A new online exhibit from Coquitlam Archives sheds light on the under-represented community of South Asian mill workers at Fraser Mills in the early 1900s.
COQUITLAM, B.C., July 23, 2024 – A new online exhibit from Coquitlam Archives sheds light on the under-represented community of South Asian mill workers at Fraser Mills in the early 1900s, whose names are not captured elsewhere in documentary record.
Fraser Mills Logbook Illuminates South Asian Millworkers tells the story of how nearly three meters of recently processed textual records led to insights and identification of South Asian mill workers. You can read about Fraser Mills Company accident logbook, view images of the logbook and read the list of names at the online exhibit, coquitlam.ca/FraserMillsLogbook.
Collaborative Approach Fills Records Gap
Following the City Archives’ web exhibit published in 2022, The Corporation of the District of Fraser Mills fonds, staff from the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive expressed interest in further analysis of the Fraser Mills accident logbook. The South Asian Canadian Digital Archives collects, digitizes, digitally preserves, and makes accessible materials with significant ties to the South Asian diaspora across Canada.
After studying the records of the 1912-1923 section of the Fraser Mills accident logbook, which inventoried names of workers who had suffered injuries ranging from bruised legs, cuts, fractures, sprains, finger loss, burns, and, in one tragic instance, death, South Asian Canadian Digital Archives staff confirmed that many of the workers listed were of South Asian origin, primarily Punjabi/Sikh.
This collaboration between Coquitlam Archives and the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive provides evidence of a significant South Asian presence at Fraser Mills. Because this group was denied the right to vote at the time, this information was previously uncaptured in archival records such as voters lists.
The logbook will now be accessible to a wider audience, enabling further research into the South Asian pioneers listed, as well as potentially linking the descriptions to other related materials across Canada.
This project demonstrates the unique nature of archival records—documents designed for one purpose end up being used for another. In this case, names captured in uniform fashion in the early 1900s to record accidents ended up being viewed 100 years later, opening a new chapter of history by providing evidence of the diverse community that lived and worked in Fraser Mills.
It also demonstrates the unique means by which archivists are seeking to fill gaps about marginalized groups in society, including women, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ2S+ community and people of colour, giving voice to communities who had been silenced.
About the City of Coquitlam Archives
The City of Coquitlam Archives serves a dual purpose: to preserve and to make accessible. Since the inception of the archives program, the Archives has been raising its profile to encourage people to use its services and discover the trove of records in the collection. For more information about the City of Coquitlam Archives, visit coquitlam.ca/CityArchives.
Media Contact
Jamie Sanford
Archivist
archives@coquitlam.ca
604-927-3900
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓ əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓ əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.