By: Marie Jen Galilo, Staff Writer
Content warning: Mention of residential schools.
On Monday, April 27, Elder Larry Grant, also known as sʔəyəɬəq (suh-yuh-shl-uck) in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Hong Lai Hing in Cantonese, visited SFU’s Ceremonial Hall in the First People’s Gathering House to discuss his book, Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong, with co-author Scott Steedman, a senior lecturer in SFU’s publishing department.
Elder Grant began the book talk with a land acknowledgement in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, and then walked us through his life story. He used the word “reconciling” to emphasize that healing from the pain and trauma caused by discrimination is an ongoing process. Being born to a xʷməθkʷəy̓əm mother and Chinese father, Elder Grant experienced discrimination that targeted the very core of his identity.
Elder Grant’s father, Hong Tom Hing, immigrated from the village of Sei Moon in Guangdong, China, and paid a $500 head tax to enter Canada and work as a farmer on the land that belonged to Hing. When the Indian agent (representatives of the Canadian government on First Nation Reserves) discovered that Elder Grant’s mother, Agnes Grant, had married a non-status man, he and his family were all stripped of their status. He felt like being Chinese was forced upon him, which he struggled to come to terms with because he grew up on the reserve, surrounded by xʷməθkʷəy̓əm culture and values. He was exempted from residential school because he was seen as Chinese, not Indigenous, which he could not understand because he identified as xʷməθkʷəy̓əm. On the flip side, in the Chinese community, he was seen as Indigenous, not Chinese. The dissonance between how others saw Elder Grant and how he saw himself made it difficult for him to express his identity.
Slowly but surely, he worked towards reconnecting with both his xʷməθkʷəy̓əm and Chinese roots. When he was about to retire from being a mechanic and longshoreman, his brother convinced him to take hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language courses at UBC. He was eventually asked to co-teach the courses because of his deep understanding of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, and he continues to teach to this day. Elder Grant also had the opportunity to reconnect with his Chinese roots when he visited China to see his father’s village before it was bulldozed. He walked through the village gates that his family had funded, and was overcome with emotion. Being in his father’s village, he felt like he was “home” and that he belonged.
Elder Grant advised us to return to the land of our ancestors to strengthen our sense of self, and reminded us that reconciling, in the context of Turtle Island, is an ongoing process that we are all working towards.
Elder Grant’s story and words of wisdom highlights the importance of learning history through the stories of people who experienced it firsthand. Through his story, I learned that the lives of Indigenous Peoples and Chinese people were so closely intertwined because of the discrimination both communities experienced in Canada. Only through learning about history from the people who have lived through it are we able to work towards understanding and acknowledging the deeply-rooted impact of those experiences. By retelling and listening to these life stories, we ensure that the histories are never forgotten, allowing us to collectively strive towards fulfilling the process of remembrance and reconciliation.
Check out Elder Grant’s work, Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong at Iron Dog Books.
