United Church’s Role in Greenwood

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I have written extensively on the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement’s Japanese Catholic Mission connection with the Japanese Canadians in Steveston and Vancouver’s Powell Street Japantown. Of course, they were the ones responsible for bringing the mostly Catholic Japanese Canadians to the first internment site of Greenwood in 1942.

Sacred Heart School Yearbook Memoirs - Part 2

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Sacred Heart School Yearbook Memoirs - Part 1

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In my previous article, I wrote that Greenwood became the first ‘internment camp’ in British Columbia, thanks mainly to the collaborative effort of then Mayor W.E. McArthur Sr. and Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Quigley to bring mostly Catholic Japanese Canadians and their friends and relatives to Greenwood in 1942.

Mystery ‘Graffiti’ Revealed

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Former Nelson Star editor, Greg Nesteroff, on January 21, 2015, wrote an article on names of Japanese Canadians scratched on the wall of the old ‘Slocan Hall’ or Legion/Oddfellows Hall. This building was undergoing renovation to expand the kitchen. As the contractors were peeling off the asphalt of the building, …

Nikkei Chronicles #8—Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations

Unsung Heroes of the Japanese Canadian Internment

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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 …

MAINICHI GAMAN: Broom, Mop, and Apron

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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 …

75th and 76th Anniversary of the Greenwood Nikkei Internment Ceremony

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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, …

Canadian Nikkei’s Pilgrimage to J.A. Internment Camps - Part 3

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Canadian Nikkei’s Pilgrimage to J.A. Internment Camps - Part 2

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Canadian Nikkei’s Pilgrimage to J.A. Internment Camps - Part 1

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I have always been intrigued by and curious about the Japanese American internment history for years and have watched Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programs religiously to learn about the wartime incarceration experience. Since there are many documentaries about Japanese Americans, and only a few films on the Japanese Canadian internment …