VIU anthropology students and professor probe cemetery mystery

The treatment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War is a dark chapter in Canadian history.

A group of Vancouver Island University anthropology students, a geography grad with high-tech skills and professor Imogene Lim are working with the Cumberland Archives and Museums to undo one of the injustices spurred by war-time animosity.

In February 1942, the government of Canada ordered more than 20,000 residents of Japanese ancestry in Western Canada to relocate to “protected areas” in the B.C. interior. Japanese-Canadians in Cumberland were among those who lost their homes and most of their possessions as part of the security measure.

Fuelled by war-time resentment and racism, the small Japanese cemetery in Cumberland was vandalized and many of the grave markers were damaged or destroyed.

“Almost every Japanese cemetery on the Island was vandalized,” said Lim.

Lim has roots in Cumberland’s Chinese-Canadian community and is a member of Cumberland's Coal Creek Historic Park Advisory Committee. She played an important role in helping to protect and preserve the area, now known as the Coal Creek Historic Park (Chinatown and #1 Japanese Town), for its heritage value.

Her anthropology course Researching Community: A Practicum on Cumberland’s Ethnic Landscape is going further to raise awareness about cultural heritage in the region.

VIU geography graduate Brent Schofield is giving Lim and her students valuable technical assistance in their cemetery research. Schofield, who works for Lewkowich Engineering Associates, examined the Japanese cemetery with ground-penetrating radar and is compiling technical data to create a map showing where the earth has been disturbed and possible location of human remains.

With the support of his employer and colleague Paul Johnston, Schofield is providing a volunteer service valued at several thousand dollars.

“This project was a good fit for all the right reasons. I am very interested in the use of non-intrusive technology,” said Schofield, who has an Advanced Diploma in GIS Applications in addition to his geography degree.

It is far more than a technical exercise, said Lim. There are reputedly 198 people buried in the cemetery and while the Japanese community was dispersed almost six decades ago, there are signs that the site remains important.

“Every time I’ve gone to the cemetery, there have been flowers or mandarin oranges left by the gravestones [central memorial]. It’s really a meaningful place of remembrance,” Lim said.

With the results of the radar scans and her students’ research, Lim hopes to provide details that could give visitors an idea of areas in the graveyard where members of specific families are likely buried.

Cumberland Museum Executive Director Meaghan Cursons is grateful for the field work of the VIU students and other community support.

“The Cumberland Museum is very happy to be working in partnership with Vancouver Island University, Dr. Imogene Lim and her Researching Community class,” said Cursons. “We are thrilled to be working with talented and enthusiastic students to uncover new secrets and new stories about Cumberland’s history.”

Museum staff and volunteers have gained a deeper understanding of their own artifacts and archives and are looking forward to future partnerships with VIU, Cursons said.

“Seeing the collection and the museum through new eyes has been inspiring and has helped us to focus our work,” she said.

Lim encourages her Researching Community students to pay attention to small details that shed light on the past. She noted a date on one grave marker shows a 20-year-old member of the community died right at the time that the community was about to be dispersed and wonders about his fate. By pointing to an individual caught in the midst of a real and traumatic event, Lim reinforces her message that anthropology is not an isolated academic pursuit.

“I ask students to think about this kind of research as community development. This was a vibrant place where people lived and died,” she said.

That point strikes home with students such as Lise Garden, who is taking Lim’s course as she pursues a BA with Global Studies Major and Political Science Minor.

She is doing her field work in collaboration with museum staff to preserve the Saito House, the last remaining Japanese mining cabin in its original Comox Valley location.

“We are looking to develop a comprehensive history of the Japanese community in Canada, narrowing into Cumberland and then focusing on the Saito house,” said the fourth-year student.

Garden sees her research as important in recognizing visible minorities who have played important roles in Canada’s past despite suffering racism.

“When we ignore the contributions of these various minorities, we are denying their rightful claim for legitimacy in our collective history,” she said.

-30-

For more information:

VIU Anthropology courses: viu.ca/anthropology/courses.aspx

Dr. Imogene Lim’s courses and research: http://web.viu.ca/limi

Cumberland Museum and Archives: http://www.cumberlandmuseum.ca/