Backgrounder: Forced dispossession of Japanese Canadians subject of multi-partner project and exhibit

The new seven-year, $5.5-million research project, Landscapes of Injustice, is led by UVic and includes 13 other institutions, as well as a team of 33 specialists drawn from universities, community organizations and museums. This project will uncover and tell the history of the liquidation of Japanese-Canadian-owned property to national and international audiences.

Dispossession left Japanese Canadians in BC without homes to which they could return after restrictions were finally lifted in 1949. It also forced the eradication of historic neighbourhoods and settlements, thereby transforming individual lives and identities, as well as the broader landscapes of Canada.

Participating institutions have committed $3 million in matching contributions to supplement a $2.5-million SSHRC Partnership Grant.

The project brings together researchers in three faculties at UVic—Humanities, Law and Social Sciences.

The 13 partner institutions are:

• Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
• Immigration History Society
• Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
• Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (providing access to historic land title records)
• Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre
• OAH/JAAS Historians’ Collaborative Committee
• Royal British Columbia Museum
• Ryerson University
• Simon Fraser University
• University of Winnipeg
• University of Alberta
• Urban History Association
• Vancouver Japanese Language School & Japanese Hall.

The first four years of the project comprise a research phase and will focus on four locations in BC (Steveston; Maple Ridge; Salt Spring Island; Powell Street in Vancouver). This phase will combine traditional archival historical research with extensive real-estate title searches, oral history interviews and geo-visual (GIS) mapping, as well as the launch of an annual summer institute. Phase two (years 5 to 7) will involve the creation of the museum exhibition; an educational website; a digital archive of research materials; teaching resources for elementary and secondary school instructors; and additional community outreach activities.

The travelling museum exhibition will initially be launched in 2019 and will be permanently housed at the Nikkei National Museum at the conclusion of its cross-country tour. It will include some artifacts, but will primarily showcase the curated collection of research material including archival photographs with narratives, land deeds, personal statements and government records (such as lists of liquidated property and household contents), as well as interactive GIS maps.

For more information about this project and future public events, please contact project manager Michael Abe at mkabe@uvic.ca or visit the website: landscapesofinjustice.com. Personal stories including those from individuals, families, communities and witnesses can also be submitted through the website.

For more information on the federal funding announcement, visit news.gc.ca