Story of Chinese-Yukon man who opened territory's first supermarket highlights Asian Heritage Month

An exhibition featuring the story of a prominent Chinese-Yukon businessman who opened the first supermarket in the territory was one of the headline events co-sponsored by the U.S. consulate general and Hidden Histories Society Yukon on May 19 to celebrate Asian Heritage Month.

Bruce Sung was born and raised in Vancouver's Chinatown. His first business out of Chinatown was catering to the U.S. Army and Navy in Prince Rupert, B.C., during World War II. He also catered to different crews that were building the Alaska Highway.

From there, he moved to Whitehorse in the 1960s where he opened up a hotel, the first supermarket, and also added square footage where the Hudson's Bay Company was one of the major tenants.

Back then, it wasn't easy being Chinese, said his son Bob Sung.

Having father's story told 'like a bucket list thing'

"Dad was far more accepted up here [in Whitehorse] being Asian as opposed to in Chinatown, because, you know, Vancouver was a large Chinese community and indeed there was a lot of racial profiling happening and he was a recipient of all this profiling," said Bob.

Then, Chinatowns around North America were ghettos for Chinese communities because of "the colonial attitude," explained Bob.

There was also a head tax for people coming from China that ranged from $50 to $500 between 1885 and 1923. It's estimated about 82,000 Chinese paid the fee until the Exclusion Act came into effect in 1923, effectively banning further immigration from China until 1947.

Bob's paternal grandfather came to Canada during the head tax era; however, his family was exempt from paying it because he worked as a translator for newcomers.

"Dad never had to pay the head tax, but nevertheless, they were still Chinese," said Bob.

Despite the challenges, Bob's dad, Bruce, managed to become a successful businessman.

Now, Bob is content to see recent efforts to uncover the histories of people of colour.

He said having his father's story told at the exhibition was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for him.

"This is like a bucket list thing that I'll never experience again," he said. "Just the idea of the community sighting and acknowledging my father is just a treat. I'm just blown away."

Unveiling the Hidden Stories exhibition was part of a series of events to celebrate Asian Heritage Month sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver, which covers both British Columbia and Yukon.

Bridging cultures through music

As part of the programming, the U.S. consulate partnered with the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Arts Envoy Program to also bring Pipeline Vocal Project, an all-women Alaskan a capella trio.

The group, featuring Lisa Hawkins, Adriana Latonio and Molly Dieni, conducted music master classes for Whitehorse residents and hosted several performances from May 19 to 22.

Latonio, the soprano of the group, said growing up as an Asian-American in Anchorage, Alaska, was isolating.

"I felt like I didn't really fit in with anybody there," she said. "I look different. I was the only one with brown skin and I had different facial features and brought different foods that the other kids thought were weird and gross."

Part of the group's mission is to bridge different cultures through music, said Dieni.

During their Saturday concert, the group included an international segment where the trio sang songs from all over the world and in different languages including English, Japanese, Urdu and Spanish.

"I feel like it's wonderful to be an advocate for the younger generations to say that being Asian can kind of be a superpower for you," said Latonio.

This was the trio's first time performing in Canada.

The cultural month is celebrated in both Canada and the United States and it's an opportunity to highlight the contributions of people with Asian heritage to North American society.

Angela Girard, the public diplomacy chief at the consulate, said the visit was a chance to strengthen the U.S.-Canada relationship in the Arctic.

"We kind of took this as our opportunity to really celebrate the idea of diversity, equity and inclusion and how we can celebrate that in both of our countries," she said.

Girard added this was also a chance to make a connection between arts and cultures in the Yukon and Alaska.

This is the first time in two years there's been in-person events to celebrate Asian Heritage Month in the Yukon.