In late 2024, the Sedai Oral History Collection received funding from the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society to enhance our archival storage infrastructure and to activate and expand the collection during 2025-2026.
There are three main ‘pillars’ of the project:
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Preservation: Updating our collection to meet current archival standards for digitization of old media, secure storage, and better description of our records. We will improve access through the transcription of over 200 hours of interviews. This crucial groundwork will allow us to remain a trustworthy repository for oral histories from across the broader Japanese Canadian community, now and into the future.
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Outreach and education: Providing resources and support for Japanese Canadians to record oral histories of family members or community elders. The JCCC will be offering both in person and online workshops about how to best capture oral histories, as well as a youth researcher program for young Nikkei to engage with the community archive.
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Activation and Expansion: Using existing footage, we will be creating short documentaries to showcase the value of this collection. We will also be expanding our collection by accepting donations of Japanese Canadian oral histories created within the community, becoming a repository for community members and researchers alike.
Ways to get involved:
Donations of interview footage:
The Sedai Oral History Collection is open to donations of interview footage! We will be looking for recordings of original interviews with people in the Japanese Canadian community or about Japanese Canadian history. These interviews will become part of Sedai and will be kept safe for long-term preservation and access.
Maybe you have an interview with your grandpa on cassette or you’re planning to interview your aunt later this year. Think you might have something? Fill out the Donation Form by August 31! We will get back to you by September 30, 2025.
If you have questions or need help filling out the form, contact Claire at clairef@jccc.on.ca or 416-441-2345, ext. 303.
We will accept recordings in any format. Analog material such as tapes or film will be digitized, and we will provide you with a copy of the digitized files.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept all donations. We will not accept: TV, radio or commercial recordings; recordings without permissions from the interviewee or their family; and/or recordings that do not meet collection priorities. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
No footage to donate? There are other ways to support Sedai. For more information, visit Donate.
Workshops:
Do you want to record stories with your family members but don’t know where to start? JCCC Heritage Staff will be presenting interactive oral history workshops both online and in-person for Japanese Canadian groups and individuals.
Participants will learn about preserving stories, interviewing, recording techniques, and informed consent.
If you are a Japanese Canadian organization wanting to request a workshop, please contact Karen Suzuki directly (karens@jccc.on.ca, 416-441-2345, ext. 300). We can arrange an online workshop and may be able to travel within Ontario.
If you are an individual, please fill out the following Google Form to express interest. We will contact you to let you know when the next workshops will take place! Workshops will be either online or in-person.