Immigrant and Indigenous Experiences in Canadian History
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Ayukawa, Midge. “Good Wives and Wise Mothers: Japanese Picture Brides in Early
Twentieth-Century British Columbia.
Midge Ayukawa details the lives of Japanese picture brides in early twentieth-century
parts of British Columbia and how they ensured they maintained the Japanese culture as they
lived in Canada. These women selected through pictures for marriage and arranged marriages
found themselves in strange environments and were expected to be good women of Japan, good
wives, and wise mothers. In as much as these women experienced hardcore racism and culture
shock, they became the backbone of their families both economically and socially.1 Ayukawa
describes their determination and self-sufficiency in contrast to the typical portrayal of female
immigrants of color as powerless and submissive in historical accounts.
Ayukawa points out that these women effectively negotiated between the Japanese
manners and ethics and the Canadian culture of the time. The measures that they took to preserve
the culture of their native land while at the same time aiming at embracing their new culture
portray the vital role that these women played in their homes as well as among their fellow
community members. Thus, Ayukawa’s focus on the difficulties and achievements of these
women offers a more balanced view of the realities of immigrants, stressing their determination
and resilience. Their story is the best example of how they successfully faced the challenges that
affected their communities' economic development and cultural assimilation. It is for this reason
that this narrative pays tribute to their memory and contributes to a more complex view of the
lives of immigrant women in the past.
1 Michiko Midge Ayukawa, “Good Wives and Wise Mothers: Japanese Picture Brides in Early Twentieth-Century
British Columbia,” BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly, January 1, 1995, 103–18.
Barman, Jean. “Aboriginal Women on the Streets of Victoria: Rethinking Transgressive
Sexuality during the Colonial Encounter.”
By exploring the lives of Aboriginal women in colonial Victoria, Barman does not deal
with the issues of sexuality and power directly. However, he emphasizes the subject’s public
visibility. She notes that colonial powers denied these women and even criminalized them as per
the colonialist’s racial and sexual animosities. This view resulted in measures being implemented
to limit nurses' independence. Barman effectively provides race, gender, and power relations of
colonialism that show how colonial policies aimed at controlling Aboriginal women’s conduct to
maintain order and assert colonial domination.
Barman does not represent Aboriginal women as only victims of the colonial regime.
These women were discriminated against in all spheres of their lives because of color, but they
were powerful and independent in all aspects of their lives. By presenting their ability to cope
with adversity and survive under colonialism, Barman offers a critical view of conventional
historical discourses and provides new insights into Aboriginal women’s presence in colonial
society.2 Her work stresses the need to understand them as complex agents of change in the
community and their consistent fight against colonialism. This complex representation expands
historical consciousness; it is impossible to ignore the fact that Aboriginal women used various
tactics to live and influence their existence in the face of colonial obstacles.
Fisher, Robin. “Contact and Trade, 1774–1849.”
2 Jean Barman, “Contact Zones : Aboriginal and Settler Women in Canada’s Colonial Past / Edited by Katie Pickles
And... - Catalogue | National Library of Australia,” nla.gov.au, accessed June 29, 2024.
Fisher analyzes various aspects of the first interactions and trade between Indigenous
peoples and Europeans on the Northwest Coast of North America between 1774 and 1849. He
stresses the fact that these interactions are pretty diverse, and at the same time, they are
somewhat beneficial and intricate. Fisher established that trade brought about a significant
intercultural exchange and acculturation since Indigenous people valued European items and
tools. However, alongside these benefits came significant challenges: In particular, it can be
noted that the appearance of new diseases and the change in the traditional economic patterns
had severe and, as a rule, negative impacts on Indigenous populations.3
The article presents early contact with Indigenous people in a balanced manner while
acknowledging colonialism as a dominant factor in these interactions but at the same time
stressing Indigenous people’s role in these interactions as well. From Fisher’s view, Indigenous
people were not passive. Still, they negotiated the nature of their trade participation and shaped
the economic and social relations to a greater or lesser degree. This view alters the conventional
history that portrays Indigenous peoples as passive spectators and receivers of colonization by
presenting strategies, adaptation, and resistance to colonization dynamics. Fisher’s study reveals
that these historical contacts remain pertinent in shaping the Northwest Coast's cultural,
economic, and social features.
Johnston, Hugh. “Faith and Politics among Sikh Pioneers in Canada.”
Johnston’s work focuses on the complexity of religious beliefs and political processes
among the Sikh settlers in Canada and their endeavors to build spiritual and other organizations
while experiencing prejudice. He suggests that Sikh immigrants employed religion as the
3 Robin Fisher, “HISTORIES of INDEGENOUS PEOPLE and CANADA,” Google.com, 2024.
rallying point for political mobilization and strengthened unity among them. Johnston draws
awareness to particular moments or critical personalities within the Sikh religion and explains
how they somehow shaped their actions and decisions in this new environment, Canada.
The article underlines the significance of religion in immigrants’ lives and the potential of
this force to act as a power for changing the social and political reality. Johnston’s approach of
offering a complex understanding of the role of Sikh pioneers in Canadian society helps explain
their ability to fit their religious beliefs into activism and the formation of institutions. By
recognizing faith as a critical determinant of the subjects’ reactions to hardship, Johnston’s work
expands the knowledge of immigrant lives.4 It asserts the continuous impact of the Sikh
community to affirm the multicultural fabric of Canada. This exploration thus establishes the
significance of religion in the socio-political space of immigrants as a factor in their endurance
and self-definition.
4 Hugh Johnston, “Faith and Politics among Sikh Pioneers in Canada,” Google.com, 2024.
Bibliography
Barman, Jean. “Contact Zones: Aboriginal and Settler Women in Canada’s Colonial Past /
Edited by Katie Pickles And... - Catalogue | National Library of Australia.” nla.gov.au.
Accessed June 29, 2024. https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3959865.
Fisher, Robin. “HISTORIES of INDEGENOUS PEOPLE and CANADA.” Google.com, 2024.
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjA_LbOy
4CHAxV_7wIHHdBkHFQQFnoECBgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fhistindigenouspeoples.pressbooks.tru.ca%2Fchapter%2Fchapter-4-the-trans-
cordilleran-west%2F&usg=AOvVaw2U-Jy_OTUuXAZnM_XSNubg&opi=89978449.
Johnston, Hugh. “Faith and Politics among Sikh Pioneers in Canada.” Google.com, 2024.
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjEtauy04
CHAxUh0gIHHeawC_wQFnoECCEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fojs.library.ubc.ca
%2Findex.php%2Fbcstudies%2Farticle%2Fdownload
%2F183768%2F184043%2F188323&usg=AOvVaw3cO_LfgrtZY99ep-
EeqZdl&opi=89978449.
Michiko Midge Ayukawa. “Good Wives and Wise Mothers: Japanese Picture Brides in Early
Twentieth-Century British Columbia.” BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly,
January 1, 1995, 103–18. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i105/106.979.
