The Lake Country Heritage and Cultural Society is pleased to host Remembering and Redress: The Japanese Canadian experience in Lake Country. The lecture by Dr. Audrey Kobayashi of Queen’s University will present the history of the Japanese Canadian Pioneers of Lake Country from their arrival in the early 1900s through their experiences during WWII. Dr. Kobayashi, who was born and grew up in Okanagan Centre, will present an account of the pioneer families, the effects of World War II on the Issei (1st generation) and Nissei (2nd generation), and the Canadian Government’s Redress and apology.

The lecture will take place Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 at 1:30pm. The Creekside Theatre, 10241 Bottom Wood Lake Road, Winfield, BC V4V 1Y7. Admission is by donation. Doors open at 1:00pm.

Remembering and Redress: The Japanese Canadian experience in Lake Country commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement and was made possible through the generous funding of the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation.

Prior to WWII, 22,000 Japanese Canadians lived in British Columbia; three quarters of them were naturalized citizens or second or third generation Canadians. During the war, more than 21,000 living within 100 miles of the British Columbia coast were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to internment camps. After the war, 3,964 were deported to Japan; one third of them were Canadian citizens.

On September 22, 1988, the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement was signed in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney acknowledged the government’s wrongful actions during WWII and pledged to ensure that the events would never recur. He officially recognized the loyalty of the Japanese Canadians to Canada and, as a symbolic redress for injustices, the government offered individual and community compensation to the Japanese Canadians. In 1997, on behalf of Japanese Canadians, the Canadian government created the Canadian Race Relation Foundation, a national organization designed to foster racial harmony and help to eliminate racism.

Dr. Kobayashi, PhD, FRSC, is a Professor and Queen’s Research Chair in the Department of Geography, Queen’s University. Her research interests include the social and historical geography of the Japanese-Canadian community, and issues of human rights, immigration, racism, and labour conditions. She was a member of the team that negotiated the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement in 1988, and has always integrated her research interests with community activism.

For more information about this or upcoming lectures, please contact the Lake Country Museum and Archives at 250-766-0111 or email info@lakecountrymuseum.com. Please join the Lake Country Museum blog to keep informed of upcoming events at www.lakecountrymuseum.com.