jacl.org / PC e-mail: paccil>'->aol.com jJACL adopts policy on Akaka seeks Opening week’s tone of Senate census change hearing on campaign finance ‘multiraciar censusissue WASHINGTON-Native Ha- waiians should be counted in the reform‘disappointing’ SAN FRANCISCO — The Na- positicm does not specify how people same group as American Indians image that exploits radal sterecH tidoal Board of Directors of the of mixed race are to be counts but and Alaskan Natives “in the next WASHINGTON—As theSenate bearings on campaign fina ncing types and intensifies xenophobic Japanese American Citizens rather aims to explain the needs census, Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka League by unanimous vote July 8, and reasons why an accurate coimt during the 1996 Section cycle be- fears —as a result of the all^ has told a House subcommittee. ^ this past week (July8), a coa ­ campaign finance .abuses of a f adopted a “Policy Position on the is needed. The issue,goes beyond Changing 20-year-old classifica ­ just a matter of identify. Agrow ­ lition of six national Asian Pacific individuals, . Multiracial Category," adding to tions used on the 1990 census and “Several leading national news­ i > the debate about whether or not ing mixed race population could be American organizations, including on most federal forms would “rec­ the Japanese American Citizens paper have failed to make distinc­ people of mixed race should be able having health, economic, political tify a long-standing misperception and social impacts on our sod^ League, had offered hearing chair tions between Asian foreigners and to identify thems^ves in the next that Native Hawaiians are not in­ Americans of Asian descent and censtis. but we won ’t Imow for sure unless Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) digenous peoples," Akaka told the their assistance and willingness to have failed to distinguish between “In the 1950s and 60s, the JACL there is an accurate count." House Government Management Bob Sakaniwa, Washington, answer questions regardi^ the the legitimate political work of our was in the forefront of eliminating community and the activities of laws against mixed race marriages D.C., JACL Representative also positive history and activities of noted that without a well-thought- the APA comnjiunity. those accused of v^ngdoing," the across the country. Today, the Senate committee'was told. JACL sees the results of such out process for doing the count, Acknowledging that the cam ­ people could be forced to choose a paign finance scandal embodies Because of a rad^ stereotype as changes, ” explained Helen “foreigners" regardless ofhow long Kawagoe, National President. “stand-alone" category that would much more than participation of serve to piti,^e list^ minority Asian American donors, the Asian American families have lived “Now over half of all of Japanese in the country, “we encoiu^ge you American children marrying are groups, including the Japanese coalition ’s letter to Sen. Thompson Americans, against peopleof mixed and 15 members ofthe Senate Gov ­ [Sen. Thompson) to set a tone for marrying someone of another race. the hearli^ that is fair to the It is changing not only the com ­ race. We could be shooting our ­ ernmental Affairs ,_9®“* “**-*^* plexion of the members of JACL selves in the foot if we are not pointed (out that the media and Asian Pacific American commu ­ nity." Six precautions were dted and minorities in general but it careful bow the count is perceived some politicians seem to be fasd- and conducted. ” nated the past ei^t months with by the (Doalition: could have much greater meaning See CAMPAIGN/Page 7 for how we imderstand and relate the “Yellow Peril" syndrome —an to each other as a society in the Background next mill The JACL has a long history of fighring against discriminatory Nikkei parents with gay SeeMULTIRAClAUPage3 Vi chiidren share personai pain SENATOR AKAKA (D-Hawa)l) L6ng<lenied honors for MISer bestowedsubcommittee. Hawaiians cur­ and how they overcame rentlyare grouped withAsians and Ttie event wassponsored by the Manny Goldberg. He was on the BYCAROUNEAOYAGI . HOfJOLULU=-Yutaka Masuda Pacific Islanders. Pacific Southwest District's Civil was^e first Military Intelligence Iwojima invasion and conducted cave ferreting operations to con ­ The Office of Management and Rights Caucus, the AP.I. Lambda Service veteran in Hawaii to be Bu^t plans to propose changes JACL Chapter, and the Southern awarded by mail on Jan. 16 a vince Japanese soldiers to surren­ LOS ANGELES — "Japanese to the racial and ethnic categories /American families with gay children California Japanese American Bronze Star with “V” under Sec­ der. He narrowly escaped injury in for the 2000 census in Julyand to United Methodist Caucus. The this risky operation. need the underetanding of the Japa­ tion 523 of Pubhc Law 104-106, the adopt new rules in November. nese community sowe canfeel safe PSWD Cound recently endorsed legislation authored by Sen. Daniel On the same team at Iwo were Bronze Star awardees Frank Kami, But American Indians object to and can be proud of our gay and California AB tOI. which win pro­ Akaka and enacted in December changin g radal and ethnic catego ­ hibit (tscrimination based on sexual . 1996 for military decorations long Hideo Kono, Takamori Oishi, and lesbian children. ’ Raymond Sakata. Ben Yamamoto ries, the executive director to the Ellen Kameya read her words orientation in public sctxxits and ' denied because of the secrecy of National Congress of American coUeges. National JACLhasgone theirachievements. Nineteenmore also was on Iwo, but with the 3rd slowly and clearly, as she shared Indians told the subcommittee Mt^ her story at a panel discussionon on record supporting same-sex decorations w^ awarded last May Marine Division, after assignments at Byron ’s Hot Springs, the secret 22. At issue are programs created issues related to lesbi^ and gays marriages and the U nited Methodist 4. for Native Americans and the im­ The Nisei MISera were WWH’s Japanese POW camp in northern California, and with .nCPOA (Joint pact of adding Native Hawaiians seoet weapon that eavesdropped to those qualified to participate. on enemy communications, trans ­ Intelli^ce Center Pacific Ocean Area) in Hawaii. Akaka ’s words convinced at least lated documents and interrogated one congressman. “Indigenous Jap^ese prisoners. Some operated A veterans ’ group headed by Ed peopleare indigenous," Rep. Daimy behind enemy lines or at the firing Ichiyama of the 442 Club, Henry Furuya and Col. Iwao Yokoqji (ret.) Davis (D-ni.) said. “If Hawaiians lines at the risk of their lives. are part of the United States of Drafted in March 1941, Masuda of the MIS, coordinated a special visit of M^. Terry Mintz, Army America, then the people who were completed his MIS training at indigenous to Hawaii are indig ­ Camp Savage after Pearl Hcuhor MIS military awanls branch, and' Dr.' James C. McNaugMon, com- enous to the United States of and served with the 309th IntelH- America." —Advertiser ■ gence Detachment under Lt. SeeMiS/Page9 (From left to right) Harold Kameya.'Elen Kameya. Ja ani, Lisa 1929 tragedy of Masashi Goto in the Uinta Forests rememberedShibata, Al Nakatani. and Keith Kasai. greeted by members of the Japa­ BY YAS TOKITA four days later by a sheep herder, in the Nikkei community at the Cen ­ Church is committed to supporting nese community at Salt Lake Mu­ (Special to the Pacific Citizen) ending what was to be an ambi ­ tenary United Methodist Church on gays and lesbians, tious one-man flight over the land nicipal Airport and departed in the May 31. ITS been nine years now sirx» T TAD he succeeded, Goto masses of three continents and early afternoon toward Park City, *1 have met many JA gay and Elen and Harold Kameya ’s eldest I I would have made a marii ferry transport over the oceans. and crashed in Dry Canyon at an lesbian people, ’ she continu^ ’so child and only daughter, Valerie, JL .L in aviation history. Several months later, the Japa­ elevation of 8,500 feet near Soap ­ I know there are many families Ike told them she was gay. The Fourth of July, 1997, in the nese Association of Ut^ erected a stone Basin. En route to New York, mine in Los Angeles and elsewhere. ’ Although today the Kameyas high Uintas east of S^t Lake City roadside monument about 3,000 he was attempting to cross the More than 80 people sal quiedy spend much oMheir time educating opened clear and cloudless so the feet north of the crash site. Rockies in an area known as the and dabbed the occasional tear as the AA community about gay and Bound of thunder rolling across the Goto, 34, and his fiiend Takeo High Uintas where one peak is they listened to stories from the ol- lesbianissues.theirdaughlei'scom- mountains was inexplicable. It Watan^ built the 22-foot wing ­ above 13,500 feet. In his porfcts teninvistoleJAgaycommunity. Elen Ing-out in 1988 wasn't always easy emanated from the Taiko Drum span biplane at Crawford Airplane were found his private pilot ’s li­ and her husband Harold were joined toaccepL tit’s been a long journey group of the Salt Lake Church of Co. in Venice, Calif., putting all of cense, an I.D. card, a draft for $500 by the Nakatanis, a lamily vrhose from ignorance to undetslaxing for Christ heralding the start of the their savings and resources into and $300 in cash, a letter to two gay sons have since died of me, ’ said Elen, a Sansei retired oer^nony to comm^norate the re- the project.