Gaman Perseverance

Winner of a 2025 Canada-Japan Literary Award

This revealing memoir by the former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians describes the long journey towards resolution for the historic injustice that deprived Japanese Canadians of their basic human rights during and after World War II. Gaman Perseverance details the intense negotiations that took place in the 1980s between the Government of Canada and the NAJC — negotiations which finally resulted in the historic Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement of September 1988 and the acknowledgment by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney that Canada had wronged its own citizens.

Art Miki vividly recollects his past experiences and family history, revealing the beliefs and attitudes that shaped his life's journey as a youth in British Columbia, an educator in Manitoba, and a community leader across Canada. He shares personal reflections on the Japanese Canadian Redress Campaign and the many endeavours and challenges that followed. He details his involvement with Indigenous communities and the dispute that would lead to the historic Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, his foray into politics during the 1990s, and his role as a Canadian citizenship judge. Gaman Perseverance provides a unique, intimate glimpse into Miki's involvement with the Japanese community and the projects that embody meaningful historical preservation.