Landscapes of Injustice: Community Council Call for Nomination

2010-23-2-4-123

NNM 2010-23-2-4-123

Background

Landscapes of Injustice is currently in its third year of a seven-year research project led by researchers at the University of Victoria in partnership with 15 other institutions including specialists drawn from universities, community organizations and museums across the country. This project will further investigate and tell the history of the forced sale of Japanese Canadian-owned property, including land, homes, fishing boats and other possessions to national and international audiences. 

Whereas the uprooting, internment, and deportation of Japanese Canadians have been the focus of scholarly and popular concern, the dispossession has received far less attention, particularly outside of the Japanese Canadian community. As most Japanese Canadians know, dispossession left former internees without homes to which they could return after restrictions were finally lifted in 1949. This led to the eradication of historic neighbourhoods and longstanding settlements, thereby transforming individual lives and identities, as well as the broader landscapes of Canada. This project, funded by a $2.5 million dollar federal grant and by matching funds from participating institutions, will trace the origins of the Canadian policy of forced sale, explain the failure of Canadian law to protect citizens, analyze the lasting ramifications of this failure, and make these insights available to Canadians.

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. Phase two (years 5 to 7) will involve the creation of the museum exhibit; 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 is expected to kick off in 2019 at the Nikkei National Museum, where it will be permanently housed 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 maps. 

Call for Nomination

Landscapes of Injustice has assembled a Community Council consisting of individuals from the Japanese Canadian community. These established or emerging leaders have a strong understanding and interest in Japanese Canadian history and are able to provide a national perspective to the Landscapes of Injustice project. 

We are seeking to fill one position with a candidate from Eastern Canada to join the current Community Council. 

The Council is regularly informed and updated on the progress of the project, including attendance at the annual Spring Institute at the University of Victoria. The Council’s role is a community sounding board for project leaders, partners, and students, acting as a source of advice and guidance from the wider community of Japanese Canadians to help ensure that the project is delivered in ways that are best suited to their needs and remains accountable to the community concerns. This role complements that of the Executive Committee, whose scope and governance has been laid down in agreements among the partners and with the granting agency. The Executive Committee’s role includes overseeing the budget and project activities that are designed and implemented by the Steering committee and research clusters. For all members of the project, the perspectives of leaders in the many Japanese Canadian communities across the country are vital to ensuring that this project is able to share this chapter of Japanese Canadian history with national audiences. 

Our team shares the conviction that this history still matters. Every day we see members of our society continue to be unjustly marginalized, differences among us can still seem insurmountable, and future moments of national crisis will inevitably arise. Canadian society will be better equipped to address these challenges if we continue to engage the most difficult aspects of our past.

Please consider submitting a nominee or self nominate for this position. The council will meet once a year in Victoria in the spring and will communicate electronically regularly throughout the project. 

Members have been chosen to maximize, as much as possible, a representation of the wider Japanese Canadian community, with leaders from education, the arts, business and other sectors as well as equitable gender, geographical and generational diversity. The selection process and final decision will be made by the existing Community Council. 

Please note that there is no financial compensation for this role, but travel, accommodation and expenses to attend the Spring Institute will be covered by the project. 

Submission of Nomination

Request a nomination form and submit to Community Council Chair, Vivian Rygnestad at vrygnestad@gmail.com by October 21, 2016.

For more information on the project, visit www.landscapesofinjustice.com 

or contact Michael Abe, Project Manager mkabe@uvic.ca

 

Partner institutions:  For a full list of additional Collaborators and Co-investigators, please visit www.landscapesofinjustice.com/co-investigators-collaborators