One Arrow Left: The Memoir of Secwepemc Knowledge Keeper Cecilia DeRose

Born in 1935 in the village of Esket, Cecilia DeRose was welcomed into a loving, supportive Secwepemc family. Growing up in an isolated meadow, Cecilia was the fourth of ten children, spending much of her early years caring for younger siblings. Ranch life was in their blood; Cecilia’s mother, Amelia Joe, was the progeny of a white ranch hand, Joe Smith, and her Secwepemc mother, Martha Williams; her father, Matthew Dick, was well-known in the Williams Lake rodeo circuit and played for the famous Alkali Braves hockey team. Navigating the complexities of being a mixed-race family, both within and outside of the Secwepemc community, would be a lifelong source of tension, which Cecilia handles with grace, tenacity and humour.

Like their parents before them, Cecilia and her siblings were sent to St. Joseph’s Mission residential school near Williams Lake. At seven years old she eagerly awaited her turn to join her older sister and brother at the mission, where she could escape the drudgery of washing diapers and caring for her younger siblings at home. Nothing could have prepared her for the cruelty of institutionalized life. Dreams of an education that might lead to a career as a teacher, lawyer, or journalist were dashed. Residential school was hell, and Cecilia was left with the scars to prove it.

In 1956, Cecilia married non-Indigenous ranch hand Lenny DeRose and lost her Indigenous status. Nevertheless, on the insistence of her father Matthew Dick, Cecilia remained true to her Secwepemc roots and traditions. She eventually regained her status and became an ambassador of Secwepemc language and cultural practices. As she raised her own six children, she took great care to bestow in them the cultural teachings of the Secwepemc identity. She eventually taught the Secwepemcstin language in the public-school system, fulfilling her dream of teaching and reinforcing her belief that “we have one arrow left in our quiver and that’s education―we must use it wisely.”

Today, Cecilia is recognized nationally as an Indigenous knowledge keeper. She has provided cross-cultural training for hospitals, courts, and law enforcement institutions, and shared her knowledge on projects ranging from ethnobotany research to culturally safe elder care. In 2018, she received the Indspire Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality. In 2024, she was honoured by Thompson Rivers University with a Doctor of Letter, honoris causa, for her indispensable contributions to language revitalization.

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 and siblings 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 retain her 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 recently proclaimed Chancellor, as her first official act in the role.

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.