Heritage BC is calling on the public to nominate B.C.’s Japanese-Canadian historic places so they can be considered for formal recognition of heritage value.
Nominations can be made for historic places or places with heritage values believed as significant or important to the history and development of the Japanese community from across B.C. sites can range from buildings, monuments, cemeteries, parks to entire neighbourhoods or districts, and abandoned sites that once stood, but have now been reclaimed by nature.
Following a 2012 provincial apology to Japanese-Canadians by the Province of B.C. for its part in their internment during the 1940s, the Japanese Historic Places Recognition Project builds on proactive engagement to recognize contributions of the Japanese-Canadian community in B.C.
The project is to be completed by Heritage BC on behalf of the British Columbia Ministry of International Trade and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
It is the second project in the Provincial Recognition Program following the success of the Chinese Historic Places Recognition Project undertaken in 2015.
Paul Gravett, Interim Executive Director, of Heritage BC said: “This project is vitally important to ensure the contributions of the province’s Japanese-Canadian community are recognized.
“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. The places don’t have to be particularly grand or even very old. We want to hear about the sites that mean something to those of Japanese descent and the development of British Columbia.”
A selection of the nominated places will be officially recognized by the Government of British Columbia and placed on both the B.C. Register of Historic Places and the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
To nominate a historic place complete the online form at www.heritagebc.ca/japanese-historic-places by Sept. 9, 2016.