Download or read book Cultivating Connections written by Alison Marshall and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2014-06-18 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the late 1870s, thousands of Chinese men left coastal British Columbia and the western United States and headed east. For them, the Prairies were a land of opportunity; there, they could open shops and potentially earn enough money to become merchants. The result of almost a decade's research and more than three hundred interviews, Cultivating Connections tells the stories of some of Prairie Canada's Chinese settlers - men and women from various generations who navigated cultural difference. These stories reveal the critical importance of networks in coping with experiences of racism and establishing a successful life on the Prairies.