In Memory of Elder Lou Demerais
Written by: Cynthia Lung | Date: October 21, 2025
It is with deep respect and gratitude that we reflect on the life and contributions of Elder Lou Demerais — Cree & Métis — whose decades of leadership, cultural mentorship, and public‑health advocacy have left an indelible mark on Indigenous health in British Columbia and beyond.
A Life of Commitment and Service
Lou Demerais’s journey is one of determined service and cultural stewardship. He was a founding member of the Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS), serving on its initial board in 1990, and then as its Executive Director from 1991 until his retirement in 2020. Throughout his tenure, he brought Indigenous knowledge, healing frameworks, and community‑based values to the forefront of urban Indigenous health care.
He held other leadership roles, including Chair of the health table for the Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council and membership on the University of British Columbia President’s Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.
Lou’s voice also reached national policy forums: for example, he spoke before a House of Commons committee about the difficulties of federal urban Aboriginal strategies.
Through all of this, his guiding principle was one of cultural safety, harm reduction, and a strengths‑based mindset — not simply treating illness, but nurturing wellness in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions.
Contributions to the Cedar Project
One of the most significant arenas of Lou’s influence was the Cedar Project — a community‑driven research initiative exploring health, well‑being and risk among Indigenous young people who use or have used drugs in Vancouver and Prince George.
As an Elder and member of the Cedar Project Partnership, Lou helped anchor the research in Indigenous governance, ethics, and cultural frameworks. For instance, the Partnership — which includes Elders such as Lou alongside Indigenous service‑providers — ensures that data is treated not merely as numbers, but as voices and relations.
Lou’s voice is quoted in the Cedar reflections:
“The participants are the experts, you’re not.” And in describing the research paradigm:
“First, our paradigm is to build on young Indigenous people’s strengths while acknowledging grief and historical trauma.”
Under his guidance, the Cedar Project published key evidence on how experiences of child‑welfare, residential school impacts, sexual abuse and discrimination are interwoven with health risks, including HIV/HCV infection and overdose mortality.
His role was not simply advisory: he helped shape culturally safe protocols, ensure Indigenous governance of data, ethics and interpretation, and mentor students and early‑career researchers in how to walk in ceremony, humility and relational accountability.
Work in Indigenous Public Health Training & Mentorship
Lou also significantly impacted broader public health through his involvement with the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health at UBC and the Indigenous Public Health Training Institutes. In a 2020 event, he shared his knowledge and wisdom as class Elder.
In his mentorship role, he modelled how public health must not be imposed, but co‑created with Indigenous communities — rooted in culture, relationship and accountability. His knowledge helped shape a generation of Indigenous public health professionals who carry forward the values of sovereignty, culture, and healing.
Elder Lou Demerais leaves behind a powerful legacy — of building bridges between Indigenous knowledge and public health practice; of steering research toward healing; of caring for the most vulnerable as family; of guiding the next generation with humility and strength. We give thanks for his life and his work.
May his spirit continue to inspire the many lives and communities he touched — and may we continue walking the path he helped blaze, in the good way he taught, with love, respect, truth, compassion and honour.
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