Chuck Tasaka

Itadakimasu. ¿Qué es eso? Nunca había oído esto mientras crecía en el Canadá de la posguerra. La Escuela de Idioma Japonés no existía en Greenwood. La única palabra parecida a eso era “¡itai!” o “¡itai-na!”, la que se decía cuando tu hermano o hermana mayor te empujaba a un lado para conseguir el mejor asiento de la mesa de la cocina. Además, todos queríamos estar más “canadienizados”, es decir, pertenecer a la cultura anglo-canadiense. En la Escuela Sacred Heart, nosotros los niños aprendíamos a cantar canciones como “Irish Eyes ...

Greenwood,  ciudad ubicada en Columbia Británica (Canadá), se convirtió en el primer centro de internamiento en donde gente nikkei fue exiliada y “reubicada” de la costa de Columbia Británica. El 7 de diciembre de 1941, Japón bombardeó Pearl Harbor y poco después Canadá declaró la guerra a Japón cuando Hong Kong, un estado de la Comunidad Británica, cayó frente al ejército japonés. Este fue el comienzo de una reacción en cadena de decisiones gubernamentales para retirar a los japoneses-canadienses de la costa. Con la Ley de Medidas de Guerra vigente, los ...

In present day Canada, the high profile Nikkei we hear of so often are people like David Suzuki, Joy Kogawa, Muriel Kitagawa, Thomas Shoyama, Santa Ono, Raymond Moriyama, Art Miki, Mary and Tosh Kitagawa, and athletes like Paul Kariya (hockey), Nathan Hirayama (Rugby 7), Vicky Sunohara (Olympic hockey), Special Olympic skier Brian McKeever and the Hall of Fame Vancouver Asahi baseball team (1914-1941).

From 1942-1949, during the forced relocation from the B.C. coast beyond the 100-mile radius east to various internment camps, who were the unsung heroes? This is my list.

Nikkei Women:

When the federal government of Canada ...

For many centuries, women fought for gender equality, especially in the political forum. As early as the late 1800’s, women in Canada struggled to gain stronghold for the “Right to Vote.” Most politicians were adamant that women’s place should be in the home, having babies, raising them, cook for their husbands, and to keep the house tidy. Nevertheless, women in Canada could run for political office.

One woman who spear-headed this movement was Nellie McClung. She and four other women delivered a petition containing almost 40,000 signatures in support of women’s right to vote. On January ...

Back in 1971, then Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau declared that Canada would adopt a multicultural policy that recognizes and respects a diversity of languages, customs and religion. In 2015, Trudeau's son Justin, who also became Prime Minister, stated that “Diversity is Canada’s Strength” and over the past few years, there has been a push to encourage inclusion of all ethnic communities.

In British Columbia, the provincial government initiated a project to recognize the accomplishments of once marginalized ethnic groups, including new historical markers and signage. In 2016, road signage marking numerous Chinese Canadian historical sites was completed ...