Artifact #3: Not a Bite!

Citation: Fisher, Edward. “So Near and Yet so Far.” Cartoon. Vancouver Sun, 1914. https://council.vancouver.ca/20230530/documents/regur1staffpresentation.pdf

This political cartoon portrays the protests of South Asians on the Komagata Maru and the retaliation against it by the police force, highlighting the discriminatory policies of the Canadian government. With the frustration of the people stranded at sea, they resorted to hunger strikes to make a statement of the unfair treatment of South Asians who were also under the same British colony. However, to establish itself as a “White Man’s country,” the cartoon shows how the government chooses to underestimate the hunger strike by stating “not a bite!” dismissing the underlying message of challenging the normalized racism in Canada. This political cartoon shows the exclusion of non-Whites in Canada and how these discriminatory beliefs are ingrained within the system itself, spreading its influence towards the mindsets and principles of Canadians themselves. The enforcement of racial inferiority towards certain groups is emphasized through this cartoon, serving as a reminder of the prejudice held towards minorities in Canadian history.

Bibliography: Vancouversun. “A Century Ago, the Komagata Maru Arrived in Vancouver and Challenged Racist Policies,” May 23, 2014. https://vancouversun.com/news/metro/a-century-ago-the-komagata-maru-arrived-in-vancouver-and-challenged-racist-policies.