Knowledge-keeper Cecilia DeRose recognized for her ‘massive impact’ in Secwépemc communities

At the kitchen table of her home in Williams Lake, Secwépemc Elder Cecilia Dick DeRose sits across from her daughter Lulu, who is beading a hat. 

Lulu learned to bead from her mother, who has taught multiple generations in their family about their culture, including berry picking, working with buckskin and speaking Secwepemctsín.

“She just immersed it into our life,” Lulu says.

“It was part of our life, part of our culture, automatically.”

These teachings have extended far beyond DeRose’s own family, and she has taught many people about language, plant medicines, cultural safety and much more. Her ongoing work as a knowledge-keeper was recognized by Thompson Rivers University, which recently awarded DeRose with an honorary degree for her “massive impact on the healing of Secwépemc communities.”

At 89 years old, DeRose is still as engaged in the language and culture as she’s ever been throughout her life — as is evident from the basket of in-the-works projects in her living room including a brown hat with a beaded brim and a baby basket for a doll. 

Her knowledge only grows throughout the years as she continues to learn, and she is always searching for new techniques and recipes. DeRose — who is a great-grandmother — has a particular affinity for Secwepemctsín and seeing the language being used in the community is important to her.

“That was our language, our birth language, and our identity,” she says.

“I love my language and I speak it whenever I can.”

‘Don’t be shy to share’

Born in Esk’etemc First Nation to Matthew and Amelia Dick, she grew up speaking Secwepemctsín fluently with her family and learned to tan buckskin, bead, and ride horses with her family. All her siblings were equal when it came to their roles and responsibilities.

As with many Elders, however, her time at the St. Joseph’s Mission, a residential “school” in the Williams Lake area, inhibited her language. Until the age of 16 when she aged out of the “school,” her connection to her Secwépemc culture was strained. 

DeRose’s experiences at the “school” led to her not wanting to teach her children Secwepemctsín as their first language. Her children recall her wanting them to have an easier time with their peers, however they were still raised with pride of their Indigenous language and ancestry.

“She’s just always taught us to be proud of [the language] and carry it on and share what you know. Don’t be shy to share,” Lulu says.

As her children got older she began teaching the language and her son, David, recently spent over a year immersing himself in Secwepemctsín with her guidance. The cultural and language lessons he has received from his mom throughout his life “guided me in just being the person I am,” he says. 

David recalls his mom teaching the importance of respect in all aspects of life with a focus on respect and education, which she said was key for her children. 

“Always respect your Elders, respect the land, and get a really good education,” he recalls were his mom’s lessons. 

DeRose’s first formal teaching opportunity came from the interest of those around her. She was working at the campsite in the nearby community of Xats̓úll when community members expressed interest in the language. She began holding classes in the evenings which led to her moving into the school systems to teach high school students.

DeRose has taught people of all ages, and emphasizes the importance of starting the language learning process as young as you can. She notes that with older students, the deep sounds used in Secwepemctsín can be more difficult to pick up.

With the success of the Spi7uy Squqluts Language and Culture Society and the growing Secwépwmc programs throughout Secwepemcúl’ucw, DeRose hopes to bring conferences and language gatherings closer to home. She’d like to see events with fluent speaking programs to keep the language alive.

She says constant exposure to the language would make it easier to learn, including Secwépwmc and other Indigenous languages on signs, menus and greetings throughout the area. 

Although there are different dialects throughout the region, DeRose believes that as long as the language is being learned it’s promising.

“We still can understand each other with a different dialect,” she says.

Excellence in promoting culture and healing

While DeRose remains humble regarding the work she’s done in many Secwépemc communities when it comes to transmitting culture and language, she has been recognized with some high-profile accolades.

In 2018, DeRose was honoured as an Indspire award recipient in the Culture, Heritage & Spirituality branch in 2018. Marianne Ignace, who was the one to nominate DeRose, has spoken on the contributions she has made to research projects including a resource Ignace co-edited called Secwepemc People and Plants:Research Papers in Shuswap Ethnobotany.

The award ceremony showed how DeRose’s teachings endured the years as her daughter recalls Darrell Dennis, a former language student of her mom’s, speaking Secwepemctsín at the ceremony when welcoming her to the stage.

When she sees her peers or old students she speaks to them in Secwepemctsín, utilizing her language skills and testing how well people remember her teachings.

“We still speak to them when we see them … see if they remember,” she says with a laugh.

In June of this year, DeRose was honoured with a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from Thompson Rivers University. Her family, friends, and previous students were in attendance to commemorate the momentous occasion. 

Kúkwpi7 Fred Robbins from Esk’etemc First Nation was in the audience as well as Williams Lake First Nation Kúkwpi7 Willie Sellars, who spoke at the ceremony. He commended DeRose’s commitment to her culture and her willingness to share her teachings to create a prideful next generation. 

“Her deep commitment to promoting understanding, her respect for nature and her dedication to indigenous traditions, values and practices have deeply impacted the healing of Secwépemc communities,” he said at the ceremony. 

Today DeRose is still lending her knowledge to others in an effort to educate the generations on the Secwépemc language and culture. 

‘Everything gets thanked’

From working as a teacher in the Williams Lake school district, to creating resources with Indigenous organizations such as Three Corners Health Services Society who incorporate traditional practices into their healthcare programs, DeRose helps wherever she can.

Five years ago, DeRose was involved in a series of videos launched by Three Corners, in which she explains the benefits and harvesting of traditional melámen (medicine) including a juniper cleanse, oregon grape tea, and spruce salve. Along with the videos she helped create a melámen resource explaining the plants — what they can be used for and how to harvest and prepare them. 

In the spruce salve video, DeRose can be seen harvesting from the spruce trees, scraping the soft pieces off the tree bark.

“This is nice stuff,” she says as she combines the pitch with vaseline to create the sllég̓wmen (salve). While heating up the two ingredients, DeRose spoke on the importance of thanking the animals, nature and earth for the medicines they provide.

“Everything feeds off the earth so everything gets thanked,” she says.

“Of course I always say spruce is my favourite medicine for salve, but you can use any pitch.”

She works with the Spi7uy Squqluts Language and Culture Society, where she has helped give places Secwépemc names and mentors others in the language. She also attended a week-long culture immersion camp in July with the society, where they made homemade fruit leather and incorporated the language throughout the process. 

DeRose has commented on the evolution of Secwepemctsín and how the language we have today is not an exact replica of the language spoken many years ago. In a video with fellow Secwépemc Elder Jean William, DeRose explains her background with the language. 

She notes that there is more interest over the years as students are wanting to learn and are committed to learning Secwepemctsín.

“We’re hoping that they take off with the language,” she says.

DeRose also speaks of the change of the pronunciation over time and that the language now being learned is their own.

She continues to teach, learn and pass down her teachings to the next generations. 

“Always be proud to be Indian,” was a phrase that DeRose heard from her father, as a young child and she continues to showcase this through the practice of her culture.

“I let everybody know, in the whole world, who I am and where I came from,” she says.

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Reporting for this story was made possible in part through funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC, a philanthropic organization working to advance sustainable, equitable, and socially just land use across the province.