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Nikkei Interment Memorial Centre is a window into our past
Wednesday, June 29th, 2005 by GetawayBC.com
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre is the only site in Canada that chronicles and commemorates the more than 22,000 Japanese-Canadians that were labelled “enemy aliens” and forced from their coastal homes to internment camps in the B.C. Interior.
The Centre consists of five buildings, including three which are original huts that were built in 1942 for the displaced citizens. Inside two of the huts you will see the furnishings and stoves that were actually used by the occupants. The large central hall displays pictures, texts and equipment including tents, desks, boxes and other luggage used in their journey to the various campsites from the coast. Although 60 years have passed, there are a few citizens still living in New Denver who originally resettled here in 1942. The surrounding Japanese garden was designed by Mr. Roy Sumi, who created many Japanese gardens in Canada and once supervised the Nitobe Gardens at U.B.C. This facility is now maintained as a site to “emphasize the fragile nature of democracy and the importance of civil rights for all Canadians.”
The centre is open from mid-May until September from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is located at 306 Josephine St. in New Denver. Entry Fee: $6 adults, $4 senior and students, $12 family, (age 5 and under free) For information call: 250-358-7288.
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