Interview with Byron Tanaka
Byron Tanaka was born in Cumberland on Vancouver Island, BC and grew up in New Westminster. He talks about his parent's immigration history and background including his father's education. He talks about his paternal family's history in Japan, crest and genealogy. His parents was asked to come to Canada to establish and teach at the Queensborough Japanese school. He talks about the Great Depression (people quitting school to get jobs) and discrimination in wages. Hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Byron's father was detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). He talks about the RCMP confiscating all the information about his parents' family history, the RCMP's charges and accusations against his father. The family did not know where Byron's father was taken to and only later, they found out he was sent to Angler, ON as a prisoner of war and later, his father was removed to Petawawa, ON. The rest of the family was interned in Kaslo, BC and then Tashme, BC. After the war, Byron relocated to Toronto, ON and he talks about the discrimination he faced. Byron talks about getting a loan from his Jewish employer and how they helped the Japanese Canadian community in Toronto. Byron expressed his opinion on the Japanese Canadian Redress.
Cumberland, BC
Angler, ON
Kaslo, BC
boat works
British Columbia Security Commission
Byron Tanaka, interview by Lisa Uyeda, February 9, 2011, 2011.040, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.