17 minute read
FEATURES
06
THE PEAK
The CPR amplifed anti-Asian sentiment leading to opium criminalization
Written by Olivia Visser
Content warning: anti-Asian racism, anti-Indigeneity, white supremacy, xenophobia, drugs, and drug-related death This month, BC set out to be Canada’s frst province to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs starting January 2023. The decision is a landmark step towards freedom for many British Columbians, but we can’t forget the insidious history of racial discrimination that characterizes Canada’s drug policy. Shila Avissa and Cherlyn MandersonCortes addressed this history in their May 27 seminar, “Railroads, Riots, and Reefer: A Brief History of How Drug Prohibition Shaped the Early Asian Immigrant Experience.” Presented by SFU faculty of health sciences and the BC Centre for Disease Control, this seminar was part of a “larger harm reduction workshop” put together by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). Avissa is an Indonesian social worker and researcher and MandersonCortes is a Filipinx clinical nurse educator. Having extensive experience and knowledge of drug policy and its impacts, they decided to deliver this presentation to “speak to the toxic and poisoned drug crisis” currently afecting British Columbians. BC declared its frst public health emergency from drug-related deaths on April 14, 2016. Since then, 9,400 British Columbians have lost their lives to toxic and illegal drugs. “Those are just the deaths that we know about since we started paying attention,” Manderson-Cortes said.
Manderson-Cortes was frst introduced to the “dark roots of drug prohibition” by Janine Stevenson from the FNHA. Drug prohibition, she said, is “a story of oppression and injustice that intersects with Black communities, Indigenous communities, and in the lives of many other racialized folks.” Manderson-Cortes highlighted that many Chinese workers used to work alongside Indigenous people who “were also exploited in the early days of BC’s natural resource industry.” The country’s frst drug prohibition was aimed towards Indigenous people with Canada prohibiting them from consuming alcohol in 1868, an exclusion that continued even after the country-wide prohibition was lifted in 1921.
Honouring this intersectionality, they began the seminar with a land acknowledgement. Avissa showed the audience two photos of səlilw̓ət (Burrard Inlet), describing it as a “deeply meaningful place” to both her and Manderson-Cortes.
“The land that we are on has been the site of human activity since time immemorial,” Avissa expressed, before acknowledging that most of this land is still unceded. She also paid an important tribute to “ancestors of African origin” who were brought to Canada by the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
To start of their presentation, they spoke about how opium and alcohol were the frst substances to become illegal. Marginalized groups have sufered and continue to sufer higher rates of criminalization for drug use than white people. For example, Manderson-Cortes said prohibition made the Chinese community “targets for law enforcement.” According to the presentation, substances like heroin and cocaine were regularly prescribed within white communities in the 1800s. Meanwhile, immigrants were starting to see discrimination acted out on their communities through drug legislation. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which facilitated the immigration of 17,000 Chinese men, paved the way for anti-Asian racism. This in turn underlined Canada’s drug prohibition. Manderson-Cortes addressed the discrimination evident in the disparities among Chinese and white CPR workers. She displayed a recruitment ad which offered white workers $1.50 a day and Chinese workers $1. On top of that, Chinese immigrants had to pay for their own food while white workers had provisions covered. After the railway’s completion, there was a belief there were “too many Asian workers and too many Asian immigrants,” said MandersonCortes. This led to the imposition of a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants, which reached $500 by 1903. When that wasn’t enough, the Chinese Exclusion Act banned nearly all Chinese immigration into Canada by heavily restricting the immigration requirements. The Canadian government’s next, more subtle strategy that targeted Chinese immigrants was the stigmatization of opium, with Vancouver leading the way for Canada to pass the Opium Act of 1908.
Manderson-Cortes explained opium prohibition normalized racism because it facilitated the mainstream adoption of Chinese exclusion and isolation. The large percentage of Chinese men in BC were scapegoated for introducing opium to Canada and corrupting white women with it — despite the British having controlled the opium trade and popularized it in China. She described prohibition as “the seed from which xenophobia grows, from which paranoia and fear of other cultures grows.” Opium used to be legal in the 1800s and was popular among Chinese immigrants, but anti-Asian sentiment was most prominent after the railway’s completion. The drug became a way to justify the targeting that also permeated popular media. The presenters read a few quotations and showed a book cover highlighting the opium stigmatization which targeted the Chinese community. They also used Canada’s frst woman
PHOTO: Jaikishan patel / Unsplash
Features
Canada's drug policy can be traced back to the oppression of Indigenous and Asian workers of the CPR. PHOTO: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak
judge and famed sufragette, Emily Murphy, as an example of popularized racism. According to Murphy, opium was “an attempt to injure” the white race, furthering the stereotype that Asians brought opium to white people and corrupted them with it. “When you stigmatize a substance, you can stigmatize an entire community,” Manderson-Cortes said. Legislators sought to ban opium not because of health concerns, but because of perceived impurities tied to its popularity in Chinese communities. Widespread racism and hatred also contributed anti-Asian riots in San Francisco that led to many Chinese immigrants feeing the violence by coming to Vancouver.
For Asian immigrants escaping racism, Canada was hardly safer than the United States. Vancouver was home to the Asiatic Exclusion League, an organization led by white men to promote anti-Asian sentiment and lobby for anti-Asian policies. On September 7, 1907, they became a “rightist mob” when they attacked Chinatown, targeting shop owners and destroying property. Their signs read: “For a white Canada.”
Cherlyn Manderson-Cortes Clinical nurse educator
Manderson-Cortes said, “Drug prohibition isn’t entirely about people's health, and [ . . . ] what it does is support anti-immigration laws and help create new workforces of low paid labor.” Moreover, she said that “disrupting connections between communities” was an effective method of limiting the networking of racialized folks. This is a discrete but powerful form of oppression. In the 1960s, Canada targeted migrants who used cannabis as a cultural activity. By the 1970s, there were “over 400,000 convictions per year.” Canada’s history of prohibition lives on in the mass sentencing of members of minority groups. Manderson-Cortes emphasized “there was always resistance” to the racist, classist, and ableist war on drugs, and “there will always be resistance in the future.” She added this resistance is usually led by those “most impacted by these discriminatory laws,” then gave a few examples of community resistance. The South Asian Local Mobilization Outreach Network, or the Salmon Project, was created as a response to the overdose crisis in BC. They offer “life saving education resources” in “culturally relevant ways” that are centred in harm reduction approaches. Avissa also named a grassroots organization fighting against the war on drugs in Indonesia, the STIGMA Foundation. They offer support to drug-users in Indonesia through various types of community advocacy such as education and community organizing. She called their work a “daily act of resistance and bravery” as drug use is still heavily criminalized in Indonesia.
Avissa and Manderson-Cortes finished their presentation by encouraging everyone to “stand in solidarity” alongside the “local, national, and global resistance” against drug prohibition. Their presentation was a deeply informative approach to addressing racism through education and the normalization of drug use.
STAFF WRITER MONDAY MUSIC: BLACK WOMEN ARTISTS TO CRUSH MENTAL BARRIERS
Summer is a time when many of us do our best to come out of our shells and enjoy the sun. We have a need to be closer to the light before mentally preparing ourselves for the cold and gloom of the fall. To me, summer is about living and movement, to bring in the light of who you are. These songs hold so much weight for me that my fear of being seen evaporates and I’m reminded to take up space, prioritize joy, and live my purpose. I hope they do the same for you.
“Forever”
By Sa-Roc
Entertainment IMAGE: Rhymesayers Make this your morning song. It will help you stay grounded and exhale the anxiety that comes with facing the world each day. Sa-Roc has an edge and this is why I love her music — sometimes the soul needs a strong and powerful voice to affirm its human flaws. Her raps draw on her own life and this song particularly reminds me that I am good enough. The line, “And mom told me ‘Stay woke’ ’cause all gold ain’t glistening,” reminds me of my mom telling me how the world will hurt me but I need to keep faith in myself and my purpose.
By Sampa the Great
IMAGE: Rahki & Silent Jay Have you ever felt nervous about hanging out in the sun? I sometimes find myself feeling like my presence in certain spaces is disjointed. This song breaks me free from that fearful mentality. Sampa the Great’s poetic writing focuses on tuning into the mind and soul to cultivate your own identity. She often vocalizes these thoughts with heavy instrumentals that amplify the impact of her words. She says, “Feminine energy almost mathematical, you can’t really sum up what is infinite and valuable.” This is your call to embrace femininity in its pure form and take as much space as you need, especially this summer.
“FEMALE”
By Sampa the Great
IMAGE: Godriguez I dedicate this song to all the Black women that sometimes forget to put on their crowns; summer is creeping up on us and the last thing we want is to see a queen without her tiara on. Let this song remind us of “big bold women.” As we walk into summer, let that crown stay on. Let’s not underestimate our own abilities and avoid getting in our own way because of doubt and fear.
By Oshun
IMAGE: OSHUN We have to maintain our pace in the summer. The party life is nice but we do not want to get carried away. What better way to get things done on a summer work day than to listen to music that reminds you that you are awesome? Oshun sings, “Everything will manifest because I wrote it / I’m hella sweet because I spoke it, notice I / am the sugar, honey, ice tea.” This is the part when you realize blessings on blessings come to those who stay in their lane, even in summer. Yes, we want to have fun, but let’s not forget our responsibilities and kickstart the summer with the right attitude.
By Baauer, AJ Tracey, Jae Stephens
IMAGE: Baauer This song screams summer sunset drives and parties with its mix of hiphop and Caribbean and UK grime undertones. Jae Stephens collaborated with musician AJ Tracey and producer Baauer. This song is a good listen on bright days at the beach surrounded by good friends who know how to vibe to good music. What drives the song is how well AJ Tracey’s rapping complements Baauer’s instrumentals and Jae Stephens’ mellow voice, achieving a balance in the song. This collaboration has attracted a lot more much-deserved attention to Jae Stephens’ soulful music. I suggest that if you like this song you might want to listen to “got it like that,” where we get to experience her approach to R&B.
Written by Yelin Gemma Lee
NEED TO KNOW, NEED TO GO
Upcoming artsy events on SFU campuses to add to your summer calendar
SUMMER REPERTORY FESTIVAL / ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY
Come enjoy Ensemble Theatre Company’s Summer Repertory Festival on Granville Island! They feature two thrilling productions: Marjorie Prime and Pass Over. Marjorie Prime follows an 85 year old woman living out her final days with her late husband — the computerized version of him, that is. The chilling and thought-provoking drama “explores poignant issues of memory, grief, aging, depression, and our relationship with technology.” Pass Over is perfect for those who love existential storylines and dark humour. It “unflinchingly confronts racism and police violence, but does so with a deft and witty hand.” Single tickets for shows are $25 for students and $35 for adults, with a pay-what-you-will showing (door sales only) on June 27 at 7:30 p.m. Masks are mandatory and ETC asks that audience members be fully vaccinated, though vaccine cards will not be checked.
TRUE TO PLACE: STÍMETSTEXW TEL XÉLTEL / BILL REID GALLERY
Bill Reid Gallery is crossing a milestone by presenting their largest exhibition of Northwest Coast Indigenous artists this month! This exhibition features the creative processes of 10 Northwest Coast Indigenous artists “who merge contemporary expression with traditional narratives.” At this exhibit you will see many different mediums, such as “canvas, wood, paper, sculpture, traditional basketry, and digital.” There are no capacity limits but masks are required.
VANCOUVER GREEK FILM FESTIVAL / THE CINEMATHEQUE
Are you a big film buff but having a difficult time finding new things to watch? Does Cineplex not have anything interesting going on right now? If yes, this film festival might be the remedy to get you out of that funk. The Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC and The Cinematheque are co-presenting the first Vancouver Greek Film Festival. Whether it is new films or classic films you’re interested in, this film festival has it all including silent films, debut film features, documentaries, and Weird Wave films. This festival “aims to introduce a more contemporary experience of Hellenic culture, and share the contributions that Greek filmmakers have made to film history and culture.” Single tickets are $10 for students and $14 for adults.
Food for Thought: Seaweed Soup
The symbolism of seaweed soup in Korean culture
WRITTEN BY YELIN GEMMA LEE
On your birthday, your friends and family often celebrate you for coming into this world and continuing to age well. The older I grew, the less this made sense to me. I didn’t really do much to be born, whereas my mother went through being pregnant for nine months, giving birth to me, and raising me selflessly. In South Korea, there is a historical food practice we’ve integrated into our culture to recognize this and honour our mothers on our own birthdays. This is seaweed soup. You may have seen it being served in Korean dramas, during someone’s birthday.
The origins of seaweed soup began in the Goryeo dynasty when people noticed that after giving birth, whales would eat lots of seaweed. Seaweed is rich in vitamins and minerals and has properties ideal for postnatal mothers. They began serving mothers seaweed soup after giving birth to strengthen both the mother and baby.
It became customary to put seaweed soup “next to a pregnant woman’s pillow on the week before birth.” This was an o ering to Samsin Halmoni, “the three goddesses of childbirth and destiny in Korean mythology who assist in childbirth and blesses newborns.” In modern society, children often grow up with their mothers making seaweed soup for them on their birthdays as a token of thanks for being born safe and healthy. When the child grows up, this is done for them by their close friends, family members, or partners.
When I became an adult, I began to make my mother the seaweed soup on my birthday to signify my thanks for her giving me life and raising me. In the west, it’s common to celebrate mothers on Mother’s Day but I feel that special connection to her most on my birthday. I treat it as such by setting a Korean breakfast for her featuring seaweed soup. The historical and cultural origins of the soup represent honour for the mother.
I’ve found it di cult to find seaweed soup being sold at Korean restaurants here in Vancouver, but luckily it is so simple to make at home. The more obscure ingredients like dried seaweed or bonito soup stock can be found at Korean supermarkets like Hannam, H-Mart, or Assi Market. I usually make a simple bachelor version of it with instant dried seaweed, the way my father taught me.
PHOTO: Republic of Korea / Flickr
SOUND SHENANIGANS Yellow Fever brings old school detective films back to Firehall Arts Centre
The play takes audiences to Powell Street in the 1970’s
KELLY CHIA // HUMOUR EDITOR
Content warning: anti-Asian racism Yellow Fever is Firehall Arts Centre’s dedication to the lm noir era and Japanese Canadian experiences on Powell Street. It stars Hiro Kanagawa as the cynical but charming private eye, Sam Shikaze, investigating the disappearance of the Cherry Blossom Queen. Narrating the story, Shikaze contends with racism post-World War II. The play stayed generally true to the original version written by playwright Rick Shiomi but deviated in the beginning, connecting racism facing Asian Canadians then and now.
Set in the 1970s, director Donna Spencer writes in the program that this play was rst put on 34 years ago. When it was performed again as a radio play in 2020, the cast found themselves grappling with anti-Asian sentiment due to the pandemic, paralleling the play’s backdrop which was set against the anti-Asian attitudes of 1970s Vancouver.
This tension remained in Spencer’s iteration. The play starts with a CBC News clip of Dr. Bonnie Henry instating lockdown procedures in March 2020. Soon after, another clip plays, discussing a 92 year old Asian man’s assault in April 2020. For many people in the Asian Canadian community, including myself, this incident weighed heavily as one of many news incidents of anti-Asian hate crime in Vancouver 2020. Sam navigates the deep-seated racism and corruption within the police force as he investigates the disappearance of the Cherry Blossom Queen. This is where Yellow Fever delves into model minority attitudes, like the tensions between the independent Sam and the rule-abiding police captain Kenji Kadota (Jay Ono), as well as their challenges navigating racism from white o cers.
Although the set of the play is only a set of chairs, a window, and sound equipment, the play was so vivid. On the left of the set of chairs, sound foley, Evan Rein, was creating the bubbling woks, door chimes, and the sound of chopped vegetables. I delighted at every auditory clink of the glass, every cup of tea poured. You could close your eyes and picture the world of a lm noir set in 1970’s Powell Street: Sam’s dingy o ce, the warmth of the set’s cafe, and the rounds red o at smoky late night stand-o s. Rein’s sound brought the world to life, and what an intriguing world it was.
The play blends lm noir with the larger theme of tackling the nuances of racism well, especially in the case of Kenji whose unquestioning loyalty inadvertently traps him in a white supremacist conspiracy. One thing’s for sure: the cast and crew of the show are immensely talented. Come see the show, and immerse yourself in this aloof murder mystery.
A murder mystery unfolds for detective Sam Shikaze. PHOTO: Kelly Chia / The Peak
While I sympathized with Tong’s experiences, I found this section abrupt. I wished it had been more eshed out so we could hear more about how the systemic racism featured in the play also translates to issues of the model minority myth and anti-Asian sentiments, today.
The play then moves onto Kanagawa narrating the beginning as Sam, stroking his brimmed hat thoughtfully monologuing about Japanese Canadians dispersing from Powell Street after World War II. Sam is every bit the gru , life-hardened detective that you’d expect from an old-school lm noir. He is witty, charming, and carries several chips on his shoulders, but he cares deeply for his community.
You could close your eyes and picture the world of 1970’s Powell Street: Shikaze’s dingy o ce, the warmth of Rosie’s cafe, and the rounds fired o at smoky late night stand-o s
