More than celebration

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. In Manitoba, it is a time to honour the many Asian communities who have shaped this province through culture, labour, leadership, family, food, faith, art, advocacy and public service. Celebration matters. But so do the stories that give celebration its sweetness.

Asian Canadian history is made of many threads.

We remember Chinese labourers who helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway while later facing the Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act.

We remember the South Asian passengers of the Komagata Maru, denied entry by immigration rules designed to exclude them.

We remember Japanese Canadian families who were forcibly removed, interned and dispossessed during the Second World War. These histories remind us that Asian communities helped build this country while often being excluded from the systems they helped sustain.

One key teaching of Asian Heritage Month is that belonging has been struggled for, protected and carried forward through community. Recognition matters, but recognition must also come with memory. Asian Heritage Month is not only cultural performance. It is a public act of remembering who was excluded, who resisted, who survived and who continued to build community despite racism and erasure.

In Manitoba, Asian Heritage Month was first organized in 2002 through the leadership of Dr. Art Miki. On June 4, 2024, The Asian Heritage Month Act in Manitoba was passed and received Royal Assent. This moment affirmed the enduring presence, contributions and histories of Asian Manitobans.

At the same time, this recognition invites us to reflect more deeply on the context in which these stories unfold. Our stories of migration and belonging unfold on Indigenous lands. To speak honestly about Asian Canadian identity, we must also speak honestly about where we are.

This matters because Asian Heritage Month shares space with Jewish and Polish heritage communities, and particularly with Red Dress Day on May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. Red Dress Day calls us to remember lives taken, families grieving and communities continuing to demand justice, safety and accountability.

I attended the Walk for Justice with my daughter, who was eager to join. Before the walk, we heard stories from Indigenous women impacted by this ongoing tragedy. We heard messages of resilience and advocacy, calling all communities to act so that Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people can be safe and live long, beautiful lives like everyone else.

Near the end of the event, we took part in a round dance. Within that circle, I met Paul, a father from Gjoa Haven in Nunavut. It was his first time in Winnipeg, a place he had dreamed of visiting since learning about it in school.

In that brief moment, we spoke about our daughters, communities and places of identity. He mentioned Filipino nurses in his community and shared words in Tagalog, “Magandang umaga” and “Magandang hapon,” with a fluency that rivalled my own. I shared some words in Anishinaabemowin, although he spoke Inuktitut. Next time, I hope to share words in his language.

For Asian communities, Red Dress Day must not be seen as separate from us. Our own histories of exclusion should deepen our responsibility to stand with Indigenous communities with humility and care. This means learning about Treaties, residential schools, the ’60s Scoop, land dispossession and the Calls for Justice. It means challenging anti-Indigenous racism in our own families, schools, workplaces, faith communities and organizations.

Asian Heritage Month asks us to celebrate with memory. Red Dress Day reminds us that memory must also lead to responsibility. As we honour Asian Heritage Month in Manitoba, may we ask: How do we belong here responsibly? How do we build relationships rooted not only in multicultural pride, but in truth, justice and care?

Asian Heritage Month is more than celebration. It is memory, responsibility, relationship and a call to live together with greater truth, humility and kinship.

Fortunato Lim is president of the Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba.