Carley Okamura
she/her | Edmonton, Alberta, 1986
I have played Japanese drums (taiko) for 20 years. I have attended NAJC and COPANI conferences, and have visited Japan a few times, once as a community delegate on a trip specifically meant to teach Japanese diaspora people about Japan in 2017.
Mixed race Japanese Canadian
I view myself as a Japanese Canadian, because the experience that my relatives encountered due to their Japanese ethnicity has informed our family's situation – our location, economic status, and inter-family relations. I also always mention that I am mixed race, because this has influenced my experience in community activism, and in the JC community.