{"id":"One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center (film)","doctype":"articles","links":{"html":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/One%20Fighting%20Irishman:%20Wayne%20M.%20Collins%20and%20the%20Tule%20Lake%20Segregation%20Center%20(film)/","json":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/api/3.0/articles/One%20Fighting%20Irishman:%20Wayne%20M.%20Collins%20and%20the%20Tule%20Lake%20Segregation%20Center%20(film)/"},"title_sort":"onefightingirishmanwaynemcollinsandthetulelakesegregationcenterfilm","description":"Documentary film profiling lawyer Wayne M. Collins that focuses on his years-long work to nullify the renunciations of thousands of\n \n Tule Lake\n \n inmates in the years after World War II. Built around a colorfully profane audio of a 1970s interview with Collins by historian Donald Collins (no relation), the film explores Collins' troubled early life, the broader\n \n Tule Lake Segregation Center\n \n story, and the wide ranging impact Collins' actions had on generations of Tule Lake families, including that of narrator George Takei.","rg_rgmediatype":["films"],"mediatype_label":"Films and Video","mediatype_icon":"fa-film","rg_interestlevel":["Grades 9-12","Adult"],"rg_genre":["Documentary","History"],"rg_theme":["Power of the past","Working class struggles"],"rg_availability":["Widely available"],"categories":[{"title":"Arts"}],"topics":[],"authors":[{"title":"Brian Niiya","json":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/api/3.0/authors/Brian%20Niiya/","html":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/authors/Brian%20Niiya/"}],"sources":[],"title":"One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center (film)","published_rg":true,"modified":"2025-06-09T14:30:49","databoxes":{"rgdatabox-Core":{"rgmediatype":["films"],"title":["One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center"],"creators":[],"interestlevel":["Grades 9-12","Adult"],"readinglevel":[],"guidedreadinglevel":[],"lexile":[],"theme":["Power of the past","Working class struggles"],"genre":["Documentary","History"],"pov":["Told from perspective of Wyoming homesteaders and former Heart Mountain inmates"],"relatedevents":[],"availability":["Widely available"],"freewebversion":["No"],"primarysecondary":[],"hasteachingaids":["No"],"warnings":[],"denshotopic":["Geographic communities-Wyoming [508]","Concentration camps-Living conditions [67]","Reflections on the past-Exhibitions [394]"],"geography":["Wyoming"],"chronology":["1940s and 2010s"],"facility":["Heart Mountain [5] - Cody, Wyoming"]},"databox-Films":{"title":["One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center"],"date":["2023"],"genre":[],"released":[],"director":["Sharon Yamato","Evan Kodani (co-director)"],"producer":["Sharon Yamato"],"writer":["Sharon Yamato"],"screenplay":[],"story":[],"basedon":[],"narrator":["George Takei"],"starring":["Hiroshi Kasahiwagi","Charles Wollenberg (interviewee)","Donald Collins (interviewee)","Margaret Collins Weeks (interviewee)","Tex Nakamura (interviewee)","Ernest Besig","(interviewee)","Eric L. Muller (interviewee)","Wayne Merrill Collins (interviewee)","Brian Niiya (interviewee)","Kyoko Oda (interviewee)","Tokio Yamane (interviewee)","Arthur Ogami (interviewee)","Kazie Kiyono Good (interviewee)","Stan Yogi (interviewee)","Paul Osaki (interviewee)","Hiroshi Shimizu (interviewee)","Kaz Naganuma (interviewee)","Florence Dobashi (interviewee)","Greg Robinson (interviewee)"],"music":["Dave Iwataki"],"cinematography":["Evan Kodani"],"editing":["Evan Kodani"],"studio":[],"distributor":[],"runtime":["30 minutes"],"country":[],"language":[],"budget":[],"gross":[],"imdblink":[],"trailerlink":[]}},"rg_title":["One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center"],"rg_pov":["Told from perspective of Wyoming homesteaders and former Heart Mountain inmates"],"rg_freewebversion":["No"],"rg_geography":["Wyoming"],"rg_chronology":["1940s and 2010s"],"rg_hasteachingaids":["No"],"body":"
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\n RGMediaType:films;\nTitle:One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center;\nCreators:;\nInterestLevel:Grades 9-12; Adult;\nReadingLevel:;\nGuidedReadingLevel:;\nLexile:;\nTheme:Power of the past; Working class struggles;\nGenre:Documentary; History;\nPoV:Told from perspective of Wyoming homesteaders and former Heart Mountain inmates;\nRelatedEvents:;\nAvailability:Widely available;\nFreeWebVersion:No;\nPrimarySecondary:;\nHasTeachingAids:No;\nWarnings:;\nDenshoTopic:Geographic communities-Wyoming [508]; Concentration camps-Living conditions [67]; Reflections on the past-Exhibitions [394];\nGeography:Wyoming;\nChronology:1940s and 2010s;\nFacility:Heart Mountain [5] - Cody, Wyoming;\n

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\n Title:One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Segregation Center;\nDate:2023; \nGenre:;\nReleased:;\nDirector:Sharon Yamato; Evan Kodani (co-director);\nProducer:Sharon Yamato;\nWriter:Sharon Yamato;\nScreenplay:;\nStory:;\nBasedOn:;\nNarrator:George Takei;\nStarring:Hiroshi Kasahiwagi; Charles Wollenberg (interviewee); Donald Collins (interviewee); Margaret Collins Weeks (interviewee); Tex Nakamura (interviewee); Ernest Besig; (interviewee); Eric L. Muller (interviewee); Wayne Merrill Collins (interviewee); Brian Niiya (interviewee); Kyoko Oda (interviewee); Tokio Yamane (interviewee); Arthur Ogami (interviewee); Kazie Kiyono Good (interviewee); Stan Yogi (interviewee); Paul Osaki (interviewee); Hiroshi Shimizu (interviewee); Kaz Naganuma (interviewee); Florence Dobashi (interviewee); Greg Robinson (interviewee);\nMusic:Dave Iwataki;\nCinematography:Evan Kodani;\nEditing:Evan Kodani;\nStudio:;\nDistributor:;\nRuntime:30 minutes;\nCountry:;\nLanguage:;\nBudget:;\nGross:;\nIMDBLink:;\nTrailerLink:;\n

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\n Documentary film profiling lawyer Wayne M. Collins that focuses on his years-long work to nullify the renunciations of thousands of\n \n Tule Lake\n \n inmates in the years after World War II. Built around a colorfully profane audio of a 1970s interview with Collins by historian Donald Collins (no relation), the film explores Collins' troubled early life, the broader\n \n Tule Lake Segregation Center\n \n story, and the wide ranging impact Collins' actions had on generations of Tule Lake families, including that of narrator George Takei.\n

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\n In an interview with Tamiko Nimura, filmmaker Sharon Yamato traces the origin of the film to the 2014 Tule Lake Pilgrimage, where she heard Wayne Merrill Collins—the son of the subject of the film—talk about his father's story. \"After the standing ovation Collins received from the many Tule Lake families in the audience, I was driven to find out more.\" Working with co-director and cinematographer Evan Kodani, Yamato received grants from the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program ($198,284) and the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program ($29,400) in 2020. The film premiered at the\n \n Japanese American National Museum\n \n on October 28, 2023.\n

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\n \n Authored by\n \n Brian Niiya\n \n \n
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\n Niiya, Brian\n
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\n Might also like\n \n Resistance at Tule Lake\n \n (2017);\n \n Rabbit in the Moon\n \n (1999);\n \n Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story\n \n (2000)\n

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\n \n For More Information\n \n

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\n Nimura, Tamiko. \"\n \n \n One Fighting Irishman\n \n —A Conversation with Filmmaker Sharon Yamato.\n \n \" Discover Nikkei, Oct. 17, 2023.\n

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\n Yamato, Sharon. \"\n \n Through the Fire: Behind the Making of a Film About Attorney Wayne M. Collins.\n \n \"\n \n Rafu Shimpo\n \n , Oct. 19, 2023.\n

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