Celebrating Memory, Honoring Resilience: Deoli Survivors Dedicate a Remembrance Tree in San Francisco

On January 24, 2026, community members, descendants, allies, and advocates will gather in the heart of San Francisco for a moment long in the making: the Deoli Survivors Remembrance Tree Dedication, taking place at 2 p.m. next to the Yerba Buena Carousel (LeRoy King Carousel).

This tree will stand as a living tribute to the Chinese Indian community unjustly incarcerated in Deoli Internment Camp following the 1962 Sino‑Indian War—a chapter of history long overlooked, yet carried quietly for generations. It is dedicated to the Deoli Survivors to celebrate their resilience, dignity, and enduring hope.

A Growing Movement of Remembrance

This dedication in San Francisco is not happening in isolation. It joins a growing constellation of memorial efforts across North America, each one rooted in the belief that remembrance is an act of justice.

In 2023, the AIDCI unveiled the Deoli Internment Memorial Plaque in Milliken Park, Toronto, the first public marker in Canada acknowledging the internment of Chinese Indian families. That plaque—set in a peaceful, open green space—became a powerful symbol: a community stepping forward to say this happened, and it matters. It created a place where survivors and descendants could gather, reflect, and be seen.

The Deoli Survivors Remembrance Tree in San Francisco builds on that momentum. Where the community in Toronto chose a grove, San Francisco advocates dedicate a tree—two gestures, different in form but united in purpose. Both create public spaces where memory can take root, where stories once pushed to the margins can be heard in the open air.

Why a Tree?

Trees have always been vessels of memory. They grow slowly, steadily, and without fanfare. They offer shade, shelter, and continuity. They remind us that healing is not a single moment but a long, patient unfolding.

Deoli survivors fondly remember the few trees that grew during their internment, offering moments of levity amidst gravity. While there is still no definitive answer as to why the camp maintained so few trees in the 1960s, the few that stood were treasured. Survivors remember lighthearted childhood moments listening to elders’ stories under a tree on cool evenings in Wing 1, finding parrots in the neem trees, making slingshots out of brushwood, or playfully stealing the fruit from a coveted banana tree.

For the Deoli community, a tree is thus especially fitting. Since their internment, survivors rebuilt their lives with quiet strength. Families carried stories across continents. Descendants and allies of the community have taken up the work of remembrance with clarity and compassion. A tree mirrors that journey—its roots deepening, its branches reaching toward a future shaped by truth.

A Community Gathering for Reflection and Connection

The dedication ceremony will include brief reflections, shared stories, and a collective moment of remembrance. It is an opportunity not only to honor the past but to strengthen the community that continues to advocate for recognition, education, and healing.

Events like this remind us that history is not static. It lives in the people who carry it, in the spaces that acknowledge it, and in the communities that choose to remember together.

From Toronto to San Francisco: A Shared Commitment

The Toronto memorial at Milliken Park marked a turning point—a public acknowledgment that helped open doors for broader conversations about the Deoli internment. The San Francisco Remembrance Tree continues that work, expanding the geography of remembrance and inviting more people into the story.

 One of the maple trees in the Deoli Camp survivors memorial in Milliken Park.

Three trees memorializing Deoli Camp survivors.

The plaque in the memorial space in Milliken Park, Toronto.

Together, these memorials form a bridge across borders, generations, and communities. They affirm that the experiences of Deoli survivors deserve to be known, honored, and preserved.

An Invitation

All are welcome to join the dedication on January 24. Whether you come as a survivor, a descendant, a friend, or someone newly learning this history, your presence strengthens the collective act of remembrance.

As the tree is dedicated in San Francisco, it becomes part of a larger landscape of memory—one that stretches from Milliken Park to Yerba Buena Gardens and beyond. Each memorial, each gathering, each shared story brings us closer to a future where the Deoli internment is not forgotten but understood, honored, and held with care.