The Chinese Canadian Museum, along with the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society, unveiled their latest exhibit in the museum's Victoria location which aims to explore the intergenerational impacts of the Chinese Exclusion Act through the lens of families and individuals living in Victoria during the 20th century.
On June 28, members of the society were joined by Chinese-Canadian families for the grand opening of the Victoria in the Time of Exclusion exhibition at the museum, located in Fan Tan Alley.
"Many of us have families who were here during that Exclusion Act, and in fact, many years before, and some of our family certificates are on these walls," said Grace Wong Sneddon, board chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society.
The exhibit features dozens of Chinese immigration certificates which acted as identity documents, head tax receipts, entry and exit authorization papers, and a constant reminder of their second-class status according to the museum.
"We are so touched and humbled to hear from the families who trusted us to share their stories. Without them, without their ability to trust us that we would hold their stories with care, passion and commitment, we would not be able to share their stories with you as we look at the walls here today," said Sneddon.
Catherine Clement, a curator of the exhibit, explained that the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Immigration Act came as a result of pressure put on the federal government from B.C. politicians in Victoria, which was also shown in the exhibit through newspaper clippings from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
According to a news release, Clement’s original project team spent hundreds of hours researching and crowd-sourcing from families across Canada whose ancestors lived through the period. They did this by looking at pages of old Chinese and English newspapers, sifting through clan society archives and examining personal correspondences.
