First Words: Larry Grant speaks hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓

First Words is a weekly podcast focused on Indigenous languages. Each week, we welcome a new guest into the hosting chair to teach us three words in their language.

Elder Larry Grant was in his 60s and, after working for four decades, he had plans to retire. But then his younger brother suggested he enroll in a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ class, a language Grant hadn't spoken since he was a child.
Today, Grant teaches hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ in the First Nations Languages Program at the University of British Columbia, is an Elder-in-Residence at UBC's First Nations House of Learning, and works with the Musqueam Language and Culture Department.
"You're never too old to learn the value of language to be able to help pass it on," said Grant who was born and raised in Musqueam territory.