Much-loved Elder warns university students to care for the environment

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Secwepemc Elder Mary Thomas of Salmon Arm visited the University of Victoria recently to share her traditional knowledge of the environment and plant use. In all, Thomas gave five lectures, two of which were advertised as public Lansdowne lectures, and the others to classes in Child and Youth Care, History, and Education. She also was able to give interviews to two journalism students.

"I was very fortunate that my mother was so knowledgeable in the things I talk about today," said Thomas during one presentation. The knowledge runs deep in the family.

"My grandmother never went to a tree or a bush or even broke a branch without first meditating. She would hold our hands, hum a chant. It was her spiritual prayer for the gifts of mother nature. My grandmother would say, 'what you do to the plants, you do to earth and yourself." She said her grandmother always put something back to thank Mother Earth.

Thomas talked about birch trees and their use in basket making, and how to cut the tree to get maximum use of the bark.

"I have a basket that I made and use it every year to gather berries with. Nowadays, the people that go picking berries always use plastic buckets." Thomas talked about how plastic breaks and ends up in the landfills.

"If we can find alternatives and reduce the waste going into our dumping grounds then our environment will be much better off," Thomas warned.

Thomas also spoke about how clear cut logging is destroying the environment.

"I am seeing a lot of damage to the mountainside. There is lots of snow in the winter and nothing to hold back the soil when it melts. We are depriving our trees, our forests, our plants and medicines by clear-cutting.

"We are having problems with an area in our territory that is now a ski area," said Thomas. The Sun Peaks Ski Resort is planning on a $70 million expansion for the sake of recreation. Thomas' concern is what it will do to the environment.

"They get their water from a little lake and every day they wash their sheets and pillow cases using detergent that is harmful to the fish and plants in the water."

Mary was recorded on video tape during her visit to the university.

"Mary really had a wonderful time," said Dr. Nancy Turner, a professor at UVIC and noted ethnobotanist. "She kept saying over and over, how nice everyone was to her, and how much she feels a part of our university. She enjoyed giving the lectures so much, and is particularly pleased that we recorded and videoed them, so that they would be available long into the future. We hope to transcribe her talks and have them in "hard copy" form for her and others who would like to read what she had to say."

In 2000 she was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria.

Dr. Thomas is an 83-year-old grandmother and a recipient of the 2001 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. This year, the University College of the Cariboo will be giving her an honorary doctorate.