Honouring Asian Heritage Month

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. This year’s theme is recognition, resilience and resolve and “honours the contributions and the diverse stories of peoples of Asian descent in Canada, which are rooted in resilience and perseverance. It is also a call to action for all Canadians to come together to combat all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination.” 

Throughout the month, we are reflecting on and celebrating the contributions that peoples of Asian descent in Canada have made and continue to make to the growth and prosperity of Canada as well as the challenges they have experienced. Here are some resources shared with us by our community members and beyond, including Dr. Imogene Lim, VIU Anthropology Professor, and Thanh Tazumi, an Anti-Racism Response Training Facilitator. 

Articles

• Dr. Imogene Lim, VIU Anthropology Professor: Erasure: A Statement on Racism, Inclusivity and Equity
• Dr. Imogene Lim, VIU Anthropology Professor: Here and There: Re/Collecting Chinese Canadian History
• The New York Times, by Shaila Dewan: How Racism and Sexism Intertwine to Torment Asian-American Women
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: Chinese Head Tax in Canada
• Canadian Museum for Human Rights, by Matthew McRae: The story of the Komagata Maru

Podcasts

• The Share Drive, Episode 10: Imogene Lim: “I’m a noisy descendant.”

Videos

• Dr. Melissa Stephens, VIU English Professor: Zoom-In Women Making Impacts – Episode 2, Hope is the Risk That Must Be Run: Silent No More with Dr. Imogene Lim
• The Try Guys: We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Hate
• The Amber Ruffin Show: Violence Against Asian-Americans Isn't New, but It Is Growing
• Late Night with Seth Meyers: Karen Chee Addresses the Atlanta Shooting
• Gen, The Conversation, by Alexander Chee: Anti-Asian Violence Must Be a Bigger Part of America’s Racial Discourse
• CBC Gem: Asian Heritage Collection (a curated collection of short films and television episodes)
• Vancouver Sun: Canadian Apartheid: Chinese Head Tax and racism’s legacy
• StoryHive: Nekkei Stories of Stevenston – Hide Hyodo Shimizu (Hide Hyodo Shimizu was an educator and advocate for the rights of Japanese children to be educated while in internment camps who received the Order of Canada)
• Al Jazeera English: Interned Japanese Canadians receive degrees (former UBC students finally attended the grad ceremony many years later)
• Global News, By Monique Muise: What was the Komagata Maru incident and why does it matter? (features apology from Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and an article on the history of the Komagata Maru)
• Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice: Eyes Open: An Anti-Asian Racism PSA
• National Film Board: Asian Heritage Month channel
• Act2endracism.ca: Let's Talk Videos

Collections

• Vancouver Island Regional Library: Asian Heritage Month Collection

Events

• Canadian Foundation for Asian Culture: Virtual Asian Heritage Month Festival 2021
• Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society: explorAsian 25^th Anniversary Festival Program (guide includes more than 50 virtual and live stream events)

Research Poster

• Liza Choi, Mount Royal University; Marti Harder, Piera Jung and Kelly Zhang, Vancouver Island University: What Matters 2.0: Voices of Chinese Older Adults. (Read a synopsis of this research on VIU’s Research in Action Month website.)