War and national security
Introduction
Intro Story: The Yoneyama Family
Rikizo Yoneyama came to Canada in 1907 with little more than high hopes. Like many newcomers from Japan, he dreamt of one day owning property and starting a family. He found work at a sawmill and later a pharmacy. He diligently saved money.
A decade later, Yoneyama achieved his dream. He bought a farm, 7.5 acres in Haney, B.C. (q̓íc̓əy̓). He dug a well and was soon able to raise chickens and pigs and cultivate berries, apples, pears, and plums. On the busy farm, Yoneyama and his wife, Yone, raised four children. In 1942, Japanese Canadians were banned from Canada’s West Coast. Yoneyama and his family reluctantly left their farm. They joined his two eldest daughters in Edmonton, Alta., where they were training in medicine and dentistry.
Yoneyama hoped one day to return home. “I realize that we are the victims of a war emergency,” he wrote to government officials. “As such,” his family was “quite willing to undergo … hardship … to help safeguard the shores of our homeland.” Yoneyama asked “to return to my home … when the present emergency ends.”
Lesson overview
The uprooting and internment of Japanese Canadians
In this lesson students explore how perception, shaped by popular media, can influence public opinion. They will examine the complex factors that led to the uprooting and internment of Japanese Canadians in the spring of 1942. The lesson examines the government rationale for uprooting and internment. Students then examine a selection of primary and secondary sources to answer the question: Why were Japanese Canadians uprooted and interned?
Targeted learning
- Assess the prevailing public attitude toward the Japanese Canadian community, and include the uprooting and internment
- Understand the divergent viewpoints about Japanese Canadians in the prewar years
- Understand how the prevailing public attitudes impacted the decision to uproot and intern
- Recognize not all perspectives and views are defensible or acceptable within societal norms
- Evaluate the notion Japanese Canadians were a threat to national security
- Evaluate the actions of the government by analysing source documents and secondary sources
- Historical thinking competencies – Historical perspective taking
Focus question
Why were Japanese Canadians uprooted and interned?
Lesson Plan Details
- Big Ideas:
- Historical & Contemporary Injustices, Racism
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Unit:
- Landscapes of Injustice - Secondary
- Grades:
- Grades 10-12
- Time Commitment:
- 120 Minutes
- Lesson Activities:
- 3 (Jump to Activities)
- Resource Languages:
- English
Lesson Activities
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