Like the iconic Japanese song of immigrants, Watari Dori (Birds of Passage), we are all transients looking for a place to alight and to call home. Fortunately, I have returned to Japan numerous times, but the Japan of my youth has long disappeared . . . [...]
The mostly Nisei volunteers reminded me of the small number of dedicated people who put in long hours to ensure the survival of Nikkei communities across Canada. [...]
In late August, the National Executive Board (NEB) met to review programmes; prepare for the upcoming October AGM in Edmonton; and to set the 2012-2013 budget. The global recession and the volatile economic market is a daily concern to all of us. For volunteer organizations such as the NAJC, the financial situation has become acute. Since 2008, there has been a significant annual decline in the interest income generated by our sustaining fund. We depend on the annual income to cover our administrative costs as well as monies for the National Development Fund; SEAD and CD grants. The proposed budget that will be submitted in October to the NAJC membership reflects the anticipated lower rate of return. As a result, we have cut back on administrative expenditures in order to prevent taking away larger sums of money from standing committee programmes and public grants. [...]
I have in my possession my maternal Grandfather’s ‘mon-tsuki ‘ – a kimono bearing the ‘maru no tachibana’ family crest of a single orange blossom within a circle. The black silk kimono is quite worn and bears the faint pencil marks made by a relative who, at one time, was thinking of cutting it up to make silk handkerchiefs. Luckily it was rescued in time by my parents! I believe that this inanimate object possess a ‘mana’ or life energy and is a tangible ‘footprint’ of my grandfather’s existence on earth. It is a permanent bridge to my childhood in Kagoshima. We all leave behind such residual spiritual traces of our short time on this earth. [...]
On June 14th, all NAJC chapters were sent communication from the NAJC Membership Committee Chair, David Iwaasa, requesting that they forward to the National office copies of their 2010 and 2011 annual general meeting (AGM) minutes in compliance with the NAJC Membership Bylaws, 4.1.1.2. All chapters must be incorporated or registered either provincially or federally and are bound by specific annual reporting guidelines set out by respective governments. The collection of AGM minutes allows us, as a national organization, to ensure that chapter members are being given the opportunity to meet annually with their local executive to: receive reports of past activities; review financial statements; solicit volunteers; approve new programmes; raise concerns and issues unique to their locale. More importantly, an annual general meeting renews the mandate of the local executive thus giving it the legitimate authority to speak on behalf of the chapter membership for the coming year. We cannot be an organization that advocates for human rights and justice, if we do not practice good governance ourselves. August 31st is the deadline for the filing of the requested minutes and I will report back to you on this matter in the fall. If you have any concerns as a local member, please do not hesitate to contact your chapter executive, myself or David Iwaasa at: national@najc.ca 70th Anniversary of Internment (1942-2012) [...]
New Denver “Internment camps in BC’s wilderness are all I recall, And I’m too old to think about the past with bitterness in my heart. I fell in love with you in the camp so long ago, It kept us from the hatred and bigotry that existed outside. New Denver is washed away with the [...]
Treasures from our History
by Ken Noma
In an effort to identify, preserve and document Japanese and Nikkei antiques, folk art of value to Japanese Canadians, the Heritage Committee of the NAJC and the Manitoba Japanese Cultural Centre will conduct a public art evaluation on Saturday, March 19th in Winnipeg. If time permits, a survey [...]
On July 31, 2010, a very special ceremony was held in New Denver, commemorating the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre, as a National Historic Site of Canada. Grace Thomson, Past President of the NAJC, who has been very active with the NIMC, represented the NAJC at the ceremony.
It is with great respect and pride that [...]
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President's Message
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December 2011
Like the iconic Japanese song of immigrants, Watari Dori (Birds of Passage), we are all transients looking for a place to alight and to call home. Fortunately, I have returned to Japan numerous times, but the Japan of my youth has long disappeared . . . [...] Read more →
Community Features
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Belated Justice – the Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Award
At the National Association of Japanese Canadians AGM held in Edmonton Alberta on October 16, 2011, the NAJC unveiled the Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Award at the AGM Dinner. Gordon had been a Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta during the sixties, seventies, and eighties. [...] Read more →
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MISSION STATEMENT:
To promote and develop a strong Japanese Canadian identity and thereby to strengthen local communities and the national organization; and To strive for equal rights and liberties for all persons-in particular, the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.
VISION:
A strong, unified community founded on diversity and committed to human rights for all for the enrichment of Canada
From The Bulletin
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Dr. Norikazu Nishio: Looking forward in life
I was brought up in Kitsilano so as youngsters all our friends were English-speaking, apart from a few other Japanese Canadian families. I went to Lord Tennyson Elementary and then Kitsilano Junior and High Schools. [...]
It is not enough just to have a birth certificate, certifying one’s birth in Canada. It is not enough to be a native Canadian and expect that mere birth alone is everything: privileges, responsibilities, pride, allegiance. One must grow into citizenship; one must shoulder the responsibilities before there is any real joy in the privileges; one must be vigilant for the honour of one’s country, its integrity, else how can one say with pride: "I am Canadian."
Muriel Kitagawa
full quote
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