Kamala E. Nayar. The in : Location, Labour, First , and . Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012. 361 pp. $32.95, paper, ISBN 978-0-7735-4071-2.

Reviewed by Christopher Taylor

Published on H-Canada (December, 2013)

Commissioned by Jane Nicholas (University of Waterloo/St. Jerome's)

Kamala E. Nayar’s The Punjabis in British Co‐ small remote towns or in large urban centres” (p. lumbia: Location, Labour, , and Mul‐ 3). The author focuses on geography as a main de‐ ticulturalism takes an original and innovative ap‐ terminant of how Punjabi emigrants were re‐ proach to the study of multiculturalism and First ceived by the Canadian mainstream. She exam‐ Nations-immigrant relations in Canada. While the ines labor relations and the split labor market at author focuses on the experiences of mid-twenti‐ Skeena’s sawmills and canneries; interethnic eth-century Punjabi labor migrants in the rural group and intragroup relations, particularly the British Columbian Skeena region, and their subse‐ often hostile, and prejudiced, interactions with quent double migration to the , First Nations peoples; and how traditional gender her research is representative of a larger study on and cultural roles adapted to a new Canadian way immigrant integration throughout Canada. Her of life. book is thought-provoking as it moves beyond the The Punjabis in British Columbia is divided in confnes of academic scholarship and into the ten chapters, each with a particular theme. The public discourse on what it means to be Canadian. author begins by contextualizing the history, cul‐ Nayar also contributes to the ongoing debate on ture, and of the and Punjabi peo‐ how to make ideological multiculturalism “work” ple. She then provides a background of British in the twenty-frst century. Columbian labor history, Canada multicultural‐ Through an analysis of the Punjabi communi‐ ism, Punjabi migrant pioneers in the early twenti‐ ty in the Skeena region of northwestern British eth century, and the Punjabi male immigrant ex‐ Columbia, the author’s objective is to reveal the perience in the forestry industry in the Skeena re‐ “sharp diferences in the way immigrants experi‐ gion during the mid-to-late twentieth century. The ence Canada’s practice of multiculturalism, de‐ book continues with a gendered analysis of fe‐ pending on whether the experience occurs in male Punjabi migrants, and how they adapted tra‐ H-Net Reviews ditional Punjabi customs of pardah (keeping a low By using the Punjabi community in the profle in the public sphere), dharam (duty), and Skeena region as a case study, Nayar’s book efec‐ izzat (respect), to Canadian social norms. Chap‐ tively transforms scholarly debates on the merits ters 6 and 7 examine the politicization of the Pun‐ of multiculturalism in Canada, making them ac‐ jabi community and First Nations-Punjabi rela‐ cessible to a non-academic audience. This is artic‐ tions. The fnal chapters analyzes the double mi‐ ulated in the Skeena Punjabi’s emphasis on inter‐ gration to large urban centers, cultural synergy, culturalism, or cultural synergy, as opposed to the and ethnic identifcation. Throughout the mono‐ isolation of multiculturalism practiced in the Low‐ graph Nayar provides three illuminating and inte‐ er Mainland. Nayar actively promotes cultural gral ethnographic narratives that support and synergy as a political call to action to improve in‐ complement her research. terethnic and First Nations-immigrant relations. The book fts within the broader context of She defnes cultural synergy as “a combination of multiculturalism and Canadian immigration stud‐ the diferent cultural assets on the basis of shared ies as it positions the case study of a “model” im‐ values,” (p. 276) and it is “experienced as the migrant group--the socially mobile Punjabi com‐ ‘shared’ or ‘common’ meeting of various peoples munity in northwestern British Columbia--in rela‐ in the public sphere, without anyone’s heritage tion to the oppressed First Nations peoples in the being rejected” (p. 219).The author uses the con‐ region. The book confronts the history of deraci‐ cept to summarize the interculturalism exhibited nated colonial “East Indians” on displaced “Native by the Punjabi community in a rural setting; how‐ Indian” land in British Columbia. The author re‐ ever, Nayar provides an overarching blueprint for positions the multiculturalism and integration de‐ an allophilic twenty-frst-century Canadian soci‐ bate from a narrative of “us versus them”--the An‐ ety. Along with geographical location as a major glo-Canadian whites versus the “nonwhite” Oth‐ determinant of the efectiveness of multicultural‐ ers--to the sad reality of the fractured relations of ism and multiculturalism policy, cultural synergy heterogeneous and oppressed visible minority is a major theme that moves beyond scholarly de‐ subalterns in twentieth-century Canada. bate. As a result of her book, Nayar underscores A major strength of Nayar’s book is her clear the further marginalization of First Nations peo‐ and succinct writing and well-organized struc‐ ples in Canada due to ofcial multiculturalism ture. Notwithstanding chapter 9’s theoretical anal‐ policy. While immigrant and ethnic groups bene‐ ysis of ethnic identifcation and second-genera‐ fted from the implementation of the policy in tion Punjabi-, the author avoids disci‐ 1971 under the Trudeau government that promot‐ pline-specifc terminology, and has written a ed “ethnic ,” the Liberals pushed for fur‐ monograph accessible to both an academic and ther of First Nations groups non-academic audience of all levels. Her use of with the White Paper on Indian policy in 1969. In three lengthy ethnographic narratives, along with addition to the increased competition for low- numerous oral histories and interviews, supports skilled jobs in the canneries, especially among im‐ her extensive feld research. Some may argue that migrant and First Nations women, the double Nayar’s qualitative analysis and her signifcant re‐ standard put forth by the dominant majority ex‐ liance on 105 “semi-structured” interviews, some acerbated deep-seated antagonisms between the translated into English, challenge the objectivity First Nations and Punjabi communities of the of her work. This may be true; however, she uses Skeena region. the interviews, photos, tables, and ethnographic narratives to enhance her historical and sociologi‐ cal research. The narratives provide a personal

2 H-Net Reviews touch and rightfully put a name and face on the individuals who comprised the Punjabi communi‐ ty in the Skeena region. The Punjabis in Canada is a remarkable book on immigration, multiculturalism, and First Na‐ tions-immigrant relations in Canada. Through a case study on a Punjabi community in northwest‐ ern British Columbia, Nayar manages to delve deep into several meaningful topics that resonate with Canadians of all ethnicities and geographic locations. Utilizing her concept of cultural syner‐ gy, the author efectively argues that geography was, and is, a main determinant of the efective‐ ness of multiculturalism in Canada. Moreover, it was the intercultural relationships established by close proximity in rural areas that mitigated inter‐ group through mutual understanding and acceptance. By exposing the diferences be‐ tween rural and urban multiculturalism amongst Punjabis in British Columbia, Nayar puts forth a new defnition for a harmonious “multicultural” Canada based on allophilia, interculturalism, and cultural synergy.

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Citation: Christopher Taylor. Review of Nayar, Kamala E. The Punjabis in British Columbia: Location, Labour, First Nations, and Multiculturalism. H-Canada, H-Net Reviews. December, 2013.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=38394

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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