Cecilia Dick DeRose was born into a hardworking Secwepemc family at Esket (Alkali Lake) on January 14, 1935. She was the fourth of ten children born to Amelia Joe and Matthew Dick, and was raised on a remote meadow a day-and-a-half’s journey by horseback from the village of Esket.

At seven years old, Cecilia was sent to St. Joseph’s Mission, the same residential school near Williams Lake where her parents andsiblings were sent. There, instead of the education she hoped would lead her to a career as a teacher, lawyer or journalist, she endured cruel treatment so familiar to those who were forced to attend residential school. Despite this, she retained her Secwepemctsin language and developed a strength of character that would carry her through the rest of life.

After marrying a non-Indigenous man and losing her Indigenous status, Cecilia fought to retainher Secwepemc culture and traditions, and eventually regained her status. She went on to become an ambassador of Secwepemc language and cultural practices. She eventually taught the Secwepemcstin language in the public-school system, fulfilling her dream of becoming a teacher.

On June 4, 2024, 89-year-old Secewpemc elder, matriarch and knowledge-keeper Cecilia Dick DeRose received an Honorary Doctor of Letters, honoris causa,from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC. This prestigious recognition was bestowed upon Cecilia by her daughter, DeDe DeRose, TRU’s Sage Birchwater is the author of Chiwid, Williams Lake: Gateway to the Cariboo Chilcotin, and the bestselling Chilcotin Chronicles. He was a staff writer for the Williams Lake Tribune until 2009, and is the editor of Gumption & Grit: Extraordinary Women of the Cariboo Chilcotin (Caitlin Press,2009). His most recent book, Talking to the Story Keepers: Tales from the Chilcotin Plateau, was published by Caitlin Press in 2022. Sage lives in Williams Lake, BC, and continues to write about the Chilcotin.

One Arrow Left

$26.00