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ABSTRACT
By reflecting on a trip taken to Alert Bay, the author explores the question of Chinese Canadian history as part of BCs history and its relationship to that of Canada's. Documentary evidence, problems in its preservation, as well as the role of family and community oral histories, are considered.
Although I have lived much of my life on the West Coast, I had never visited Alert Bay on Cormorant Island (one of the Northern Gulf Islands off of Vancouver Island, BC) until August 2006. In my mind, Alert Bay was synonymous with the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples and was for this very reason on my list of places to visit. But, through a colleague I was introduced to the fact that there had been a Chinese community sizable enough to be known as "Chinatown" (Figure 1). With my interest piqued, I put aside other tasks to make the trek. In doing so, I met one of the members of the last families who was part of this early Chinatown.
The Association for Canadian Studies conference, "Canada West to East," has given me an opportunity to reflect on this Alert Bay visit regarding BC and Canadian history. As someone who is probably more knowledgeable than many regarding Chinese Canadian history, why was I initially surprised at Alert Bay's Chinatown? As well, why did my contact there not know some of the basics about Chinese Canadian history? These twoquestions lead to intertwining themes worth addressing: the historic contribution of BC to Canada, the place of BC in Canada's history, and the challenge of teaching BC history. Examining early Chinese Canadian history brings these themes together.
History in BC, in Canada, as in many other western countries, is about those who were viewed as successes by the dominant society. As trite as the saying is, history for the most part has been about "famous dead white men." The supporting "actors" behind these men are those whose histories are missing, i.e., the labourers, the small businesses, the service people, etc. Without all those behind-the-scene players, the famous would not have garnered the fame that they did.
One of the more notable examples of this is the gathering of individuals depicted in the photograph of the "Last Spike" ceremony...