‘It’s bittersweet’: “Humiliation Day” marked with lion dance in Calgary

While July 1 is celebrated as Canada Day, for many Chinese-Canadians it is remembered by another name — Humiliation Day.

In Calgary this year, different Canada Day events were held in Calgary to mark 100 years since the Chinese Immigration Act or Chinese Exclusion Act was passed.

More than 15,000 people came from China to Canada in the early 1880’s to build the most dangerous and difficult section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hundreds died. They were remembered at a wreath laying ceremony on Canada Day in Calgary’s Chinatown.

“The most important thing is that we don’t want to forget how we got to where we are,” said Ward 7 councillor Terry Wong who attended the event.

The Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Exclusion Act was enacted on July 1, 1923 to stop Chinese immigration. It came after immigrants from China provided decades of service in Canada.

“Once I became aware of it, Canada Day, which was my favourite holiday of the year, became tainted, so for me personally one of the reasons for having the lion dancers come, here is to purge those bad juju, the evil spirits, of the Exclusion Act away,” said Calgary writer Dale Kwong.

Lion dancers with Jing Wo Cultural Association performed around CSpace in Eau Claire where Calgarians of Chinese descent have been telling their families’ stories of being separated by the Exclusion Act through a project called “Stories of Exclusion.”

“Hearing stories about how the 16 year-old girls had to be married off in this kind of bachelor society, and how vulnerable they were –  that resonated with me because I can’t imagine myself in that position,” said Calgary visual artist Michelle Ku is involved in Stories of Exclusion.

For artists like Ku and Yan Zhu who have been recording the stories, the legacy of the Exclusion Act continues to this day.

“We still carry that trauma with us in our bodies,” Ku said.

“I carry these narratives, whether I have have relation to the railway workers or not. It affects how I am seen whether I like it or not.  So being a part of this project and hearing all these interviews, they gave me an intimate view into this family history and it felt very familiar to be present and it was heavy, but there was also joy because life is not sad all the time,” Zhu said.

Ku said she loves Canada Day but this year, with the 100 year anniversary of the Exclusion Act, is complicated.

“It’s bittersweet,” Ku said.

“I’m hoping, but I don’t know for sure that this can be a reset for me,” Kwong said.

Ku said while previous generations were told to keep quiet she hopes her voice as an artist will help share the stories of Chinese immigrants for years to come.

“In order to survive the parents would say we are different so just keep your head down and don’t stand out. Don’t bring attention to yourself. I feel as artist we do stand out, and we do draw attention to ourselves. This is a privilege and I feel even more responsibility that I’m lucky enough to do that, and not feel the same kind of danger that they felt,” Ku said.

Brandon Mah with the Jing Wo Cultural Association said performing the Lion Dance was a great way to celebrate how multi-cultural Canada is.

“It’s a good way to help scare away all the evil spirits as we are cleansing and bringing a new beginning here but I think it’s very important to save the culture because lion dance is a dying art and we have to keep it and pass it on to generations to come,” Mah said.

“I didn’t know much about the Exclusion Act because it’s not well taught in the schools but it’s important that we know these things to pass on to know about the history so we can move forward together,” Mah said.