[BCMA] For Immediate Release | Troubled Waters: Fishermen’s Reserve exhibit and Challenging Exile Author Talk

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

New temporary exhibit and Author Talk
Troubled Waters: Fishermen’s Reserve exhibit, 4 November – 23 December 2025
Challenging Exile, Author talk, 20 November
 How much do you know about the Fishermen's Reserve, otherwise known as the Gumboot Navy?
The year was 1937. Countries around the world were grappling with political unrest. Military conflicts were escalating, geopolitical relationships were shifting, and Canada had some difficult choices to make.
In this atmosphere of unrest and rising tensions, one of the responses from the Canadian Government was to establish the Fishermen’s Reserve. Ensuring a strong naval presence and bolstering defences along the Pacific Coast helped appease US dissatisfaction. These were the principal reasons given at the outset for the development of this civilian reserve, which was also known as the Gumboot Navy.
One of many civilian reserves in Canada, the Fisherman’s Reserve needed to recruit the right people. Early recruits included fishermen and mariners such as Nils Jacobsen, who would later move to Sooke in his retirement. Although recommended from the outset, Indigenous men were only included in the Fishermen’s Reserve in 1939. Once officials realized the benefits of including Indigenous men with deep knowledge of the coast and the waters, recruitment expanded to include men such as Frank Planes of the T’Sou-ke Nation.  Frank was recognized for his intimate knowledge of the coast that was beneficial to fulfilling the Pacific coast patrol.
It wasn’t until later that the true intentions of the Fishermen’s Reserve became public.
The purposes, in order of importance were: ‘rounding up of enemy aliens, sympathizers, and undesirables on the coast; seizing boats and property of the above-mentioned; a slow reconnaissance patrol; sweeping search duties by larger boats; pilotage duties for larger vessels; and packing and freighting for the Department of Defence.’
The new temporary exhibit at the Sooke Region Museum shares the story of the Fisherman’s Reserve, looking at the role of Indigenous people serving in the forces, like Frank Planes. This new exhibit builds on the 2024 exhibit that was inspired by the generous donation of Frank’s war medals to the Museum from Frank’s daughters, Fern Albany and Willow Dodge. These medals are on display until 23 December 2025, with new additions this year delving deeper into the story of the Fisherman’s Reserve, where he served.
Going deeper into this story means looking at the seizure of Japanese fishing vessels and displacement of Japanese Canadians from the Pacific Coast.
Temporary Exhibits - Sooke Region Museum<https://sookeregionmuseum.ca/temporary-exhibits/>
Author Talk, Thursday 20 November 7pm – Challenging Exile
For further exploration of exiling Japanese Canadians from the coast, join us on Thursday 20 November when Dr. Jordan Stanger-Ross will be talking about his most recent publication, Challenging Exile, a collaboration with Eric Adams.
Dr. Stanger-Ross is a professor of history at the University of Victoria, and the author of numerous works on the history of migration and race in North America. Dr. Stanger-Ross and Eric Adams (professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Alberta) were awarded the John T. Saywell Prize for Canadian Constitutional Legal History for their joint scholarship with the Landscapes of Injustice partnership, examining the uprooting and dispossession of Japanese Canadians during the 1940s. In 2021, Jordan Stanger-Ross edited Landscapes of Injustice, from a project dedicated to recovering and grappling with the forced sale of Japanese-Canadian owned property.

The Museum will be open 9:30am to 7pm on Thursday 20 November so people can visit the Troubled Waters exhibit before the talk. Copies of Challenging Exile and Landscapes of Injustice will be available for purchase and signing after the talk.
Author Talks - Sooke Region Museum<https://sookeregionmuseum.ca/author-talks/>



Michelle Richard

Executive Director
Sooke Region Museum & Visitor Centre

Mailing: PO Box 774, Sooke, BC V9Z 1H7

Street: 2070 Phillips Rd., Sooke, BC V9Z 0Y3

t. 250-642-6351  |  c. 778-922-6424
sookeregionmuseum.ca<https://sookeregionmuseum.ca/>



The Sooke Region Museum operates in the territories of the T’Sou-ke, Sc'ianew, and Pacheedaht peoples, who have inhabited this land since time immemorial.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20251114/c7e5eceb/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Challenging Exile -Jordan Stanger Ross.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 59531 bytes
Desc: Challenging Exile -Jordan Stanger Ross.jpg
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20251114/c7e5eceb/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Recruits of the Fishermen's Reserve, credit The Gumboot Navy by Carol Popp-1.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 956470 bytes
Desc: Recruits of the Fishermen's Reserve, credit The Gumboot Navy by Carol Popp-1.jpg
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20251114/c7e5eceb/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Challenging Exile AUTHORS TALK - 20Nov2025 (1).pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 920683 bytes
Desc: Challenging Exile AUTHORS TALK - 20Nov2025 (1).pdf
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20251114/c7e5eceb/attachment.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: TROUBLED WATERS posters (8.5x11) (1).pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 692905 bytes
Desc: TROUBLED WATERS posters (8.5x11) (1).pdf
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20251114/c7e5eceb/attachment-0001.pdf>