Community Service | Marlene Shigekawa

As the President of the Poston Community Alliance, Marlene Shigekawa has led the historic preservation and interpretive/educational efforts for the former Poston Incarceration Camp, located on the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation in Arizona. This site is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Her collaboration with the CRIT Tribal Council has led to numerous grant awards, including those from:

National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program

California State Library, Civil Liberties Public Education Fund National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Endowment for the Arts

Japanese American Community Foundation

Aratani Foundation

KT Foundation

Terasaki Foundation

She has organized in-person and virtual Poston Pilgrimages since 2018, with over a 1000 attendees. The latest Poston projects includes a barrack relocation in October 2024 to the Poston Elementary School Site I and the restoration of the Poston Library in June 2025.

In 2025 she was recognized with an award for Arts, Advocacy & Activism from the Northern California JACL (Japanese American Citizens League).

Marlene Shigekawa gives presentations and
film screenings to colleges, universities and
high schools on Poston's unique history.
For more information go to:
https://www.postonpreservation.org/poston-live

Marlene Shigekawa gives presentations and film screenings to colleges, universities and high schools on Poston's unique history. For more information go to: https://www.postonpreservation.org/poston-live

Marlene Shigekawa gives presentations and
film screenings to colleges, universities and
high schools on Poston's unique history.
For more information go to:
https://www.postonpreservation.org/poston-live