251:, published by Caitlin Press. At 84, Thomson's mother began keeping a journal in Japanese, recording her memories and family history. The memoir weaves together Thomson's translations of passages from her mother's diary along with her own stories of identity, trauma and racism and her efforts to find social justice for herself and others.
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In 1995 Thomson was asked to coordinate an event for artists of
Japanese heritage from across Canada, sparking a renewed interest in the history of her community. In 2000 she became the inaugural curator and director of the new Japanese Canadian National Museum (now the Nikkei National Museum and
177:, Canada on October 15, 1933. Her father, Taguchi Torasaburo, and mother, Sawae, were both naturalized Canadian citizens, having emigrated from Japan, and she was one of five children the couple raised in
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in 1949 when restrictions on the movement of
Japanese Canadians were finally lifted. In 1959, she married Alistair MacDonald Thomson, and the couple would have two children of their own.
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Cultural Centre). She resigned from that position in 2002, but continued to collaborate with the museum as a guest curator. From 2005 until her 2010 retirement she was president of the
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432:"Chiru Sakura – Falling Cherry Blossoms: A Mother and Daughter's Journey through Racism, Internment, and Oppression"
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in
Nunavut. In the 1990s she returned to Vancouver to help care for her mother, accepting a position at the
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330:"Grace Eiko Thomson releases memoir of Japanese Canadian internment, racism, and resilience"
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185:. In 1942 the family was upended when they were forcibly relocated to an internment site in
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306:. Vol. 25, no. 2. Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. pp. 20–21.
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297:"A Life Dedicated to Justice, Healing, and Memory: Grace Eiko Thomson"
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Thomson died at her
Winnipeg home on July 11, 2024, at the age of 90.
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In 2021, Thomson published a memoir based on her family's experience,
413:"Chiru Sakura, a Mother and Daughter's Journey by Grace Eiko Thomson"
386:"The final straw: Japanese Canadians offered an impossible choice"
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in 1977 as a mature student and later a master's degree from the
349:"The Remarkable Life and Times of Grace Eiko Thomson - Part 1"
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Thomson always had a keen interest in the arts and earned a
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Japanese-Canadian internment camp survivor (1933–2024)
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151:Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre
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411:Greenaway, John Endo (6 March 2021).
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249:Chiru Sakura: Falling Cherry Blossoms
242:Chiru Sakura: Falling Cherry Blossoms
153:in British Columbia and a memoirist.
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450:"Book Award winners and short lists"
347:Ibuki, Norm Masaji (12 April 2016).
568:21st-century Canadian women writers
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523:Alumni of the University of Leeds
161:Eiko Nishikihama was born at the
563:21st-century Canadian memoirists
476:"Grace Eiko Thomson 1933 – 2024"
518:Activists from British Columbia
384:Price, John (8 December 2019).
430:Geiger, Andrea (Spring 2022).
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553:University of Manitoba alumni
328:Johnson, Gail (13 May 2021).
257:was shortlisted for the 2022
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149:. She was the founder of the
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259:City of Vancouver Book Award
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538:Canadian women memoirists
223:Sanavik Inuit Cooperative
189:, in accordance with the
533:Canadian women activists
573:Canadian women curators
558:Writers from Vancouver
215:University of Manitoba
195:Middlechurch, Manitoba
99:University of Manitoba
528:Canadian art curators
211:Bachelor of Fine Arts
179:Vancouver's Japantown
147:World War II internee
456:. City of Vancouver
295:Lam, Derek (2020).
227:Burnaby Art Gallery
219:University of Leeds
109:University of Leeds
136:Grace Eiko Thomson
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482:. 11 July 2024
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62:July 11, 2024
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64:(2024-07-11)
513:2024 deaths
508:1933 births
460:6 September
396:6 September
358:6 September
129:, memoirist
82:Nationality
502:Categories
436:BC Studies
392:. Victoria
273:References
187:Minto City
183:Paueru-gai
157:Early life
39:1933-10-15
167:Steveston
92:Education
199:Winnipeg
171:Richmond
76:, Canada
74:Manitoba
70:Winnipeg
53:, Canada
47:Richmond
486:18 July
165:in the
127:Curator
113:Masters
205:Career
138:(born
300:(PDF)
265:Death
181:, or
488:2024
462:2022
398:2022
360:2022
334:Stir
59:Died
29:Born
103:BFA
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