Yukon who is who

Lillian Nakamura Maguire (b. 1948)

Lillian Nakamura Maguire was born in Regina, Saskatchewan as a second-generation Japanese Canadian.¹⁾ During the Second World War, her parent’s rights were taken away. They lost their home in British Columbia and their belongings were sold off. Her father was sent to a work camp and both parents later worked at a sugar beet farm in Manitoba.²⁾

Maguire is a retired adult educator and facilitator. She is a community activist and uses stories in her work in human rights education, elder abuse prevention, and intercultural relations. In 2016, she received a National Association of Japanese Canadians Endowment Fund grant in 2016 to assist in the development of her first play. Hidden Memories, was accepted by the Ruby Slippers Theatre “Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women” for reading at the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival.³⁾

Maguire is a founding member of the Hidden Histories Society Yukon, a volunteer group doing research and producing exhibits and activities mainly related to Yukon Asian and Black history. She writes short stories, memoir, haiku, and plays.⁴⁾ Lillian Nakamura Maguire received the 2019 Yukon Historical and Museums Association (YHMA) Helen Couch Volunteer of the Year Award.