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This is a story about courage – a look at the lives of the Japanese Canadian pioneers, who, from 1899 through the 1930s, were some of the first settlers in the District of Lake Country, BC. The following virtual exhibition portrays their arrival, experiences, hardships, and above all the quiet dignity and perseverance with which they met the challenges of a new land. Their stories are told by their children and grandchildren, and through the collections of the Lake Country Museum and Archives.
The Japanese community in Lake Country was established in the early 1900s, as workers came to the Okanagan to plant new orchards. Many of the earliest pioneers were employed first at the Coldstream Ranch at Vernon, later moving to Okanagan Centre, Winfield, and to the Rainbow Ranche camp and orchards. These pioneers arriving in the Okanagan, often from other areas of British Columbia, were young single men intending to work in Canada for a few years and then return to Japan. They brought with them many skills and a strong work ethic, and they contributed a great deal to the success of the early orchards. Their experiences in the Okanagan and the beauty of the Lake Country region convinced many to stay and to build a life here. Once established, many of these young pioneers returned to Japan to marry and to bring their new wives back to the Okanagan. The story of these early pioneers, and their courage in meeting the daily challenges of life in a new land, is an important part of our history.
The District of Lake Country is located in the Okanagan Valley, extending between Vernon and Kelowna, with an area of 122 square kilometers and a population of approximately 11,000. Inhabited by the Syilx people for thousands of years, settlers from other parts of the world began to arrive in the late 1800s, with a large influx in the early 1900s with the development of the orcharding industry. The District has a significant Japanese-Canadian population of long-time residents, whose parents or grandparents arrived in the period 1907 to 1930.
The District of Lake Country is made up of four community wards: Oyama, Winfield, Carr’s Landing and Okanagan Centre, and was incorporated as a municipality in 1995.
