911³Ô¹Ï

Few stories capture the complexities of belonging in British Columbia as powerfully as that of Elder Larry Grant.

Grant, who is also known as sʔəyəɬəq (suh-yuh-shl-uck) in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Hong Lai Hing in Cantonese, is a respected professor, cultural leader and hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓ language teacher.

He was born in Agassiz, B.C., to Agnes Grant of Musqueam heritage and Hong Tim Hing, an immigrant from Guangdong, China, and grew up between these worlds. He has seen Vancouver become a cosmopolitan city, even as he and his family experienced oppressive colonial policies that imposed rigid definitions of identity.

His memories reach back to a landscape that predates the region’s rapid growth. On the Musqueam Reserve, south of Marine Drive near the Fraser River, families sustained traditional ways of life even as outside pressures intensified. At the same time, Chinese immigrants like his father navigated exclusionary policies, including the Head Tax.

Over many years, Grant shared his story with Scott Steedman, senior lecturer in 911³Ô¹Ï’s publishing program. Their conversations have now been published as a book, , released in September 2025 and shortlisted for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional and Hubert Evans prizes at the and the .

The book traces Grant’s journey through Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and beyond, bringing to life the layered histories embedded in familiar places—from the Musqueam village and Chinatown to UBC, the waterfront, residential school sites and China. Grounded in family history, it highlights the knowledge passed down from his grandparents and situates his story within Musqueam language, culture and land-based practices.

At the same time, it confronts the impacts of exclusionary laws, the residential school system and the erasure of Indigenous presence in urban Vancouver. Throughout, reconciliation emerges as an ongoing process rooted in truth-telling, justice and healing, inviting readers to see both the city and reconciliation with a fresh perspective.

We spoke to Elder Grant and Scott Steedman about their book.

What first drew you to Larry’s story, and when did you realize it needed to become a book?

Steedman: I first met Larry at UBC 10 years ago, when I interviewed him for a story about hÉ™nÌ“qÌ“É™mínÌ“É™mÌ“ street signs on campus. We talked all afternoon, and I realized there was so much to his story. We continued to meet at 911³Ô¹Ï, after I invited Larry to come in and talk to the Masters of Publishing students, and I encouraged him to write his stories down. He had already recorded some, and asked me if we could expand them. The result is this book, which involved walking the streets of Chinatown and Strathcona and going on road trips up and down the river. I learned so much about my home city, from a very different, very grounded perspective.

What do you hope readers who grew up in Vancouver—particularly settlers—will see or understand differently after reading this book?

Steedman: For a glittering, cosmopolitan city, Vancouver has so little sense of its own history or place in the world. We hope these stories and reflections help to counter that. Colonization happened so recently; not quite within Larry’s lifetime, but he can recall his grandparents well, and they were born around the same time the first European settlers arrived here, which is an astonishing thought. The city has changed so much, and until recently it was ruled by a hierarchical racist system that stopped people like Larry from voting, becoming engineers or doctors or lawyers, buying land: so many obstacles to living fulfilling lives. That’s changed somewhat, but we need all to be reminded that reconciling is a process we’re all going through, and we’ve still got a long way to go.

Elder Grant: I hope readers will recognize the harm that racism, preconceived notions, and socio-economic exclusion does to human beings.

You describe reconciliation as an ongoing process. What does meaningful reconciliation look like to you today?

Elder Grant: To see settler immigrants being interactive with First Nations and other ethnic groups to learn about each other and then move forward constructively respecting each other.

Steedman: Equity. And for settlers like myself, listening, truly listening and accepting the unfairness of past ways of doing things. Only then can we properly remedy them for the next generations.

What’s one place tied to the book that readers should visit after they finish it?

Elder Grant: They should visit the Strathcona–Chinatown area to see how the deliberate degradation of a neighbourhood harms both people and the land.

Steedman: Where your ancestors came from, the land they trod years ago, before they came to Canada. Unless you’re First Nations, in which case, connect to your roots. Larry says, you don’t need to go for months or learn the language or history, but for once, even for a week or a day, go home! As he did to China, at age 77; it changed his life.

What message would you share with younger generations, especially Indigenous and mixed-heritage youth navigating questions of identity and belonging?

Elder Grant: Never forget your roots, the family you belong to, how you belong, your language, culture, spirituality, community and lands you belong to. Most of all, accept who you are and love yourself.

For more:

• Scott Steedman’s faculty profile and
• Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong at the Vancouver Heritage Foundation
• - Steedman’s original article on Grant in the Tyee