Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2019.004.013 |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Description |
Bunkhouses for the Popoff Internment Camp in Slocan Valley. The large bunkhouses were for work crews and later adapted for the elderly, bachelors, and single people. One became a school. Many of the individuals interned here came from the Cowichan Valley. |
Image File Name |
1943-46 - Popoff Bunkhouses - Slocan Valley - 2019004013 - jpg72 - 001 |
Year Range from |
1943 |
Year Range to |
1946 |
Place |
Slocan Valley |
Provenance |
Donated by Hideharu Shinkawa of Hiroshima in 1998. Their father and grandfather worked in the lumber industry in the Cowichan Valley. Shoichi Shinkawa is also listed as Shuichi Shinkawa. He was a sawmill hand employed by Hillcrest Lumber Company, Duncan, BC. His family includes Murayo Shinkawa (wife), Shizue Shinkawa (daughter), Isami Shinkawa [also listed as Isamu Shinkawa] (son), Tadao Shinkawa (son), Mitsue Shinkawa (daughter), and Katsuji Shinkawa (son). His home address is listed as 247 Second Street, Duncan, BC. Box 594, Duncan, BC is listed as a former address. He was forcibly uprooted to Slocan, BC. He was exiled to Japan on 17 June 1946 (From: Landscapes of Injustice, https://loi.uvic.ca/archive/shin154.html). On February 24, 1942, the "War Measures Art" was passed which allowed the government to relocate and intern citizens of Japanese origin. Over 1,000 Japanese-Canadians were interned at Popoff from 1943-46. The Popoff Internment Camp, built on leased farmland, was one of four camps situated in the Slocan Valley. It was dismantled in 1946. According to the Cowichan News Leader, March 12, 1942, there were 119 Japanese-Canadian from Duncan, 104 from the Mayo camp and 40 from Hillcrest. Of the remaining 207, the majority were from Chemainus itself. "A few residents there-white men and women, East Indians and Chinese- were up early to see the Japanese off. Bus company employees in charge of the transportation commented on the co-operative spirit of the Japanese" (From: camptocommunity.ca). |
Search Terms |
Japanese-Canadian Multiculturalism internment camp Slocan Valley Popoff bunkhouse Canadian History |
Collection |
Documentary, Cowichan Valley |
People |
Shinkawa |
Subjects |
People Buildings & Structures |