“I Know We’ll Meet Again: Correspondence and the Forced Dispersal of Japanese Canadians” Public Panel Event (online)

Event date and time

March 1, 2022, 1:00pm-2:30pm (PST)

Location

Online

Background

University of British Columbia Library and the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies program in the Faculty of Arts present an online public panel event inspired by the Joan Gillis fonds, a remarkable collection of letters that recount the lives of a group of Japanese Canadian teenagers after their forced dispersal from the coastal regions of British Columbia in 1942.

The Joan Gillis fonds was acquired by UBC Library in 2018 and contains 149 letters and 10 photographs, sent to donor Joan Gillis by a group of young Japanese Canadian friends she met while attending Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey. These letters, written from farms, work camps, and internment camps in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Alberta after the students were forcibly dispersed from their homes, provide us with a rare glimpse into the lives of young Japanese Canadians during this dark period.

As we acknowledge the 80th anniversary of the forced dispersal, internment, and dispossession of Japanese Canadians from the coastal regions of British Columbia, panel members from the Japanese Canadian community will provide their responses to these letters. Through this event, we invite all to reflect on the histories, effects, and legacies of this historical injustice. The event will also launch an online exhibit featuring select letters from the Joan Gillis fonds.

Panel

• Laura Ishiguro, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of British Columbia
• Angela May, artist and PhD Student in English & Cultural Studies, McMaster University
• Carolyn Nakagawa, poet and playwright, Education Program Developer, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
• Lisa Uyeda, Collections Manager, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
• Nicole Yakashiro (Moderator), PhD Student in History, University of British Columbia

Audience

Everyone is invited to attend this free online event. Registration is required.