The Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby hosted a festive and warm opening of the SASI Haq and History exhibit on November 2, 2024. Nikkei director Sherri Shinobu Kajiwara welcomed all and introduced Cecelia Point of the Musqueam nation who gave an indigenous welcome to South Asian immigrants who came to Canada at the turn of the last century and to whom the Musqueam could not offer a welcome at that time.
Congratulatory speeches by Satomi Okagaki, Deputy Consul general of the Japanese consulate, Mike Hurley Mayor of Burnaby, Satwinder Bains, Director of the South Asian Studies Institute, and Tzu-I Chung Curator of Public Programs and Engagement of the Museum of Anthropology were followed by beautiful Japanese Obon Odori folk dancers and energetic Punjabi folk Bhangra dancers. They provided a festive ending of the official part of the opening.
The intersection with Japanese Canadians
As part of the travelling exhibit program, SASI invited the Nikkei National Museum to participate in research that would uncover the unique connections between Punjabi Canadians and the Japanese community. Tiffany Lau from SFU’s Academy to Community program conducted research on the intersection of South Asian and Japanese Canadian communities in Paldi on Vancouver Island by focusing on the Toyota, Urabe, and Yano families. This recent research has been incorporated into the exhibit, making it a much richer history of Canada.
The exhibit, developed by the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) and the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM), is open to the public from October 19, 2024, to January 25, 2025.