Pilgrimage to the Sacramento River Delta

"The soul of Asian America lies buried in the rural fields and waterways of the Central Valley of California as well as in the back alleys and basements of urban Chinatown, Manilatown and Little Cambodia. We seek to understand and honor the ancestors of these early Chinese, Filipino and other Asian migrants who laid the infrastructure for agriculture in California. We seek to connect to new groups of rural migrant laborers whose experiences are similar to those of our ancestors." --Dr. Joanne Doi, Franciscan School of Theology

Ceremony flowers

October 24-26, 2008

The second pilgrimage to the Sacramento Delta took place from October 24-26, 2008. There were four students from the Pacific School of Religion (PSR), seven students from the Franciscan School of Theology (FST) and thirty-one students from San Francisco (SF) State who attended, along with four members of the larger community. The students from PSR and FST were taking a contextual learning course on immigrant theologies taught by Dr. Joanne Doi of FST. The students from SF State came from a Japanese American History and Chinese American Psychology class taught by Gordan Lee. All joined to learn about the Native American and immigrant history of the Delta region and honor the laborers who struggled there.

Our journey, guided by Rev. Deborah Lee and FST professor Dr. Joanne Doi, included:

  • Visit to Native American sacred sites
  • Walking tour of Little Manila in Stockton, CA, led by the Little Manila Foundation
  • Visit to the Stockton Gurdwara, the oldest Sikh temple in North America
  • Visit to Walnut Grove and the Walnut Grove Japanese-American Historic District
  • Visit with residents of Locke, California, the last remaining historic Chinese rural town
  • Ritual to honor the ancestors who lived and died in Sacramento River Delta

Slideshow of photos from the October 2008 Delta pilgrimage:

Learn More:

Photos and reflections from the March 2008 pilgrims.

Reflections by Rev. Deborah Lee about the October 2008 pilgrimage.

Words from the Flower Ritual liturgy.

Understanding the Impact of the Gold Rush on California Native People.

 

 

Delta Pilgrims

History of the Delta Pilgrimage

On March 29–30, 2008 (Cesar Chavez Day weekend) PANA led our first educational pilgrimage to the Sacramento River Delta, tracing the footsteps of the Chinese and Filipino people who worked as immigrant or migrant rural labor in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta area.

We journeyed to remember the rural labor experience, to regain our collective memory, to heal from the pain of transnational migration, and reconnect to history.

We focused on the Chinese and Filipino migrant laborers of the 1860s–1940s, and named sacred sites in this history, both physical and spiritual. We visited the Native American history and sense of land; took a river trip by boat to remember watery journeys from the Bay to the Delta; explored the sense of place — the ecology, the levees; met residents of Locke, California, the last remaining historic Chinese rural town; shared a dusk ritual on the river levee banks; honored Little Manila in Stockton, California, 1920–1950, the largest community of Filipino descent in America; and listened to contemporary immigrant and rural workers.

This Delta Pilgrimage (2008) was inspired by our PANA Pilgrimages to Manzanar (2006–present), which was inspired by the Manzanar Community Pilgrimages (1969–present), which was inspired by the United Farm Workers peregrinación/pilgrimage from Delano to Sacramento (1966).Map of the Sacramento River Delta

 

More Resources:

 "Much suffering, racial violence, interethnic conflict, and
genocide has taken place on California soil. These are buried stories
we seek to hear and heal. To forgive and to ask forgiveness. To heal
the pain of ruptures caused by transnational migration and diaspora. To
increase our love for this land and the layers of peoples for whom this
land is sacred."
--Dr. Joanne Doi, Franciscan School of Theology