Yasutaro Yamaga

Yasutaro Yamaga

A prominent member of the Haney Nokai, Yamaga also served on the Advisory Committee for the forced sale of rural property, March-June 1943 before resigning in objection to the transfer of lands to veterans under the VLA. Known connections to: Glenn McPherson, Kishizo Kimura - Yasutaro Yamaga (born March 30, 1886 in Toyohama, Japan; died 1971) was a prominent Issei farmer and community leader in Haney. Yamaga used his proficiency with the English language to interpret for and organize Japanese Canadian farmers in the Fraser Valley, attempting to smooth out relations with white settlers in the face of pervasive racism. He served on the Advisory Committee on Rural Properties from March 18, 1943 to May 26, 1943, when he resigned in protest of the unfair terms of the impending sale of 769 Japanese-Canadian-owned farms to soldier settlement. (Source: Kimura Appendix)
"Secondary Material: Midge Ayukawa chapter in Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest; History of the Haney Nokai (in use by Community Records); Adachi, Enemy that Never Was, 150 Project Resources: Fonds at UBC; information in records of Custodian "
Bird Commission case file number 64. Custodian file number 06660. (Source: lac_rg33-69_volume_04_file_0064)

Metadata

SurnameYamaga
ForenameYasutaro
Regularized NameYasutaro Yamaga

Collections

Other Archival Files (37)

Terminology

Readers of these historical materials will encounter derogatory references to Japanese Canadians and euphemisms used to obscure the intent and impacts of the internment and dispossession. While these are important realities of the history, the Landscapes of Injustice Research Collective urges users to carefully consider their own terminological choices in writing and speaking about this topic today as we confront past injustice. See our statement on terminology, and related sources here.