ABSTRACT
This chapter presents unique voices of the Ainu peoples of Hokkaido, Japan, who are a living symbol of resilience and resistance against the discrimination and prejudice by the Japanese government and society at large. For a long time the Japanese government has perpetuated the myth of a monolithic Japan that is rooted in a single identity, culture, and language, thus forcing the Ainu peoples to assimilate into the dominant culture. Ainu is a precious word that means 'human.' The majority of the Japanese immigrants to Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, had described 'Ainu' as a derogatory term for many generations. The Ainu people mainly live in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. In 1996, ignoring the protests of Ainu and other local residents, the government constructed a dam on the Saru River.
