6/4/11

2011 AZ Historic Preservation Conference


2011 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference
Valuing Historic Perspectives
Tucson, AZ  June 22-24, 2011

Session III – Saving Arizona’s World War II Historic Properties
One of the most significant events in the 20th century was World War II. This war changed the course of world history and touched the lives of all Americans. In the time since World War II, many of the properties associated with the war have been lost or are under threat. This session will provide examples of the threats to Arizona’s World War II properties and strategies being used to preserve these properties.
Moderator: Carol Griffith, State Historic Preservation Office

Speaker: 
Tom & Laurie Simmons, Front Range Research Associates, Inc.
Title: The Colorado River Relocation Center (Poston): “A Reservation within a Reservation”
 
Abstract: 
One of ten inland World War II relocation centers for Japanese Americans, Poston, established on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation, became Arizona’s third most populous community in 1942. The U.S. Office of Indian Affairs under John Collier administered Poston for its first two years of operation, using evacuee labor and funding to develop buildings and infrastructure that would benefit the reservation’s inhabitants after the war. Improvements undertaken included an extensive irrigation system and complexes of adobe school buildings designed and built by evacuees using materials on the site.

An update on the National Historic Landmark nomination for Poston and preservation efforts at other relocation center sites will also be addressed.

Speaker: Marlene Shigekawa, Chair of the Poston Alliance, Inc.,
Author & Former Internee at Poston
Title: The Poston Restoration Project: Preserving the History & Artifacts of a World War II Internment Camp on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation
 
Abstract: 
One of the ten internment camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II, Poston is located on a reservation. Members of the Japanese Americans community and the Colorado River Indian Tribe (CRIT) community are working together to preserve Poston’s history. The Poston Restoration Project includes the following strategies: preserving historic structures and artifacts, collecting personal stories, and emphasizing the importance of civil rights.

Marlene Shigekawa
Past & current efforts will be presented.

About Speaker: Marlene Shigekawa

Marlene Shigekawa has a broad base of experience in the fields of education and business as a management consultant, writer and project manager. She is currently the Project  Director for the Poston Preservation Project and a board member of the Poston Community Alliance, Inc.

Born in the Poston Internment Camp, she has written several publications book including
Blue Jay in the Desert and Welcome Home Swallows, multicultural children's picture books based on her family's internment experience. She also is the author of Succeeding in High Tech: A Guide to Building Your Career published by John Wiley & Sons.

As an author she has made presentations for universities and colleges and has presented at MIT, Sloan School of Management, Harvard University, University of California, and Dominican College.

Her work within education involved working with cross cultural teams of teachers, parents and administrators to develop diversity projects for Alameda, Oakland and San Francisco school districts. She has been a teacher in Watts, EOP counselor for the University of California, and Associate Director of Youth Employment for San Mateo County Schools.

As a new media producer, she has developed web-based projects at several high tech corporations, including PeopleSoft and Oracle, and managed a multimedia staff of content developers and graphic artists.

While a diversity consultant, she has worked with executives of Fortune 500 companies including Procter & Gamble, GE, Kodak and Sony Pictures Entertainment. She has also has made presentations to numerous associations including the National OD Network, American Society of Training & Development, Association of Human Resource Systems Professionals, Association for Women in Computing, Hewlett-Packard Technical Women’s Conference and Society for Intercultural Education, Training & Research.

She received her M.S. in Educational Psychology from California State University, Hayward and her B.A. in English from the University of California, Riverside. She is a graduate of the Advanced Program in Organization Development and Human Resources Management through Columbia University.

Source: AZPreservation.com

No comments: