The North Coast is rich in history and historical sites, but Heritage BC is reaching out to see if any residents know of some with a Japanese-Canadian flavour.
The organization has put the call out across the province for anyone who may know of Japanese-Canadian historical sites with ties to the development of Japanese history and culture in B.C. These can be buildings, monuments, cemetaries, parks, neighbourhoods, districts or abandoned sites.
The effort is being undertaken as part of the 2012 B.C. apology to Japanese-Canadians for the province’s part in their internment in the 1940s.
The initiative, called the Japanese Historic Places Recognition Project, is being undertaken by the Ministry of International Trade and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
“This project is vitally important to ensure the contributions of the province’s Japanese-Canadian community are recognized,” said Paul Gravett, interim executive director of Heritage BC.
“Anyone can nominate a location and you don’t need to be a history expert to let us know what places are important to you. These places don’t have to be particularly grand or even old.”
To nominate a place, visit www.heritagebc.ca/japanese-historic-places by Sept. 9.