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Really great description of the relationship between chinese people and indigenous people. Has personal stories from a chinese immigrant.

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What a spectacle we were. The enormous bus roared down the highway, then slowed and pulled to the side of the road, kicking up gravel in its wake. When the dust settled, 47 of us stepped down from the bus, flashlights in hand. Some of us strapped on LED lights to our heads, as if we were gearing up for a spelunking tour. To explore a cave? No. A tunnel, yes. A tunnel so dangerous it was abandoned after too many Chinese railroad workers died trying to blast through the granite.

More than 130 years ago, some 17,000 Chinese railroad workers came here to British Columbia's Interior where they built bridges, roadbeds and tunnels through deep canyons and over wild rivers. They moved loads of rubble in pushcarts and on shoulder poles earning just $1 a day, half the amount made by fellow white railroad workers.

Many died ― crushed by rock slides and collapsing tunnels ― when blasting was done with nitroglycerin instead of the more expensive and stable TNT dynamite white workers used. White foremen made bets, gambling on whether or not Chinese labourers would escape the tunnels before the explosions went off. "Not a Chinaman's chance," the doubters would jeer.

I clambered up giant slabs of granite that had fallen in jagged piles and a dank, chilly breath washed over us as we ventured inside. We made it about 50 metres in before hitting a wall of rock. On this recent tour into the Fraser Valley, we visited forgotten places like that abandoned tunnel, a former gold mine where Chinese labourers once toiled, and an unmarked cemetery where Chinese pioneers were laid to rest.

In the valley, I discovered how two histories intersected ― how some First Nations people nursed railway workers back to health when they were left to die along the tracks, how First Nations men had teamed up with Chinese labourers working in a Nanaimo coal mine to fight off white bullies, and how some labourers had children with First Nations women.

"What's perceived as a marginalized group today had a deep relationship with the Chinese," said Bill Chu, our tour guide. "We need to restore the relationship with the indigenous people."

An immigrant from Hong Kong, Chu has been bringing busloads of mostly Chinese immigrants to native reserves to educate them about a history rarely shared. He has spent years advocating for what he calls "a fair and accurate depiction" of Chinese and First Nations history in the B.C. school curriculum. His group, Canadians for Reconciliation, is behind the push to get Premier Christy Clark to officially acknowledge the province's role in the discrimination and disenfranchisement of the Chinese.

But when he started on this mission 20 years ago, "it had nothing to do with Chinese at all," Chu said. "Two decades ago, it had everything to do with the indigenous people."

Chu first learned about Canada's First Nations one wintry day in 1988. He was a new immigrant then, shopping for green vegetables in Vancouver's Chinatown when "suddenly I heard someone say, 'Can I have some coffee money?'" Chu recalled. "I turned around and that was the first time I looked into the eyes of an aboriginal young person."

The two found a café on Hastings Street and Chu offered to buy the man some dinner. "He started telling me this strange, strange story about his miseries in a Manitoba reserve," said Chu, who was shocked to hear tales of such abuse. As a Christian, he tried to console the man by talking about God, but the man suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. "Just before he reached that door, he turned around and said: 'You are one of them!'"

Those words haunted Chu for years. What atrocities had taken place, he wondered, that would make a hungry man turn away his dinner? Two years after that encounter in Chinatown, Chu was eagerly following news of violent standoff in Quebec between members of the Mohawk First Nations and the Canadian military. In 1990, the town of Oka was planning to expand a golf course onto land traditionally used by the Mohawk as a burial ground. Photos of tanks and barricades and of a Mohawk warrior and Canadian solider facing off eye-to-eye sparked a flash of déjà vu for Chu.

Just a year earlier, he had been preoccupied with the demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. He had organized a rally in Chinatown, where 600 people marched to show their support for the students. After the Chinese government ordered the tanks into the square, after thousands of students were massacred, Chu and 6,000 others attended a public memorial service just steps away from the Chinese consulate in Vancouver.

"That particular image [in Oka reminded me] of what we saw in Tiananmen Square a year before, when a column of tanks were approaching one, single Chinese fella," Chu said. "So the question to me at that point was: if you are so concerned about the people crushed in Tiananmen Square, shouldn't we also be concerned about the people to be crushed at Oka?"

Chu committed himself to learning about the plight of the First Nations and in doing so, discovered how the natives shared a common history with minorities like the Chinese. What a shock it was for Chu and for all of us on the tour, to see how these threads of history came together, to see how the story of the Chinese railroad pioneers could align with the history of Canada's First Nations and with the struggle for democracy in China.

At dusk near the town of Lillooet, on the side of yet another highway, we disembarked and trudged up a small hill overgrown with thirsty bushes and tall, yellowed grass. The Xaxli'p First Nations had erected a wiry fence to protect this small plot of land. Here lay the remains of Chinese labourers who stayed after the railroad was completed and worked on nearby tomato farms, Chu said. There were no signs or grave stones, just a rusty tin pail that lay in the brush.

"That's not your regular tin can," Chu said to us. "It's for burning incense." For centuries, the Chinese have lit incense to honour their ancestors, a tradition still carried on today. We all stared at that pail then -- red and tarnished after years of neglect yet enduring in the field for all of us to see. That weekend, I was among 47 Canadians who stopped to remember our past and acknowledge present injustices. Will more Canadians take the time to do the same?

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BC first nations bc railway workers bill chu British Columbia Canadians for Reconciliation

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A Tour Of The Deep Relationship Between B.C. Chinese Immigrants, First Nations

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We visited forgotten places like an abandoned railway tunnel, a former gold mine where Chinese labourers once toiled, and an unmarked cemetery where Chinese pioneers were laid to rest.

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This is in Penticton where I live, Chinese immigrants worked on the railway here.

https://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/community/popular-little-tunnel-in-naramata-closed-for-the-week-3609111

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This is also found in Penticton used for making bread while the workers were creating the kettle valley railway.

https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=3dbec6b9-cbe8-4492-acf0-f08ee86ed9e0

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https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=3dbec6b9-cbe8-4492-acf0-f08ee86ed9e0

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Bamboo and Cedar released in 2010 is a collection of four firsthand stories of culturally mixed Chinese and Indigenous peoples. This documentary explores the union between both nations by recalling personal experiences and touching on their family history who formed ties generations ago.

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Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC Canada

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This modern day short speaks briefly on a hidden past that is very much a part of Canadian history. Reminding us all that diversity is what has formed this country and that culture should always be remembered and celebrated.

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Canadian First Nations and Chinese immigrants have shared a dark history of marginalization, discrimination, systemic injustice, and exploitation by the hand of the Canadian government. The Parliament’s intention was utmost legal control; the Chinese Immigration Act and Head Tax formed legal barriers that paralleled the imposition of the Indian Act. Both acts forced assimilation, exploitation and oppression which prayed upon both innocent nations. Despite differences in cultural backgrounds and experiences, Chinese immigrants and Canadian First Nations share a common struggle: freedom and autonomy against the Canadian government. However, this outrageous treatment did not stop these two communities from forming deep roots with one another. Allied not only by hardship they also shared an appreciation for the land and culture; finding safety within their fellow “man.” These communities have fought for recognition, justice, and the preservation of their cultural heritage over decades while the Canadian government has been hesitant in its accountability.

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This is a good source if anyone wants to check it out!

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The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known also as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banned the entry of virtually all Chinese immigrants for 24 years. Although migration into Canada from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, only Chinese people were singled out completely from entering on the basis of race. The four exceptions to the exclusion were students, merchants (excluding laundry, restaurant and retail operators), diplomats and Canadian-born Chinese returning from education in China. The limit on absence from Canada was two years, and the consequence for not returning on time was being barred re-entry. Additionally, every person of Chinese descent, whether Canadian-born or naturalized, was required to register for an identity card within 12 months. The penalty for noncompliance was imprisonment or a fine of up to $500. Though the Act was repealed in 1947, immigration restrictions on the basis of race and national origin were not fully scrubbed until 1967.

Identification card issued on 14 May 1924, for three-year-old Wong Toy Jin in compliance with one-year deadline for registration of all Canadian-born and naturalized Chinese residents.

Background

The anti-Chinese movement took root after the first wave of Chinese immigrants began arriving in British Columbia for the gold rush of 1858. The second major Chinese influx to the province came as labourers for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1881-85), a labour force much needed for the development of Western Canada but not desirable as citizens for a "White Canada forever." This popular phrase among politicians and the media was derived from the White Canada policy laid down in the Immigration Act of 1910. While the act did not name any racial or ethnic groups, it did allow for the restriction of "immigrants belonging to any race deemed unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada," the ethnic basis for Canadian immigration policy until 1967 ( see Prejudice and Discrimination).

Political cartoon from the Saturday Sunset, 24 August 1907, with the caption, "The same act which excludes orientals should open the portals of British Columbia to white immigration."

After the completion of the CPR, agitation against the "yellow peril" gathered momentum, resulting in over 100 provincial laws and policies that restricted the rights of Chinese residents. (The "yellow peril" reference to Chinese and Japanese people originated in the late 1800s after they arrived as labourers in the United States and Canada; it expressed Western prejudice towards East Asian immigrants.) The Canadian government's most racist and exclusionary law, however, was the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. Under that law, a $50 head tax was levied on all Chinese immigrants. The head tax was increased to $100 in 1900 and to $500 in 1903. It became clear that this punitive entry fee did not discourage Chinese immigration, as intended. The Chinese population tripled during the head-tax era, from 13,000 in 1885 to 39,587 in 1921. A harsher solution was required: exclusion.

On 1 July 1923, Dominion Day, now called Canada Day, the Chinese Immigration Act, a new law with the same name, was passed. The Chinese in Canada referred to this day as "Humiliation Day" and refused to join in its celebrations for many years.

Community Life

From the government's point of view, the Chinese Immigration Act was an overwhelming success. During the exclusionary period, fewer than 50 Chinese immigrants were allowed entry. The population decreased by 25 per cent, from 39,587 in 1921 to 32,528 by 1951. Not only did the law ban Chinese immigration, it also intentionally disrupted family life and stunted community growth.

Bachelor society in Toronto's Chinatown, 1923.

In 1941 there were 29,033 Chinese men in Canada, over 80 per cent of whom were married with wives and children left behind in China. Enduring this family separation, these "married bachelors" lived alone. A mere handful had the financial means to make a trip to China a few times during the exclusionary years to either marry or visit their wives and children. Whether or not they were Canadian-born or naturalized, they were not allowed to sponsor family members to join them in Canada.

With the absence of family life, the Chinese community found support through their traditional associations, not only for socialization and relaxation, but also for financial aid, banking services, social services and employment and housing assistance. These organizations, some of the membership of which was based on shared surnames, some on common place of origin, provided a haven for the bachelor society.

Political associations, on the other hand, were competitive in signing up members, regardless of surnames and place of birth. Differences in political ideologies resulted in conflicting views about events unfolding in China. There were rare instances, however, that brought disparate groups together. The passing of the Chinese Immigration Act was one such occasion. A national federation of Chinese organizations was one of many that exhausted all legal and political avenues to repeal the Act, which they named the "forty-three harsh regulations."

Economic Life

At the onset of the Chinese Immigration Act, prejudice and discrimination were already well entrenched. Chinese people were reduced to second-class status as an inferior race ( see Racism). Legislation barred them from the right to vote, to hold public office or to own property, limited employment and housing and imposed many other restrictions. Protests from White workers and labour unions hampered their ability to earn a living. Still burdened by paying off debts incurred by the head tax, they also earned lower wages. Bearing such harsh conditions, Chinese people retreated into small businesses such as laundries, restaurants and grocery stores. Employment as cooks and servants, domestic work that was undesirable to White workers due to the low pay and social status, was also willingly endured rather than the alternative of returning to China and sacrificing the earnings that supported their families there.

The urgency to earn money for families in China was so great that desperate times called for desperate solutions. An illegal immigration scheme gathered momentum from the head-tax era, one that arranged for people, mostly males, to come to Canada with fraudulent papers claiming false identities. These "paper sons" adopted new surnames, then came under the identity of someone who was entitled to return to Canada but did not. The price was high, not only for the cost of the fake identity, but also the subsequent years of living in fear of being deported back to China and keeping secret their real names, even from their descendants.

The Great Depression (1929-39) added an additional layer of hardship. The Chinese unemployment rate soared as high as 80 per cent in Vancouver, a sharp contrast to the city's overall jobless rate of 30.2 per cent in 1931. Loss of face was a deeply entrenched cultural value and a hindrance to seeking help outside of their community. Although most Chinese people turned to their traditional associations for financial assistance, those who had to rely on the government received less money than expected. Relief payments of $1.12 per week to Chinese people in Alberta, as an example, were less than half of what was given to other Albertans.

The War Years, 1937-45

News from China did not bring any comfort during the exclusionary years. Civil wars pitted the ruling Nationalist Party ( Guomindang) against military warlords and rising Communist forces. Beyond these internal conflicts were external threats from Japan, starting with small-scale incidents that escalated to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and the occupation of China. The flow of letters and remittances (money sent home) was interrupted, particularly after the Japanese captured Hong Kong, a major communication hub between China and North America. The safety and well-being of family members in China was unknown.

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 marked a turning point in Chinese Canadian history. The war provided an opportunity to volunteer for service, ultimately to prove one's loyalty and patriotism and gain the right to vote. The issue, however, polarized the Chinese community into two factions: "Serve first, demand rights after" versus "No vote, no fight."

The declaration of war against Japan in 1941 was another tipping point. Canada and China were now allied, fighting together against a common enemy. The military policy of barring Chinese recruits was reversed in 1944 in an amendment to the National Resources Mobilization Act of 1940. An estimated 600 Chinese people, including several women, enlisted in all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces.

The war's end in 1945 brought lessening hostility, favourable media coverage and growing esteem for the Chinese community's war effort in military service, fundraising and Victory Loan drives. Politicians, labour unions and war veterans joined church leaders in demanding the Canadian government repeal its anti-Chinese legislation. An additional pressure point in 1945 was the United Nations' Charter of Human Rights and subsequent Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Canada, as a signatory country, contravened these new universal rights with its anti-Chinese policies.

In 1947, Canada repealed the Chinese Immigration Act. As much as the language of exclusion was removed, Chinese immigrants were still treated inequitably due to Order-in-Council, P.C. 2115. This order stipulated that entrance was limited to only spouses and children (under the age of 18) of Canadian citizens at a time when only 8 per cent of Chinese-born residents were naturalized citizens. For other immigrants, there were no such restrictions. Delegations of Chinese and non-Chinese individuals made annual visits to Ottawa to lobby for an immigration policy that would ease family reunification. Men in the bachelor society who dreamed of bringing their families to Canada were largely disappointed for another 20 years.

In 1967, immigration restrictions on the basis of race and national origin were finally removed. Chinese immigrants could now apply for entry on equal footing with other applicants.

Apology and Redress

Nationwide campaigns lobbied the federal government for over 20 years to apologize for the injustices of its past anti-Chinese immigration policies. On 22 June 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized for the head tax (1885-1923) and exclusionary legislation (1923-47). Symbolic payments were made to surviving head-tax payers and to the spouses of deceased payers. A community fund was designated for projects to commemorate and educate Canadians about the past injustices endured by the Chinese Canadian community. An apology by Christy Clark, premier of British Columbia, followed on 15 May 2014, and a $1 million legacy fund was promised for educational initiatives.

Significance

The Chinese Immigration Act successfully halted the influx of Chinese immigrants into Canada and severely restricted economic, social and community development for 24 years. After the Second World War, the repeal of this discriminatory legislation, the gaining of the right to vote and the establishment of the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947 were the first steps to increased and more equitable inclusion into Canadian life. The Chinese in Canada could now assume their rightful place as valued Canadian citizens.

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The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known also as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banned the entry of virtually all Chinese immigrants for 24 years. Although migration into Canada from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, only Chinese people were singled out completely from entering on the basis of race.

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Canada welcomed British Columbia and its many resources into Confederation in 1871 with the promise of a railway that would extend from sea to sea. Fourteen years later the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) arrived in BC - a little later than planned - but here none the less. Unfortunately the CPR didn't actually have track that serviced the people of Southern BC where mineral deposits like silver, were being discovered and a fruit industry was blossoming and would become world renown if only it could get to the coast!

In the 1890's the CPR had extended their service to the South Okanagan constructing the Shuswap & Okanagan Railway from Sicamous on the CPR Mainline through to Okanagan Landing on Okanagan Lake. From that point CPR sternwheeler ships traveled south to Penticton carrying people and freight and making frequent stops along the way.

But this was a long trip to the coast or points east for people living in the South Okanagan and the demand came about for a "Coast-to-Kootenay" connection. Although rails were being laid by the CPR in other parts of BC, it was an American railroader, J.J. Hill who was making headway in the southern part of the province. He was trying to bring a rail line up from Spokane through Oroville and eventually this was accomplished with the acquisition the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railroad. It arrived in Keremeos in 1907, and in Hedley and Princeton two years later. The CPR, which was now under the leadership of Thomas Shaughnessy, had created the Columbia & Western Railway through the Crow's Nest Pass to Midway. They had also put down track for the Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen Railway.

In 1901 there had been a charter created for the Kettle River Valley Railway (KRVR) which was to connect a mine at Republic and a smelter at Grand Forks. It never materialized but an Ontario lawyer, J.J. Warren had taken over the financial problems of the almost defunct KRVR. He decided to have a chat with the CPR president Shaughnessy about the future of BC's railways. He knew Sir Thomas "was a man deeply involved with the province and its future... and had personally founded a number of business enterprises in southern BC including the development of the Summerland Development Company which became largely responsible for making Okanagan fruit world famous" (Sanford, 1988). Warren envisioned an alliance of the CPR and the KRVR which represented a subsidiary corporation and could be used to legally expand the rails west from Midway. And so the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) was born and survey work began in 1910 from Midway to Penticton (Carmi division) and Penticton to Merritt (Princeton division). Shaughnessy felt that the line should also go through the Coquihalla Pass in order for the railway to be successful and work began on this subdivision a year later.

One of the many KVR engineering achievements designed by Andrew McCulloch was the Trout Creek Trestle Bridge in Summerland, which stretched 619 feet across and 238 feet above the Canyon floor. It was and is known as the "infinitesimal" bridge - "incalculable, inestimable, great and fathomless". It was the highest structure of its kind on the KVR and the third largest of its kind in North America at the time it was built. The Trout Creek Bridge was upgraded in 1927 & 1928 by filling in the Trestle approaches and replacing trestle work with steel girders.

The earlier trains on the KVR were routed from Midway to Spence's Bridge where they hooked up with the CPR mainline, but after July of 1916(the Coquihalla subdivision was complete and the trains traveled south from Brodie to Hope, meeting up with the CPR mainline there.) In time the Coquihalla subdivision proved too much to handle suffering many washouts and snow and rock slides, so in 1959, after a series of abandonment, it was closed and the earlier route adopted once more. We must mention the increasing option of air travel so the KVR found its express service too expensive to maintain. In January, 1964 the final passenger run was made and eight years later the Carmi subdivision from Midway to Penticton was shut down and eventually the tracks were torn up.

While the KVR is said to have been built between 1910-1915 there were Branch lines added to the KVR mainline i.e.: at the end of World War One, a spur was constructed from Princeton to the mines at Copper Mountain; another eight-mile link line was added in 1930, from Penticton to Okanagan Falls. In order to increase fruit shipments to Great Britain during World War Two, this line was extended to Osoyoos. The CPR had officially taken over the KVR operations in 1930 and with the country in the throes of depression and the harsh decline in railway business; they decided to construct these rail lines in order to tap new sources of revenue. .

Freight continued to run from Okanagan Falls to Spence's Bridge until 1989. Much of the track was lifted within a few years except for a sixteen-kilometre stretch from the Trout Creek Bridge to Faulder.

In Summary... The KVR was built between 1910 and 1916 under the direction of Andrew McCulloch, Chief Engineer for the CPR's new line in the southern interior of British Columbia. He was hired to build the Coast-to-Kootenay connection when the fear of leaving BC's mineral wealth vulnerable to exploitation by our neighbours reached its peak. Politicians and corporate leaders including CPR President Thomas Shaughnessy and James J Warren (the first President and originator of the whole idea of the line), stood behind the economic challenge and they moved to protect our province's resources. The result was the building of 325 miles (500 kilometres) of rail over and through three mountain ranges. Like all railway construction of that era the work was backbreaking, brutal and dangerous and thousands of workers, most of them immigrants recruited to come to Canada specifically for this work, toiled in very difficult conditions for years to complete this monumental task....more than a few lost their lives in the effort. Once completed and over time, the KVR experienced the challenges all railways faced as transportation progress brought more and better roads as well as more easily accessible air travel. These factors, coupled with the challenges of operating a railway in face of the difficult terrain and weather, took their toll - by 1964, passenger service had ceased and in 1989, the last freight train rode the rails.

Today the KVR is alive again, thanks to a dedicated society and financial assistance from our municipal, regional, provincial & federal governments. We gratefully acknowledge all of the above and the co-operation of the BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan and dedicated citizens of Summerland and the Okanagan Valley for keeping BC Railway Heritage Alive!

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway is operated by the Kettle Valley Railway Society, a non-profit, charitable organization that welcomes memberships in order to continue the restoration of this important national historic site.

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About us, A Brief History - Kettle Valley Steam Railway

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Canada welcomed British Columbia and its many resources into Confederation in 1871 with the promise of a railway that would extend from sea to sea. Fourteen years later the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) arrived in BC – a little later than planned – but here none the less. Unfortunately the CPR didn’t actually have track... View Article