The Steveston Nikkei Memorial in Richmond BC commemorates the 75th anniversary of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of 2,500 Japanese Canadians from Steveston during World War II. It further celebrates the rebuilding of the Steveston community following their return from internment in following the war. The location is adjacent to the original interurban tram line, from where the community was evacuated and where they returned. Through a rigorous consultation with hundreds of community members and internment survivors, the memorial design acknowledges the resilience of Japanese Canadian internees and their contribution to the greater Steveston community immediately upon return. Design elements include paving patterns that reference origami basket weaving tradition of the family matriarchs, specimen plum trees native to Wakayama that acknowledge the origins of the Steveston Japanese community and boulders collected from across Canada that represent the sites of internment and displacement across BC and the rest of Canada.
