Blanket used for Japanese Canadian internment

This coarse wool blanket was issued to Japanese Canadians who were held in the stock barns at Hasting Park during World War II. The “Clearing Station” at Hastings Park was an assembly point for Japanese Canadians from all over B.C. Thousands of internees were held in filthy, overcrowded conditions as they awaited forced relocation to camps in the Interior. While interned, their property was looted, confiscated, and liquidated without consent, supposedly to pay for their room and board in internment. The uprooting destroyed the vibrant Japanese-Canadian community and businesses on Powell Street.