Roy Miki

Roy Miki

"I am honoured by this recognition, and I would like to see the creation of more awards that recognize struggle," says Roy Miki. "Most awards simply recognize achievement, but it's important to acknowledge people who have gone against the system in order to eventually improve it."

Born in Manitoba on a sugar beet farm where his parents had been forcibly sent, Roy Miki is a third generation Japanese-Canadian. A leader in the successful Redress Movement to bring justice to those wronged by the government's action, he is professor of English at Simon Fraser University. An editor and biographer, his book, Surrender, received a 2002 Governor-General's Award.

In 2006 Dr. Miki has received three major awards: The Order of Canada for contributions to community and the arts; The Gandhi Peace Award and the Thakore Visiting Scholar award for his commitment truth, justice, human rights and non-violence, and The Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy.

Noraand Ted Sterling established the prize at SFU in 1993 to honor “work which challenges complacency and that provokes controversy or contributes to its understanding.”

Winners of the Prize