This centre is a powerful reminder of the forced removal of the Japanese Canadian population from the West Coast during the Second World War. Approximately 12,000 of the 22,000 displaced persons were sent to internment camps established in remote regions by federal authorities. Located at the site of a former camp, the Nikkei Centre is one of the few places to have preserved traces of this tragic episode, notably a community centre and three cabins built to house the internees. Dedicated to remembrance, this site constitutes an important memorial for the Japanese Canadian community.
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre National Historic Site of Canada is located in New Denver, British Columbia, on the shores of the northeast end of Slocan Lake in the western part of the Kootenay region. It sits on a large piece of land that was used to grow vegetables until the internment camp was built during the Second World War. The site is surrounded by a tall, wooden fence with two gates at the front to indicate to visitors that they are about to enter a special place. A traditional Japanese ornamental garden and a meandering path contrast with the austere cabins in which the internees lived. The site also includes a Buddhist sanctuary, a number of artefacts and interpretative panels, and a collection of handwritten documents and illustrations. Official recognition refers to the property comprising the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre at the time of designation, as delineated by the fence.
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre was designated a national historic site of Canada in 2007 because: it is closely associated with a significant aspect of the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, the history of internment camps located in the interior regions of British Columbia; it is one of few sites that still contains resources directly associated with this tragic episode in Canadian history, and is located at the heart of one of the camps constructed under the authority of the British Columbia Security Commission; the buildings associated with the internment contribute to an important place of memory for the Japanese Canadian community, and the ongoing existence of these structures supports the survival of the history of this event.
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre is closely associated with the internment of Japanese during the Second World War. It is in the middle of what is known as “The Orchard”, the site of an internment camp built from scratch by the Canadian government to house forced evacuees from the West coast. The camp is one of the few detention sites built for internment that was not torn down after the war and the only one where descendants of the Japanese Canadians who were displaced have lived since.
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre was created in 1992–1994 in order to preserve buildings associated with the internment and in doing so, commemorate the internees’ experience.
From Parks Canada