'100th Anniversary of Humiliation Day': Chinese Canadian Museum collecting stories of head tax payers
Did your family pay the head tax? How did it affect your family? Did the Chinese Exclusion Act lead to family separations? The Chinese Canadian Museum (CCM) wants to hear from you.
In 1885, the Canadian government escalated the Chinese Immigration Act into a law, stipulating that all Chinese people entering Canada must first pay a $50 fee, later referred to as a head tax.
The law was amended in 1887, 1892 and 1900, with the fee increasing to $100 in 1900 and later to its maximum of $500 in 1903, representing a two-year salary of an immigrant worker at that time.
July 1 will mark the 100th anniversary of "Humiliation Day," the deadline for all Chinese, even Canada-born, to comply with the racist registration conditions of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. Failure to register could result in fines and deportation.
The art organization Long Time No See (LTNS) is gathering stories from the head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act periods. Partnering with CCM and the University of British Columbia, they aim to shed light on this significant part of history.
LTNS believes the head tax imposed immense hardships on families, leading to years of separation. Some bachelors who knew they would never be able to return home or make enough money to support themselves even died by suicide.
"We're assisting CCM in scanning photos of head tax certificates and personal stories, including those of bachelor men from that era," said Brenda Joy Lem, an artist at LTNS.
According to CCM, there once existed a dizzying array of special identity documents — called C.I. certificates — issued by the Canadian government exclusively to its Chinese residents with the head tax certificate the most well-known example. These pieces of paper were intended to control, contain, monitor and even intimidate this one community, according to the CCM.
C.I. certificates served many functions: identity documents; head tax receipts; and entry and exit authorization papers. The papers also were a constant reminder of a second-class status in Canada.
"While almost all of the original holders of these certificates have passed away, many are held in family collections. If you have any C.I. Certificates, please submit them through the online form at ltnschinatown.com by the end of May," Lem encouraged.
LTNS will conduct high-resolution scans at a drop-in location in June, with copies added to an archive at the University of British Columbia.
Last year, from May to September, LTNS hosted a photography and storytelling exhibition titled "Longing Belonging, 100 Years 100 Stories" at the Varley Art Gallery of Markham, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Scarlett Liu, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Markham Economist & Sun
