People uprooted from Annacis Island (11)

Annacis Island, in Delta, was originally a fishing site for the scəw̓aθən (Tsawwassen) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. It was first named Annance’s Island after the Métis fur trader François Annance. In 1906, some Japanese immigrants who had been aboard the Suian Maru settled on Annacis Island, with others settling on the Oikawa (Don) and Sato (Lion) Islands.

The Japanese Canadians on Annacis Island worked closely with the fishing community in Steveston and in the nearby canneries. The Suzuki Brothers Boat Works (Mareno Boat Works) was operating on the island by 1938 and fishers would often build boats during the off-season.

When boats were seized from Japanese Canadian fishing communities, many of them were collected and gathered at Annieville Dyke (now part of Annacis Island) to be sold off to canneries and non-Japanese fishermen, often without the consent of their owners.