Laura Cuthbert
Laura is an anthropologist with a deep love and knowledge of British Columbia’s history. She founded and runs Populous Maps a timeline, map and non-profit unarchiving the hidden history of BC. Laura is committed to researching and sharing stories that allow us to understand the whole history of British Columbia, beyond the Dominant Narrative. Laura’s Haida/British background shapes her to look at the last 4,000 years on this land and how settlers have changed it over the last 100.
Grace Eiko Thompson
Grace is a curator, historian and a social activist. She was the founding director-curator of the Japanese Canadian National Museum, (now Nikkei National Museum) in Burnaby, BC. Born in Steveston’s Japanese Fishermen’s Hospital, she was raised in the Powell Street neighborhood of Vancouver until her family was forced to leave in 1942. They settled in the self-supporting incarceration site of Minto, and in 1945 moved to Manitoba, eventually settling in Winnipeg, where she graduated high school, then business college. She worked as a legal secretary to support her parents’ re-settlement.
Doug Aoki
Doug’s grandparents, uncles and father were photographed by Hayashi many times over during their time living in Cumberland. They were the town’s Japanese language school teachers. Doug’s parents never moved back to the coastline after internment. Instead, his father carried on teaching, eventually at the University of Alberta where Dough followed in his footsteps.
Mayumi Yoshida
Mayumi is a first-generation Japanese Canadian Immigrant. She was born in Tokyo, Japan and has had an international childhood living in Washington D.C., Brussels, and Tokyo. In Tokyo, she starred in 25 theatre productions then moved to Vancouver to pursue a career as an actor and filmmaker in North America.
The Cumberland Museum and Archives
The Cumberland Museum and Archives on Vancouver Island tells the story of the people of Cumberland – the rich, the poor, the powerful, the rebellious, the righteous and the radical. These stories are at the very core of the museum and as integral as the objects and documents found within. They provide an exciting, riveting, and challenging juxtaposition of perspectives within activities, programming, and exhibitions. The Cumberland Museum and Archives hosts a variety of permanent exhibits including a replica coal mine, interactive kiosks, a labour history exhibit, and cultural and community displays.