In September 1945, after the close of the Second World War, the Canadian government threatened over 10,000 people of Japanese descent with exile to Japan, a country that many of them had never visited.
UVic Professor of History Dr. Jordan Stanger-Ross will discuss 鈥淐hallenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution鈥� in an illustrated lecture at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10 at the Courtenay Museum.
This talk explores how this attempted mass banishment came about, how Japanese Canadians fought exile, and why this story still matters today.
Jordan Stanger-Ross is author and editor of four books and dozens of other publications. His next book, Challenging Exile (with Professor Eric Adams) will be published this fall by UBC Press.
Stanger-Ross was also the lead researcher and text author for the 鈥淏roken Promises鈥� travelling exhibit from the Nikkei National Museum currently on display in the Courtenay Museum鈥檚 upstairs gallery. The exhibit explores the dispossession of Japanese Canadians in the 1940s.
Admission to the lecture is $5 per historical society member; $6 for non-members. Advance tickets are recommended.
For more information, or to purchase tickets over the phone, call 250-334-0686 ext. 2. The Courtenay and District Museum is located at 207 Fourth Street in downtown Courtenay.
