E.O. 9066
A Question of Loyalty references the segregation of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake, one of the incarceration camps established under Executive Order 9066. Designated as a “Segregation Center,” Tule Lake became the destination for those who were deemed disloyal or who resisted the conditions of their confinement.
Central to this designation was a government-issued questionnaire, which required incarcerated individuals to declare their willingness to serve in the U.S. military and to forswear allegiance to Japan. For many—particularly U.S.-born citizens who held no prior allegiance to Japan—the questions were fraught, confusing, and inherently contradictory. Others feared that their responses would be used against them regardless of how they answered.
Those who responded negatively, often in protest or uncertainty, were labeled “disloyal” and transferred to Tule Lake, where conditions were more restrictive. The work reflects the imposed nature of this “choice,” in which differing answers led to the same condition of confinement, revealing a system where loyalty was demanded, yet never fully acknowledged.
photo credit: Dean Powell Photography