Basil Alphonse
Basil Alphonse | xitsulenuhw
January 10, 1902 – February 15, 1980
xitsulenuhw Basil Alphonse was a respected Elder and Knowledge Keeper from the Quw’utsun First Nation. He was a fluent speaker of the Hul’q’umi’num’ language and generously shared his language and culture with linguists and researchers.
He was born on January 10, 1902 to hwulqwimut1 Alphonse George and sluqaliye’ Cecelia Mishal2, on the kw’amutsun (Quamichan) Reserve. His father was a canoe maker and both of his parents raced canoes when he was young. As a child, Basil held the name sal’sum’tun’. He spent three or four years at Kuper Island Residential School.
Alphonse was married twice. His first marriage, to Margaret Canute, ended at some time in the 1920s. From this marriage he had a daughter, Adeline, who was raised by her grandparents and maintained a close relationship with his other children. In 1929 he married for a second time to qwulsimtunaat Cecelia Leo and the couple lived together for many years at kw’amutsun. They had six children, Leo (1931), Ruby (1932), Theresa (1933), Alphonse (1935), Delores (1940), and Muriel (Molly) (1942). During his lifetime he worked as a faller in the logging industry and farmed the family property. He was also a skilled canoe puller and often participated in canoe races in Esquimalt, Saanich, and other areas of Vancouver Island.
Basil and his wife Cecelia were prominent members of their community and were known as experts in language and culture. They shared their language and their traditions with their children, training them in longhouse culture, canoe pulling, language, Indigenous protocols and other snuw’uyulh. Basil was initiated into the longhouse and spent considerable time traveling to the dances on Vancouver Island, on the mainland, and in Washington. Both he and his wife traveled to dances when their children were young. According to their daughter Ruby Peter, both Basil and Cecelia were very busy people, always going somewhere and often working or participating in cultural activities.
xitsulenuhw Basil Alphonse worked for many years sharing his language and culture with family, community members, new learners, linguists and researchers. He died on February 15, 1980 at age 78. We are thankful for the important work he carried out, and are grateful for the knowledge repository his sharing created.
- Also written xwulqwimut.
- Also written Michel and Misheal. Cecelia was the sister of Andrew Misheal.