East Indian culture has endured and persevered in the Okanagan

Photo: Greater Vernon Museum and Archives

May is Asian Heritage Month, and this year’s theme is "Recognition, Resilience, and Resolve." Vernon is home to hundreds of individuals of Pilipino, Vietnamese, Japanese, Pakistani, Chinese and Korean descent. The city also has a large Indo-Canadian population.

The first immigrants from East India began arriving in the Okanagan at the turn of the 20th century. Three Sikh men arrived in Rutland in 1909, and others followed in 1913. Most took up jobs in the lumber industry, with plans to eventually return to their motherland. It was not until a few years later that some decided to settle their families permanently in the Valley.

By the 1970s and ‘80s, the East Indian population in Vernon had increased significantly. A 1976 report on the ethnic composition of the Okanagan suggests Vernon had “little evidence of discrimination.” And yet, the report also states “East Indians claim that their members have been beaten by white men for no apparent reason. They are afraid to take part in public events because of bad experiences.”

In 1997, a researcher interviewed several Indo-Canadian families living in Vernon, and found 17 of 20 lived in one high-density neighbourhood, often in duplexes.

Some of the reasons the families cited for living there were the lower cost of housing and the proximity to friends. However, the researcher concluded this collective housing was also a reaction to feelings of alienation from the larger community. One interviewee suggested “people looked at our turbans and the traditional outfits that our women wear with disgust and suspicion. We kept mainly to ourselves.”

In 2021, the treatment of Vernon’s Indo-Canadian population has certainly improved, largely through designated efforts by their members to introduce Sikhism, Hinduism, and Jainism to a new generation of people through public events like the Diwali Festival.

And yet, just last year, the NDP’s Harwinder Sandhu faced racism during her Vernon-Monashee MLA campaign, with her signs defaced by swastikas and misogynistic words. Despite this opposition, Sandhu was elected in a clear statement by the majority of Vernon’s citizens against this kind of discrimination.

The resilience and resolve of Sandu, Coun. Dalvir Nahal, activist Min Sidhu and the many other Indo-Canadian men and women who have come before them, have contributed to Vernon’s recognition of this diverse cultural group, even if work remains to be done.

Gwyn Evans is the community engagement co-ordinator with the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives.