Close of Community Fund 1 and Looking Ahead
A legacy realized: Final wrap-up of Community Fund 1
We are honoured to share that Community Fund 1 has completed 1,130 grants, reaching individuals, groups and organizations nationwide. This fund was rooted in kansha 感謝 (gratitude) – a tribute to the resilience of the Survivors and elders who built the foundation of our community. Guided by the principle of community care, we turned a vision into an investment in community healing. We thank all who have contributed to this project and walk this path with us.
– JCLS CEO Susanne Tabata
A look back at Community Fund 1
Former BC Premier John Horgan’s historic apology on May 21, 2022 followed on the 2012 BC Government Apology led by MLA Naomi Yamamoto and began a commitment to address historical wrongs against the Japanese Canadian community in the 1940s. JCLS was entrusted with a mandate to honour the past through the creation of forward-looking legacy initiatives, both tangible and intangible, across five pillars: Senior Health & Wellness, Education, Community & Culture, Heritage Preservation, and Monument.
This mandate reflects the voices of survivors and their descendants gathered through extensive nationwide community consultations and framework development led by the National Association of Japanese Canadians during BC Redress (2019 – 2022).
A big thank you to the National Advisory of experts and community leaders from across the country who refined the criteria and guidelines drafted by Eiko Eby and Walter Quan, and to the assessment teams who toiled over the evaluation of applications.
Community Fund Advisory and Assessment members: Mike Aoki, Lisa Domae, Eiko Eby, Jennifer Hashimoto, Bill Hatanaka, Jay Hirabayashi, George Iwama, Sherri Kajiwara, Kim Kalanj, Melisa Kamibayashi Staples, Gary Kawaguchi, Mitchell Kawasaki, Richard Kobayashi, Jim Kojima, Lucy Komori, Nicola Koyanagi, Jeff Masuda, Jennifer Matsunaga, Mike Matsuo, Kirsten McAllister, Taya Mikado, Alex Miki, Art Miki, Tani Miki, David Moritsugu, Jan Nobuto, Dan Nomura, Bev Ohashi, Yasushi Ohki, Carley Okamura, Maryka Omatsu, Midi Onodera, Walter Quan, Jordan Riley, Alan Sakai, Naomi Sawada, Nao Seko, Leanne Toshiko Simpson, Vicky Sunohara, and Naomi Yamamoto.
A huge thank you to the JCLS staff who took this national project from start to finish – Community Fund Manager Larissa Higo, Lane McGarrity, Rachael Mah, Megan Koyanagi, Chiaki Yamada, Rebecca Boschman, Ella Law, John Greenaway, staff relief Jan Nobuto, and others.
National reach
The unjust actions of past governments forced the rupture and scattering of the Japanese Canadian community across the country – tearing apart families, destroying livelihoods, and severing the cultural and social bonds that had flourished for generations. For that reason, we are proud to say that 66% of all funding we received was made available to Japanese Canadians nationwide through the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund and the Community Fund.
When the Community Fund website launched on May 5, 2023, it was met with enthusiastic community engagement, and JCLS received applications from individuals, families, and organizations across Canada. The following shows the large number of grants distributed across the country in Community Fund 1.
Six streams of renewal
View Community Fund recipients
Scholarships
Total grants across two intakes: 566
When the Scholarships stream opened, there was an immediate and overwhelming response of applications from descendants across the country. The response highlighted the importance of education in the community. Many Survivors had their education opportunities stolen, postponed, or were forced to abandon them during the forced uprooting.
“I was able to notify my grandma on her birthday yesterday that both of her granddaughters have been awarded the Japanese Canadian Scholarship. She is so beyond proud of us!” – Scholarship recipient
Intergenerational Wellness
Total grants across two intakes: 270
This stream addressed the fractured connections in families caused by the forced uprooting. Families visited ancestral sites, documented oral histories, and opened dialogue, allowing for reconnection and addressing the collective historical trauma of the internment era experience.
“This has affected us in an unexpected way. We have had to acknowledge repressed intergenerational trauma, which is making us reflect on our own identity and the choices that we have made or have had to make in life. We are only now trying to heal and learn how best to move forward as a family and as individuals.” – Family Sharing and Healing recipient
Infrastructure
35 grants
The Infrastructure stream funded both Building Improvements and Capital Purchases for Japanese Canadian organizations. Building Improvements addressed the urgent need to upgrade existing buildings across the country, while Capital Purchases grants assisted in the replacement or addition of long-lasting equipment for community organizations.
“Our residents, all of whom are Japanese Canadian, express genuine joy at living in a new home equipped with modern furniture, a vehicle and top-notch safety features with various lifts. Establishing this group home represents more than just a building; it is a vital first step toward creating a more respectful and nurturing environment for our seniors.” — Infrastructure recipient
Community Projects
93 grants
Funding through the community stream supported community-led projects that promoted Japanese or Japanese Canadian culture, offering opportunities for Japanese Canadians to connect with each other, their culture, or their identities. The projects empowered grassroots community organizations to tell their stories in their own voices.
“For those of us who are the descendants of ancestors who lost everything—their livelihood, their homes, their freedoms, simply for being of Japanese descent in BC, this means everything.” – Community Projects recipient
Sports
Total grants across two intakes: 80
Honouring the importance of sports to the Japanese Canadian community from the early years through to today, this stream supported athletes in maintaining the spirit of ganbare (perseverance).
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for the award and opportunity to facilitate athletic development with the values of resilience and perseverance.” — Sports recipient
Arts
86 grants
The Arts grant provided Japanese Canadian artists who are Descendants with funding to create and produce artistic projects or artworks. Both established artists and emerging artists who had completed basic art training were eligible to apply. Although the primary applicant had to be a Descendant, they were able to collaborate with other artists who were not.
“The themes of heritage, memory, and artistic inquiry that shaped this project will continue to inform my work. I remain committed to furthering this research and ensuring these stories continue to resonate.” – Arts recipient
A look forward to 2028
As Community Fund 1 successfully wraps up, JCLS is shifting its focus from grant distribution to overseeing many place-based initiatives in its final chapter as well as enshrining our work.
Community Fund 2 is currently underway, supporting high-impact legacy projects through infrastructure and community projects.
Legacy Community Projects
Legacy Community Projects fund enduring projects that together help tell the story of the pre-war, wartime, and postwar experiences of Japanese Canadians from BC. These projects have been listed below.
Arrow Slocan Tourism: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Trail
Asian Canadian Studies Society: Japanese Canadian Legacy Artist Talk Series II
Campbell River & District Museum & Archives Society (Museum at Campbell River): Tracing Japanese Canadian Settlement on Northern Vancouver Island
District of Lillooet: Miyazaki Heritage House Rehabilitation and Storytelling Project 1F – Dr. Miyazaki Life & Story Exhibit and Internment Food Art Exhibit
Greater Toronto Chapter, National Association of Japanese Canadians: A Lifetime of Leadership – The Story of Roger Obata
Greenwood Heritage Society: Nikkei Legacy Park Signage
Japanese Canadian Heritage Committee of the Steveston Community Society: Steveston Park Legacy Walk
Maple Ridge Museum & Archives: Maple Ridge Japanese Canadian History Revitalization Project
New Westminster Museum and Archives: Place-Based Research and Dissemination of the History of Japanese Canadian Residents of New Westminster
North Island College: Japanese Canadians of Vancouver Island
Powell Street Festival Society: Book – Onwards: Powell Street Festival (PSF) at 50 Years
UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden: Infrastructure Revitalization and Cultural Enhancement of Nitobe Memorial Garden
University of British Columbia, Asian Canadian and Asian Migrations Studies program, Faculty of Arts: A Degree of Justice: The Enduring Legacy of the 76 Japanese Canadian UBC Students of 1942
University of Victoria: Japanese Garden Public Art Project
Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society (VNCS): 先駆者 SENKUSHA: Stories of Japanese Canadian Trailblazers
BC Heritage Sites
The BC Heritage Sites program is perhaps the most visible expression of our work in 2026 and 2027. Across the province, sites of former ghost towns, and pre-war fishing and farming villages are being reclaimed through new signage, interpretive displays, and restoration projects that make the “invisible visible.”
By funding community-led initiatives to preserve the history of Japanese Canadians, the program ensures that the legacies of those uprooted and displaced are no longer overlooked. In transforming once-forgotten landscapes into permanent landmarks of remembrance, educating the public on the enduring resilience of the community and the profound impact of state-sanctioned racism, the projects are fostering a path toward collective healing.
Some upcoming openings in May include Tashme (the largest internment site), Gabriola Island, and Salt Spring Island, and many more into 2027. The BC Heritage Sites are listed below.
Northern and Central Coast
Port Edward Historical Society
Ocean Falls Improvement District
City of Prince Rupert
Gingolx
Lower Mainland
Maple Ridge CEED Centre Society
City of Maple Ridge
Vancouver – Japanese Canadian War Memorial
Vancouver Japanese Language School
Vancouver – Mountain View Cemetery
City of Mission
City of Surrey
Heritage Abbotsford Society
City of Richmond
Bowen Island Museum & Archives
Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands
Galiano Island – Galiano Club
Gabriola Historical & Museum Society
Mayne Island Agricultural Society
Japanese Garden Society of Salt Spring Island
City of Nanaimo
Ucluelet & Area Historical Society
Village of Cumberland
Chemainus Festival of Murals Society
Internment-era Sites
Sandon Historical Society
Kaslo – Langham Cultural Society
Sunshine Valley – Tashme Historical Society
City of Greenwood
Hope Mountain Centre for Outdoor Learning – Hope Station
District of Lillooet – Miyazaki House
JC Legacies sub-agreements
To ensure the community’s heritage is protected long after 2028, the JCLS has signed strategic sub-agreements with cornerstone organizations. These are not merely grants; they are investments in the long-term capacity of our community. These include: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Burnaby; National Association of Japanese Canadian; Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre, New Denver; Sedai Oral History Collection (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre), Toronto.
Education
JC Legacies is actively doing outreach for JapaneseCanadianHistory.com, a learning portal that has attracted wide interest from students and educators. The digital classroom is a comprehensive resource for K-12 students and educators with a simple and clear platform to engage with a complex history. Developed by a dedicated team of BC-based teachers and refined by the Project Office staff, the portal offers a curated reference library, an archive of ready-made lesson plans, and a self-directed teacher training course.
Learning about Japanese Canadian history, including the forced uprooting, internment, and permanent dispossession in the 1940s, connects to important lessons for the present, creating a future of young people who understand the importance of protecting human rights for all.
Japanese Canadian Monument
The Japanese Canadian Monument being constructed in Victoria – the provincial capital and site of one of British Columbia’s earliest Japanese Canadian communities – is well underway. Close to 100 granite panels are being engraved with the names of nearly 22,000 uprooted Japanese Canadians, as well as over 3,000 children born into the community between 1942 and March 31, 1949. This wall of names, stretching 300 feet long, will serve as the centerpiece of a beautifully landscaped park-like setting.
This marks the first time the names of those uprooted from the West Coast in 1942 have been gathered together in a single location. By listing these names geographically according to their places of uprooting, the monument acknowledges the profound loss of home and community resulting from government actions of the 1940s – actions driven by race, economics, and power.
The finished Monument will be a place of memory and reflection, welcoming community members, residents, and visitors from across the country and around the world to honour those who endured, while serving as a permanent reminder of the fragile nature of justice and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
The JCLS looks forward to welcoming Survivors and Descendants to Victoria for the official unveiling this fall. Details will be shared in the coming weeks and months.
With kansha 感謝 – gratitude
Even as JC Legacies prepares to wrap up operations in 2028, our focus is on making sure these community-led projects stand the test of time. It remains a profound honour to serve the Japanese Canadian community through this vital work. We are deeply grateful to everyone across the country who continue to support this important undertaking. It is truly a collective effort.