National Association of Japanese Canadians is sharing this call out for stories of Japanese Canadians who lived in Surrey, British Columbia before 1942. NAJC president Lorene Oikawa, a life-long resident of Surrey, who has been working to bring more stories to light encourages people to share their stories. “For too long, Japanese Canadians have been made invisible by the omission of our stories and many buildings and representations of our presence in cities and towns across Canada have disappeared.”
“We need to hear the stories of daily lives, what work did they do, how did the family spend time at home, what took place in the schools and after school, and where did they go to get supplies or for visits. Also, if you have any artifacts to share for this exhibit it would add so much to the stories. I know asking for artifacts is hard since so much was taken from Japanese Canadians and families like my own only had a few suitcases. The sharing of stories is so important. Thank you for the consideration.”
Share your story!
Museum of Surrey would like to acknowledge the history of Japanese Canadians in the Surrey, BC area. In conjunction with the display of the Nikkei National Museum’s exhibit Broken Promises, February 5 – April 22, 2022, Museum of Surrey is seeking information about Japanese families who lived in Surrey before 1942.
You are encouraged to connect with Museum of Surrey curators. The museum’s goal is to acknowledge, document, and share as many stories as possible about the historic Japanese community in Surrey.
You are invited to contact Museum of Surrey between December 2021-January 1, 2022.
If you choose to share your story, Museum of Surrey promises to:
- Dedicate a minimum of 200 words about your story in the display. In addition, if available, 1-5
of your images will also be included - Provide you with a digital copy of the exhibit text panel featuring your story
- Share the final history created with Nikkei National Museum and Surrey Heritage
You will help the Museum of Surrey tell local stories and fill in gaps within our historical knowledge of Surrey’s story.
To share your story, please connect with Colleen Sharpe, Curator of Exhibits, Museum of Surrey colleen.sharpe@surrey.ca 604 592 6959
