Dr. Bruce Damer - Doctor of Technology, honoris causa

Distinguished astrobiologist Dr. Bruce Damer is recognized for his groundbreaking hypothesis on the origin of life, for his innovations with NASA and the space community to develop mission designs, and for promoting scientific research into the potential for psychedelics and mindfulness practices to catalyze creativity for problem solving in technology, design and leadership.

He started his studies at TRU in 1979 and has become a world-renowned astrobiologist through his collaboration with Prof. David Deamer, both based at the University of California Santa Cruz, Department of Biomolecular Engineering. With Deamer and colleagues worldwide, he developed and is testing a new scenario for the origin of life on Earth: the Hot Spring Hypothesis. The hypothesis impacted fields as diverse as evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence and philosophy.

For the past 25 years, Damer has worked extensively with NASA on mission simulation, innovative spacecraft designs, landing site selection for Mars life detection missions and, most recently, co-created a spacecraft called SHEPHERD, which could extract resources from asteroids, providing humanity a viable, sustainable path to expansion into the solar system.

In the 1980s and ‘90s, he developed some of the first software using graphical user interfaces and helped pioneer the launch of ‘avatar’ virtual worlds on the internet. He is co-founder and president of the Center for MINDS and chief scientist of the BIOTA Institute.

Damer is a global speaker on topics in science, space, the psychedelic experience, and the philosophical and spiritual implications of the scientific quest to discover our deepest origins. He is a two-time TEDx speaker, a guest on numerous podcasts, featured in several TV documentaries and a widely cited author of peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and popular articles.

He has received numerous research grants from NASA and others, including the TRU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019 and the NASA Group Achievement Award in 2006.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly for Damer, he has a personal mission to inspire young people to pursue careers and lives imbued with a creative spark and a passion to make a difference for the future of humanity.

Dr. Cecilia DeRose – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Dr. Cecilia Dick DeRose of the Esk’etemc First Nation is a Secwepemctsín teacher, advisor and celebrated champion of language revitalization. Nationally recognized as an Indigenous knowledge keeper and contributor to communities at large, 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.

Despite experiencing life in residential school as a child, she has gone on to work in reviving and preserving her nation’s language and culture. Kye7e (Grandmother) DeRose has been committed to teaching future generations across the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District for almost 20 years. She is highly regarded for tirelessly sharing her wisdom and knowledge with faculty and students at the University of British Columbia, Royal Roads University, Simon Fraser University and Thompson Rivers University, and with the works of Dr. Marianne Ignace.

A prominent advocate for Indigenous voices, Kye7e DeRose co-wrote and edited a comprehensive guide to Secwépemc ethnobotany, and created programming that preserves language and tradition as a leader of the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council Skills Development team. She was an elder advisor to the Culturally Safe Dementia Care research project dedicated to supporting First Nations Elders with memory loss. In the 1980s, she sat on the Katie Ross Inquiry in Williams Lake and provided cross-cultural training for the area’s hospital, RCMP and courts.

Kye7e DeRose now teaches the Secwepemctsín language at Elder College in Williams Lake, serves as an elder advisor at TRU and is a board member of the Spi7uy Squqluts Language and Culture Society. She also contributes her expertise for FirstVoices Secwépemc, an online platform for Indigenous language revitalization.

In 2018, she received the Indspire Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality for her expertise in teaching Secwepemctsín, as well as her handiwork with beads and animal hides, and her knowledge of traditional and medicinal plants.

Kye7e DeRose’s dedication and leadership continue to inspire the next generation of Indigenous leaders, facilitating positive change for themselves and their communities going forward.

Dr. Garry Gottfriedson – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Dr. Garry Gottfriedson from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc is an accomplished Indigenous poet, author, academic who is passionate about honouring Truth and Reconciliation. A powerful spokesperson for the Secwépemc First Nation, Gottfriedson tirelessly advocates for Secwépemc people, communities and language preservation. He has worked in education for over 50 years, including several years at TRU, as a teacher, advisor, researcher and administrator. His work has created partnership opportunities and fostered intercultural understanding among Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. A world-renowned poet, Gottfriedson has thirteen published books, including Skin Like Mine, Clinging to Bone and Bent Back Tongue, and was inducted into the International Library of Poetry Hall of Fame in 1997.

Dr. Kevin Loring – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Dr. Kevin Loring is an accomplished playwright, actor and director from Nlaka’pamux First Nation who uses his art to amplify, promote and advocate for Indigenous voices. Recognized for his versatility, generosity and leadership, Loring continues to build understanding across cultures, showcase the truth and transform lives.

A TRU Distinguished Alum, Loring graduated as a university transfer student in the arts program from the University College of the Cariboo in 1997. He is also a graduate of Studio 58, Langara College's professional theatre training program. His acting credits include radio, television, animation, film, and stage.

Loring’s work as a playwright includes Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, Thanks for Giving and the Governor General’s Award-winning play, Where the Blood Mixes, which explores the intergenerational effects of the residential school system. He co-wrote, co-produced and co-hosted the award-winning documentary Canyon War: The Untold Story, about the First Nations-gold miner conflict during the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858. With fellow Lyttonite and organized crime writer for the Toronto Star, Peter Edwards, he co-authored the book Lytton: Climate Change, Colonialism and Life Before the Fire, being published by Penguin Random House in summer 2024.

An admired and influential First Nations theatre artist, Loring is the founding and current artistic director of Savage Society, a performance art theatre that promotes Indigenous storytelling. He is the inaugural and current artistic director of Indigenous Theatre at the National Arts Centre of Canada in Ottawa, bringing Indigenous stories to national and international audiences and empowering First Nations artists across Turtle Island and around the world.

Loring was recognized with the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award in 2017. His work continues to inspire artists, writers, and thinkers alike, creating a space where Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and knowledge can better be understood, recognized and celebrated.

Dr. Muriel Sasakamoose – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Dr. Muriel Sasakamoose is a member of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, an educator and tireless advocate for justice and equality. She has touched countless lives as a champion of equality for Indigenous women and girls and as an advocate for rehabilitation and healing of Indigenous offenders.

Sasakamoose is a woman of firsts, beginning in the 1940s when, as a small child, she became the first Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc status girl to attend a public school in Kamloops. She was a founding member of the BC Native Women’s Association, the first Indigenous person hired by BC Telephone, the first Indigenous woman to become a member of the board of directors at the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation, the first Indigenous woman to administer a provincial and federal election, and the first Indigenous person to sit on the BC Parole Board.

For 60 years she has fought for equality for Indigenous women and girls. In 1982, with the BC Native Women’s Association, Sasakamoose appeared before a special committee, advocating to change the Indian Act to restore status to Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men. The association succeeded when Bill C-31 was passed in 1985. Sasakamoose continues to educate and speak to the public and TRU students about Bill C-31, and about Secwépemc history and culture.

A trailblazer in Indigenous rights and restorative justice, Sasakamoose is one of the founding elders of the Cnukwenten First Nations Court, established in March 2013. It is a healing court composed of Elders who use traditional values and insights to support the sentencing and healing of Indigenous offenders. She also sits on the Aboriginal Community Justice Council — one of the last two original Elders who founded that court. She regularly mentors other Elders, lawyers and judges, helping to make important changes for Indigenous peoples involved in BC’s court systems.