‘It’s bittersweet’: “Humiliation Day” marked with lion dance in Calgary – Calgary | 24CA News
While July 1 is widely known as Canada Day, for a lot of Chinese-Canadians it’s remembered by one other identify — Humiliation Day.
In Calgary this yr, totally different Canada Day occasions have been held in Calgary to mark 100 years for the reason that Chinese Immigration Act or Chinese Exclusion Act was handed.
More than 15,000 individuals got here from China to Canada within the early 1880’s to construct probably the most harmful and troublesome part of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hundreds died. They have been remembered at a wreath laying ceremony on Canada Day in Calgary’s Chinatown.
“The most important thing is that we don’t want to forget how we got to where we are,” mentioned Ward 7 councillor Terry Wong who attended the occasion.
The Chinese Immigration Act, also referred to as the Exclusion Act was enacted on July 1, 1923 to cease Chinese immigration. It got here after immigrants from China offered many years of service in Canada.
“Once I became aware of it, Canada Day, which was my favourite holiday of the year, became tainted, so for me personally one of the reasons for having the lion dancers come, here is to purge those bad juju, the evil spirits, of the Exclusion Act away,” mentioned Calgary author Dale Kwong.
Lion dancers with Jing Wo Cultural Association carried out round CSpace in Eau Claire the place Calgarians of Chinese descent have been telling their households’ tales of being separated by the Exclusion Act via a venture referred to as “Stories of Exclusion.”
“Hearing stories about how the 16 year-old girls had to be married off in this kind of bachelor society, and how vulnerable they were – that resonated with me because I can’t imagine myself in that position,” mentioned Calgary visible artist Michelle Ku is concerned in Stories of Exclusion.
For artists like Ku and Yan Zhu who’ve been recording the tales, the legacy of the Exclusion Act continues to at the present time.
“We still carry that trauma with us in our bodies,” Ku mentioned.
“I carry these narratives, whether I have have relation to the railway workers or not. It affects how I am seen whether I like it or not. So being a part of this project and hearing all these interviews, they gave me an intimate view into this family history and it felt very familiar to be present and it was heavy, but there was also joy because life is not sad all the time,” Zhu mentioned.
Related News
Ku mentioned she loves Canada Day however this yr, with the 100 yr anniversary of the Exclusion Act, is sophisticated.
“It’s bittersweet,” Ku mentioned.
“I’m hoping, but I don’t know for sure that this can be a reset for me,” Kwong mentioned.
Ku mentioned whereas earlier generations have been informed to maintain quiet she hopes her voice as an artist will assist share the tales of Chinese immigrants for years to come back.
“In order to survive the parents would say we are different so just keep your head down and don’t stand out. Don’t bring attention to yourself. I feel as artist we do stand out, and we do draw attention to ourselves. This is a privilege and I feel even more responsibility that I’m lucky enough to do that, and not feel the same kind of danger that they felt,” Ku mentioned.
Brandon Mah with the Jing Wo Cultural Association mentioned performing the Lion Dance was a good way to have fun how multi-cultural Canada is.
“It’s a good way to help scare away all the evil spirits as we are cleansing and bringing a new beginning here but I think it’s very important to save the culture because lion dance is a dying art and we have to keep it and pass it on to generations to come,” Mah mentioned.
“I didn’t know much about the Exclusion Act because it’s not well taught in the schools but it’s important that we know these things to pass on to know about the history so we can move forward together,” Mah mentioned.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
