The Slocan Valley is a valley in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia .
87-565: The Slocan Valley is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, but its width is undefined. The Valhalla Range provides the steep western boundary and the Slocan Range presents the gradual slopes of the eastern boundary. Squeezed in between, Slocan Lake occupies the north, and Slocan River the south. In the Selkirk Mountains , which were created 200 million years ago during the Jurassic period ,
174-551: A "defence measure". On January 14, 1942, the federal government issued an order calling for the removal of male Japanese nationals between 18 and 45 years of age from a designated protected area of 100 miles (160 km) inland from the British Columbia Coast . The federal government also enacted a ban against Japanese-Canadian fishing during the war, banned shortwave radios, and controlled the sale of gasoline and dynamite to Japanese Canadians. Japanese nationals removed from
261-564: A "prominent banker of Vancouver" and a "manager of some of the largest lumbering companies in British Columbia". They saw Japanese Canadians as being important partners in helping to open Japanese markets to businesses in British Columbia. Despite the work of organizations like the Japan Society, many groups still opposed Japanese immigration to Canada, especially in BC's fishing industry during
348-506: A desire to become Canadian. These arguments reinforced the idea that the Japanese remained strictly loyal to Japan. The situation was exacerbated when, in 1907, the United States began prohibiting Japanese immigrants from accessing the mainland US through Hawaii, resulting in a massive influx (over 7,000 as compared to 2,042 in 1906) of Japanese immigrants into British Columbia. Largely as
435-813: A former internee, attested to the "intense cold during the winter" and her only source of heat was from a "pot-bellied stove" within the stable. General conditions were poor enough that the Red Cross transferred fundamental food shipments from civilians affected by the war to the internees. Some internees spoke out against their conditions, often complaining to the British Columbia Security Commission directly whenever possible. In one incident, 15 men who had been separated from their families and put to work in Slocan Valley protested by refusing to work for four days straight. Despite attempts at negotiation,
522-499: A group of Nisei refused to be shipped out and so were sent to prisoner-of-war camps in Ontario to be detained. The Nisei Mass Evacuation Group was formed to protest family break-ups and lobbied government organizations on the topic. However, their attempts were ignored and members of the group began going underground, preferring to be interned or sent to Ontario rather than join labour groups. By July 1942, after strikes occurred within
609-552: A logging operation at Devine (near D'Arcy in the Gates Valley ), which was in the protected zone but without road access to the coast. Japanese-Canadians interned in Lillooet Country found employment within farms, stores, and the railway . The Liberal government also deported able-bodied Japanese-Canadian labourers to camps near fields and orchards, such as BC's Okanagan Valley . The Japanese-Canadian labourers were used as
696-470: A new demand for soldiers and an increased need for domestic labour, which meant that the recruitment of minorities was reconsidered. Under this new policy, Japanese Canadians were able to enlist individually by travelling elsewhere in Canada where their presence was deemed less of a threat. By the end of World War I, 185 Japanese Canadians served overseas in 11 different battalions. During World War II , some of
783-588: A patriarchal structure, meaning the husband was the centre of the family. Since husbands were often separated from their families, wives were left to reconfigure the structure of the family and the long-established divisions of labour that were so common in the Japanese-Canadian household. Oftentimes after internment, families could not be reunited. Many mothers were left with children, but no husband. Furthermore, communities were impossible to rebuild. The lack of community led to an even more intensified gap between
870-519: A result, on August 12 that year, a group of Vancouver labourers formed an anti-Asiatic league, known as the Asiatic Exclusion League , with its membership numbering "over five hundred". On September 7, some 5,000 people marched on Vancouver City Hall in support of the League, where they had arranged a meeting with presentations from both local and American speakers. By the time of the meeting, it
957-461: A solution to a shortage of farm workers. This obliterated any Japanese competition in the fishing sector. During the 1940s, the Canadian government created policies to direct Chinese, Japanese, and First Nations into farming, and other sectors of the economy that "other groups were abandoning for more lucrative employment elsewhere." In early March 1942, all ethnic Japanese people were ordered out of
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#17328480505491044-534: A threat to national security, including select senior officials of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Royal Canadian Navy , and Department of Labour and Fisheries . Notable individuals on the side of the Japanese Canadians included Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside , Assistant Under-Secretary at External Affairs during the internment of Japanese Canadians. Sunahara argues that Keenleyside
1131-594: Is a lake in the Slocan Valley of the West Kootenay region of the Southeastern Interior of British Columbia , Canada . With an area of 69.29 km (26.75 sq mi) it has a maximum depth of 298 m (978 ft). It is fed by Bonanza Creek and drained by the Slocan River . In 1947, a Canadian Pacific locomotive was lost in the lake when a barge on which it was being carried sank. The locomotive
1218-518: Is derived from the word meaning "pierce, strike on the head", a reference to the harpooning of salmon (see Slocan name origin ). The north end of the valley saw a mining boom. When rich silver-lead ore was discovered near Sandon in the early 1890s, thousands of prospectors arrived in the valley. Several smaller settlements sprang up along present Highway 31A, linking New Denver and Kaslo. By 1910, many of these were deserted and ultimately vanished. Some larger silver-base metals mines produced through to
1305-632: The British Columbia Interior . The official policy stated that Japanese Canadians must move east of the Rocky Mountains or be deported to Japan following the end of the war. By 1947, many Japanese Canadians had been granted exemption to this enforced no-entry zone. Yet it was not until April 1, 1949, that Japanese Canadians were granted freedom of movement and could re-enter the "protected zone" along BC's coast. On September 22, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney delivered an apology, and
1392-494: The Canadian Forces . On the home front , many businesses began hiring groups that had been underrepresented in the workforce (including women, Japanese immigrants, and Yugoslavian and Italian refugees who had fled to Canada during the war) to help fill the increasing demands of Britain and its allies overseas. Businesses that had previously been opposed to doing so were now more than happy to hire Japanese Canadians as there
1479-680: The Canadian declaration of war on Japan during World War II . Similar to the actions taken against Japanese Americans in neighbouring United States, this forced relocation subjected many Japanese Canadians to government-enforced curfews and interrogations, job and property losses, and forced repatriation to Japan. From shortly after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor until 1949, Japanese Canadians were stripped of their homes and businesses, then sent to internment camps and farms in British Columbia as well as in some other parts of Canada, mostly towards
1566-551: The Governor General abolished the puller licence entirely despite Japanese-Canadian protests. This resulted in many younger Japanese Canadians being forced from the fishing industry, leaving Japanese-Canadian net men to fend for themselves. Later that year, in August, a change to the borders of fishing districts in the area resulted in the loss of licences for several Japanese-Canadian fishermen, who claimed they had not been informed of
1653-469: The Kootenay Country in southeastern British Columbia. Leadership positions within the camps were only offered to Nisei , or Canadian-born citizens of Japanese origin, thereby excluding Issei , the original immigrants from Japan. The internment camps in the B.C. interior were often ghost towns with little infrastructure to support the influx of people. When Japanese Canadians began arriving in
1740-742: The League of Nations in 1933, ignored the naval ratio set up by the Washington Naval Conference of 1922, refused to follow the Second London Naval Treaty in 1936, and allied with Germany with the Anti-Comintern Pact . Because many Canadians believed that resident Japanese immigrants would always remain loyal to their home country, the Japanese in British Columbia, even those born and raised in Canada, were often judged for these militant actions taken by their ancestral home. When
1827-576: The Pacific War began, discrimination against Japanese Canadians increased. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese Canadians were all categorized, regardless of citizenship, as enemy aliens under the War Measures Act , yet the place of residency at the outbreak of the war significantly affected the removal of their personal rights. Starting on December 8, 1941, 1,200 Japanese-Canadian-owned fishing vessels were impounded as
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#17328480505491914-473: The interior . The internment in Canada included the theft, seizure, and sale of property belonging to this forcefully displaced population, which included fishing boats, motor vehicles, houses, farms, businesses, and personal belongings. Japanese Canadians were forced to use the proceeds of forced sales to pay for their basic needs during the internment. In August 1944, Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Japanese Canadians were to be moved east out of
2001-499: The 1920s and 1930s. Prior to the 1920s, many Japanese labourers were employed as pullers, a job that required them to help the net men row the boats out to fish. The job required no licence, so it was one of the few jobs for first-generation Japanese immigrants who were not Canadian citizens. In 1923, however, the government lifted a ban on the use of motorboats and required that pullers be licensed. This meant that first-generation immigrants, known as Issei , were unable to get jobs in
2088-415: The 1920s, other groups had begun to come forward to the defence of Japanese Canadians, such as the Japan Society. In contrast to rival groups' memberships consisting of mostly labourers, farmers, and fishermen, the Japan Society was primarily made up of wealthy white businessmen whose goal was to improve relations between the Japanese and Canadians both at home and abroad. The heads of the organization included
2175-548: The 1980s (see Slocan mining ). The Canadian Pacific Railway operated two former railway lines connected by the former Slocan Lake ferry (see Slocan railway, ferry & roads ). Like First Nations before them, early pioneers recognized the fertile land of the lower valley was prime for settlement. The most prominent of the early farmers were the Doukhobors . In 1908, settling in Brilliant , colonies spread outward, which included
2262-506: The BC coast during World War II . In the valley, these camps stretched from Lemon Creek in the south to Rosebery in the north, and Sandon in the east. Many internees stayed on after the war ended (see Slocan Japanese internment ). The back-to-the-land movement peaked in the 1970s. The movement largely comprised hippies and many U.S. draft dodgers of the Vietnam War era. Most participants discovered that communal living and self-sustenance
2349-579: The BC coast. Small numbers of military-age Japanese-Canadian men were permitted to serve in the Canadian Army in the Second World War as interpreters and in signal/intelligence units. By January 1945, several Japanese Canadian men were attached to British units in the Far East as interpreters and translators. In total, about 200 Canadian Nisei joined Canadian forces during World War II. Throughout
2436-473: The Canadian Pacific No. 3512 Locomotive sank in the lake after the rail barge it was on sank after taking on water. Together with it some caboose and a Rotary Snowplow it sank to the bottom of the lake. The locomotive was located in 2020. Japanese Canadian internment From 1942 to 1949, Canada forcibly relocated and incarcerated over 22,000 Japanese Canadians —comprising over 90% of
2523-513: The Canadian government announced a compensation package, one month after President Ronald Reagan made similar gestures in the United States following the internment of Japanese Americans . The package for interned Japanese Canadians included $ 21,000 to each surviving internee, and the reinstatement of Canadian citizenship to those who were deported to Japan. Following Mulroney's apology, the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement
2610-694: The Canadian government issued order in council PC 1486, which allowed for the removal of "all persons of Japanese origin". This order in council granted the minister of justice the broad powers of removing people from any protected area in Canada, but was meant for Japanese Canadians on the Pacific coast in particular. On February 25, the federal government announced that Japanese Canadians were being moved for reasons of national security. In all, 27,000 people were detained without charge or trial, and their property confiscated. Others were deported to Japan. However, not all Canadians believed that Japanese Canadians posed
2697-526: The Ghosts ( ghost towns ), only the western part is in the Slocan. Some may define that part as no further east than Sandon . The valley is definitely home to the villages of Slocan , Silverton , and New Denver , as well as the unincorporated communities of Crescent Valley, Slocan Park , Passmore, Vallican, Winlaw , Appledale , Perry Siding, Lemon Creek , Rosebery , and Hills. Valhalla Provincial Park lies on
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2784-559: The Japanese are an assimilable race." Bordering the Pacific Ocean, British Columbia was believed to be easily susceptible to enemy attacks from Japan. Even though both the RCMP and the Department of National Defence lacked proof of any sabotage or espionage, there were fears that Japanese Canadians supported Japan in the war. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , for example, agreed with
2871-503: The Slocan Bluffs, and visiting Valhalla Provincial Park. Golf games are far cheaper than urban centres. Independent tourism operators host many of these pursuits. Giant cedars exist in small pockets throughout the valley, including on the accessible Retallack Old Growth Cedar Trail. Timber harvesting was once central to the economy. [REDACTED] Media related to Slocan Valley at Wikimedia Commons Slocan Lake Slocan Lake
2958-505: The Slocan River. It definitely includes from Crescent Valley north to Hills, and possibly east to Retallack . Unclear fringe settlements include South Slocan , Krestova, Pass Creek, and Summit Lake. Shoreacres (formerly Slocan Crossing), at the mouth of the Slocan River, is not generally considered to be in the Slocan. Although Highway 31A between New Denver and Kaslo is called the Valley of
3045-546: The UK and the United States. Prime Minister King wrote in his diary daily for most of his life. These diary entries have provided historians with a sense of the thoughts and feelings King held during the war. Historian N.F. Dreisziger has written that, "though he undoubtedly considered himself a man of humanitarian outlook, he was a product of his times and shared the values of his fellow Canadians. He was—beyond doubt—an anti-Semite , and shouldered, more than any of his Cabinet colleagues,
3132-496: The armed forces, and, when the forced removal and internment of Japanese Canadians was underway, the conditions Japanese Canadians faced in internment camps. William Lyon Mackenzie King served his final term as prime minister between 1935 and 1948, at which point he retired from Canadian politics. He had served two previous terms as prime minister, but this period was perhaps his most well-known. His policies during this period included unemployment insurance and tariff agreements with
3219-448: The camp. Japanese-Canadian women and children faced a specific set of challenges that greatly affected their way of life and broke down the social and cultural norms that had developed. Whole families were taken from their homes and separated from each other. Husbands and wives were almost always separated when sent to camps and, less commonly, some mothers were separated from their children as well. Japanese-Canadian families typically had
3306-408: The change. While these events did result in reduced competition from Japanese Canadians in the fishing industry, it created further tensions elsewhere. Japanese Canadians had already been able to establish a secure position in many businesses during World War I, but their numbers had remained relatively small as many had remained in the fishing industry. As Japanese Canadians began to be pushed out of
3393-511: The coast after the January 14 order were sent to road camps around Jasper, Alberta .On February 19, 1942, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 , which called for the removal of 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the American coastline. Anne Sunahara , a historian of internment, argues that "the American action sealed the fate of Japanese Canadians." On February 24,
3480-505: The day." In 1919, 3,267 Japanese immigrants held fishing licences and 50% of the total licences issued that year were issued to Japanese fishermen. These numbers were alarming to European-descended Canadian fishermen who felt threatened by the growing number of Japanese competitors. While groups like the Asiatic Exclusion League and the White Canada Association viewed Japanese Canadians as cultural and economic threats, by
3567-514: The first time) their new husbands, became common after 1908. The influx of female immigrants—and soon after, Canadian-born children—shifted the population from a temporary workforce to a permanent presence, and Japanese-Canadian family groups settled throughout British Columbia and southern Alberta . Japan during World War I was an ally of the United Kingdom and opinions of Japanese Canadians improved slightly. Some Japanese Canadians enlisted in
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3654-433: The fishing industry, they increasingly began to work on farms and in small businesses. This outward move into farming and business was viewed as more evidence of the economic threat Japanese Canadians posed towards white Canadians, leading to increased racial tension. In the years leading up to World War II , approximately 29,000 people of Japanese ancestry lived in British Columbia; 80% of these were Canadian nationals. At
3741-523: The fishing industry, which resulted in large–scale unemployment among these Issei . Second-generation Japanese Canadians, known as Nisei , and who were born in Canada, began entering the fishing industry at a younger age to compensate for this, but even they were hindered as the increased use of motorboats resulted in less need for pullers and only a small number of fishing licences were issued to Japanese Canadians. This situation escalated in May 1938, when
3828-516: The generations. Children had no one with whom to speak Japanese outside the home and as a result they rarely learned the language fluently. This fracturing of community also led to a lack of Japanese cultural foundation and many children lost a strong connection with their culture. Mothers had also learned to be bolder in their own way and were now taking on wage-earning jobs, which meant that they had less time to teach their children about Japanese culture and traditions. The internment camps forever changed
3915-400: The groups were hindered in their attempt to assimilate due to the difficulty they had in finding steady work at equal wages. In reference to Japanese Canadians specifically, human geographer Audrey Kobayashi argues that prior to the war, racism "had defined their communities since the first immigrants arrived in the 1870s." Starting in 1877 with Manzo Nagano —a 19-year-old sailor who
4002-487: The hopes of gaining previously denied citizenship rights. In the early years of the war, however, the supply of enlisting men surpassed demand, so recruiting officers could be selective in who they accepted. Still, large numbers of Japanese Canadians volunteered, as did members of other visible minorities like Black Canadians and First Nations , so the Canadian government proposed a compromise that, if enlisted, minorities could fight separately. The Japanese Canadian community
4089-501: The infrastructure already in place. In 2021, growers are establishing a processing co-op. In the 1910s, came the British immigrants lured with a dream of establishing small commercial orchards. Apples were a favourite crop. Unfortunately, the climate, often coupled with steeply sloping land, dashed these hopes. Today, few of those orchards remain. Several West Kootenay internment centres housed thousands of Japanese Canadians removed from
4176-540: The interned Japanese Canadians were combat veterans of the Canadian Expeditionary Force , including several men who had been decorated for bravery on the Western Front . Despite the first iterations of veterans affairs associations established during World War II, fear and racism drove policy and trumped veterans' rights, meaning that virtually no Japanese-Canadian veterans were exempt from being removed from
4263-403: The internees – green wood to build accommodation and a stove was all that most received. Men could make some money in construction work to support their families, but women had very few opportunities. Yet, finding work was almost essential since interned Japanese Canadians had to support themselves and buy food using the small salaries they had collected or through allowances from the government for
4350-449: The labour camps themselves, the federal government made a policy to keep families together in their removal to internment camps in the BC interior or sugar beet farms across the prairies. Many Canadians were unaware of the living conditions in the internment camps. The Japanese Canadians who resided within the camp at Hastings Park were placed in stables and barnyards, where they lived without privacy in an unsanitary environment. Kimiko,
4437-464: The loss of life that it [the bomb] will occasion among innocent people as well as those that are guilty." On August 6, 1945, the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, King wrote in his diary: "It is fortunate that the use of the bomb should have been upon the Japanese rather than upon the white races of Europe. For many Japanese Canadians, World War I provided an opportunity to prove their loyalty to Canada and their allies through military service in
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#17328480505494524-465: The men and their families were processed through Hastings Park in Vancouver; others were sent immediately for various destinations eastward. Many of the men at the park were separated from their families and sent into the British Columbia Interior or elsewhere in Canada, but most women and children stayed in the park until they were sent to Internment Camps in the interior or decided as a family to join
4611-517: The men were eventually informed that they would be sent to the Immigration Building jail in Vancouver for their refusal to work. Their mistreatment caused several of the men to begin hoping that Japan would win the war and force Canada to compensate them. Tashme , a camp on Highway 3 just east of Hope, was notorious for the camp's harsh conditions and existed just outside the protected area. Other internment camps, including Slocan , were in
4698-466: The mob without any serious injury or loss of life. After the riot, the League and other nativist groups used their influence to push the government into an arrangement similar to the United States' Gentlemen's Agreement , limiting the number of passports given to male Japanese immigrants to 400 per year. Women were not counted toward the quota, so " picture brides ", women who married by proxy and immigrated to Canada to join (and in many cases, meet for
4785-701: The mouth of Wilson Creek, and Hills at the lake's north end. To the west of the lake is the Valhalla Range (or "the Valhallas"), most of which is enshrined in Valhalla Provincial Park . The mountains to the east of Slocan Lake were the focus of the silver rush known as "the Silvery Slocan", during which steamboats and railways penetrated the Kootenay Range east of the lake to Sandon , the "capital" of
4872-436: The pass from Summit Lake, beyond which is the town of Nakusp on Upper Arrow Lake . In addition to Slocan City (officially now a "village", but usually referred to locally by its old name of Slocan City to distinguish it from Slocan Park and South Slocan), other towns and communities on the lake include the twin communities of New Denver and Silverton , midway up the lake's eastern shore, Rosebery slightly north of them at
4959-612: The populace in British Columbia (BC). Canadian sociologist Forrest La Violette reported in the 1940s that these early sentiments had often been "organized around the fear of an assumed low standard of living [and] out of fear of Oriental cultural and racial differences." It was a common prejudiced belief within British Columbia that both Japanese and Chinese immigrants were stealing jobs away from white Canadians . Canadian academic Charles H. Young concluded that many Canadians argued based on this fear that "Oriental labour lowers
5046-510: The power to intern all "persons of Japanese racial origin". A 100-mile (160 km) wide strip along the Pacific coast was deemed "protected", and men of Japanese origin between the ages of 18 and 45 were removed. Thereafter, the entire Japanese Canadian population was uprooted from this designated zone. By November 1942, 22,000 people were displaced. Japanese Canadians on the west coast were forcibly moved to road camps, sugar beet farms, or prisoner-of-war camps . Before being sent off, many of
5133-643: The protected area, and a daytime-only curfew was imposed on them. Various camps in the Lillooet area and in Christina Lake were formally "self-supporting projects" (also called "relocation centres") which housed selected middle- and upper-class families and others not deemed as much of a threat to public safety. The forced removal of many Japanese-Canadian men to become labourers elsewhere in Canada created confusion and panic among families, causing some men to refuse orders to ship out to labour camps. On March 23, 1942,
5220-433: The responsibility of keeping Jewish refugees out of the country on the eve of and during the war." Prior to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan , Prime Minister King was not considered a racist. He seemed concerned for humanity and was against the use of the atomic bomb and even its creation. When King learned of the estimated date of the bomb dropping, he wrote in his diary: "It makes one very sad at heart to think of
5307-412: The rural lifestyle and lower accommodation costs. People can work remotely via improved cell networks, internet connectivity, and by 2023, increased high speed coverage through a fibre optic network extension. Many residents commute daily to larger centres like Nelson , Castlegar , and Nakusp . Popular activities include mountain biking, rafting on the Slocan River, back country skiing, rock climbing at
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#17328480505495394-534: The rush and the destination of three railways, two from the direction of Slocan Lake via Carpenter Creek , the other via Retallack Pass from Kaslo on Kootenay Lake . The 1902 discovery of zinc in the area also aroused interest and excitement. BC Highway 6 follows the eastern shore of Slocan lake from Hills to Slocan City and down the Slocan River from there. The Canadian Pacific rail line from Nakusp via Bonanza Pass now dead-ends at Rosebery Slip, on Slocan Lake, but originally ran into Sandon. On January 1, 1947
5481-414: The south end of the valley. Many descendants remain residents. Small private farms, some originally started by Doukhobors, produce organic fruit and vegetables for local farmer's markets, restaurants, grocery stores and food processors. For decades, the valley has been home to craft cannabis cultivation. Many existing operations have transitioned to the now legal industry, and new entrants can benefit from
5568-491: The standard of living of White groups." It was also argued that Asian immigrants were content with a lower standard of living. The argument was that many Chinese and Japanese immigrants in BC lived in unsanitary conditions and were not inclined to improve their living space, thereby proving their inferiority and their unwillingness to become truly Canadian. Violette refuted this claim by stating that, while Japanese and Chinese immigrants did often have poor living conditions, both of
5655-607: The sugar beet farms in the Prairies . Many of the Japanese nationals removed from the coast after January 14, 1942, were sent to road camps in the BC interior or sugar beet projects on the Prairies, such as in Taber, Alberta . Despite the 100-mile quarantine, a few Japanese-Canadian men remained in McGillivray Falls , which was just outside the protected zone. However, they were employed at
5742-402: The summer and fall of 1942, any accommodations given were shared between multiple families and many had to live in tents while shacks were constructed in the summer of 1942. The shacks were small and built with damp, green wood. When winter came, the wood made everything damp and the lack of insulation meant that the inside of the shacks often froze during the night. Very little was provided for
5829-493: The time, they were denied the right to vote and barred by law from various professions. Racial tensions often stemmed from the belief of many Canadians that all Japanese immigrants, both first-generation Issei and second-generation Nisei , remained loyal to Japan alone. In Maclean's Magazine , a professor at the University of British Columbia stated that the "Japanese in B.C. are as loyal to [Japan] as Japanese anywhere in
5916-630: The total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia in the name of " national security ". The majority were Canadian citizens by birth and were targeted based on their ancestry. This decision followed the events of the Japanese Empire 's war in the Pacific against the Western Allies , such as the invasion of Hong Kong , the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , and the Fall of Singapore which led to
6003-490: The unemployed. The relief rates were so low that many families had to use their personal savings to live in the camps. By the spring of 1943, however, some conditions began to change as Japanese Canadians in the camp organized themselves. Removal from the coast to ghost towns had been done based on location, so many communities moved together and were placed in same camp together. This preserved local communal ties and facilitated organizing and negotiating for better conditions in
6090-516: The uprooting and internment of Japanese Canadians under the Defence of Canada Regulations . Since the arrival of Japanese, Chinese, and South Asian immigrants to British Columbia in the late 1800s, there had been calls for their exclusion. Vancouver Member of Parliament Ian Mackenzie saw the war as an opportunity to expel Japanese Canadians from British Columbia. He wrote to a constituent that "their country should never have been Canada ... I do not believe
6177-491: The valley forms part of the 400-kilometre (250 mi) long Kootenay Arc, comprising sedimentary , volcanic and metamorphic rock . The earliest recorded use of the descriptor Slocan valley was 1891, and capitalized use was 1897. The name is not recognized officially by the BC Geographic Names office. The exact geographic boundaries are ill-defined, being either greater or smaller than the drainages of Slocan Lake and
6264-501: The view that all Japanese Canadians "would be saboteurs and would help Japan when the moment came." In total, 22,000 Japanese Canadians (14,000 of whom were born in Canada) were interned starting in 1942. Widespread internment was authorized on March 4, 1942, with order-in-council 1665 passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act , which gave the federal government
6351-431: The war, Canadians of "Oriental racial origin" were not called upon to perform compulsory military service. Japanese Canadian men who had chosen to serve in the Canadian army during the war to prove their allegiance to Canada were discharged only to discover they were unable to return to the BC coast, or unable to have their rights reinstated. After Canada's declaration of war on Japan on December 8, 1941, many called for
6438-452: The way of Japanese-Canadian life. The dispossession began in December 1941 with the seizure of fishing vessels owned by Japanese Canadians, and eventually led to the loss of homes, farms, businesses and smaller belongings such as family heirlooms. Ian MacKenzie , the federal Minister of Pensions and National Health and British Columbia representative in Cabinet, was a political advocate for
6525-467: The western side of the upper valley, and is adjoined on its south by the valley of the Little Slocan River. East of Slocan Lake are mining ghost towns such as Sandon, Cody , and Three Forks . The Sinixt and Ktunaxa peoples have occupied the valley for thousands of years, and parts are subject to ongoing treaty talks. First Nations built camps and burial grounds in the south. The word slocan
6612-427: The world." Other Canadians felt that tensions, in British Columbia specifically, originated from the fact that the Japanese were clustered together almost entirely in and around Vancouver . As a result, as early as 1938, there was talk of encouraging Japanese Canadians to begin moving east of the Rocky Mountains . The actions of Japan leading up to World War II were also seen as cause for concern. Japan withdrew from
6699-456: Was "more than enough work for all". However, by the end of the war, soldiers returning home to find their jobs filled by others, including Japanese immigrants, were outraged. While they had been fighting in Europe, the Japanese had established themselves securely in many business and were now, more than ever, perceived as a threat to white workers. "'Patriotism' and 'Exclusion' became the watchwords of
6786-440: Was a sympathetic administrator who advocated strongly against the removal of Japanese Canadians from the BC coast. He unsuccessfully tried to remind other government officials of the distinction between Japanese foreign nationals and Canadian citizens in regards to personal and civil rights. Frederick J. Mead, RCMP Assistant Commissioner, also used his position to advocate for Japanese Canadians and mitigate government actions. Mead
6873-603: Was established in 1988, along with the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation (JCRF; 1988–2002), to issue redress payments for internment victims, with the intent of funding education. The tension between Canadians and Japanese immigrants to Canada existed long before the outbreak of World War II. Starting as early as 1858 with the influx of Asian immigrants during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush , beliefs and fears about Asian immigrants began to affect
6960-533: Was estimated that at least 25,000 people had arrived at the City Hall and, following the speakers, the crowd broke out in rioting, marching into Chinatown and Japantown . The rioters stormed through Chinatown first, breaking windows and smashing store fronts. Afterwards, the rioters turned to the Japanese-Canadian neighbourhood. Alerted by the previous rioting, Japanese Canadians in Little Tokyo were able to repel
7047-441: Was given the task of implementing several federal policies, including the removal of Japanese Canadians from the "protected zone" along the coast in 1942. Mead attempted to slow down the process, allowing individuals and families more time to prepare by following the exact letter of the law, which required a complicated set of permissions from busy government ministers, rather than the spirit of quick removal it intended. However, it
7134-508: Was located in 2020. The largest community on the lake is a village known as Slocan City. The lake is drained by the Slocan River , which flows south from the lake's foot at Slocan City through the Slocan Valley to South Slocan, British Columbia, where that river meets the Kootenay River a few kilometres above its confluence with the Columbia . It is fed by Bonanza Creek, which comes down
7221-441: Was not just government officials, but also private citizens, who were sympathetic to the Japanese-Canadian cause. Writing his first letter in January 1941, Captain V.C. Best, a resident of Salt Spring Island , advocated against mistreatment of Japanese Canadians for over two years. Best wrote to Keenleyside directly for much of that period, protesting anti-Japanese sentiment in the press, advocating for Japanese-Canadian enlistment in
7308-423: Was not their ideal. However, remnants formed the foundation for today's artisans , in skills such as theatre, writing, painting, ceramics, and textiles. Some people still choose to live off grid or in a commune . Locally made natural soaps, wellness products and clothing are sold online. A team of ice and sand sculpturers have adopted the valley as a base. Since the mid-1960s, city dwellers have been attracted by
7395-484: Was the first Japanese person to officially immigrate to Canada, and entering the salmon-exporting business—the Japanese were quick to integrate themselves into Canadian industries . Some European-descended Canadians felt that, while the Chinese were content with being "confined to a few industries", the Japanese were infiltrating all areas of industry and competing with white workers. This sense of unease among white Canadians
7482-482: Was very energetic on this front. The Canadian Japanese Association of Vancouver offered to raise a battalion in 1915 and, upon receiving a polite reply, proceeded to enlist and train 277 volunteers at the expense of the Japanese Canadian community. This offer, however, was rejected by Prime Minister Robert Borden and his federal cabinet. Yet, by the summer of 1916, the death toll in the trenches had risen, creating
7569-467: Was worsened by the growing rate of Japanese fishermen in the early 1900s. Japanese immigrants were also accused of being resistant to assimilation into British Canadian society, because of Japanese-language schools, Buddhist temples, and low intermarriage rates, among other examples. It was asserted that the Japanese had their own manner of living, and that many who had become naturalized in Canada did so to obtain fishing licences rather than out of
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