Rita Joe facts for kids

Rita Joe (born Rita Bernard; March 15, 1932 – March 20, 2007) was a famous Mi'kmaq poet and songwriter. Many people called her the Poet Laureate of the Mi'kmaq people, which means she was a very important poet for her community.

Rita Joe's Early Life and Education

Rita Joe was born on March 15, 1932, in Whycocomagh, a place on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her parents, Joseph and Annie Bernard, were both from the Mi'kmaq First Nations. Rita had four brothers and sisters.

When Rita was five years old, her mother passed away. She then lived in foster care for a few years. Later, she returned to live with her father and siblings on the Whycocomagh reserve.

In 1942, when Rita was ten, she became an orphan. She was sent to the Shubenacadie Residential School. At this school, she was not allowed to speak her native Mi'kmaq language. She also could not practice her own culture. Rita faced difficult times there until she was sixteen and finished school. After leaving the school, she had to learn her native language again by talking with other Mi'kmaq speakers.

Life After Residential School

After finishing school, Rita worked at different jobs in Nova Scotia. She then moved to Boston, where she met Frank Joe. In 1954, she married Frank. Together, they had eight children and also fostered two boys.

Rita Joe's Writing Career

Rita Joe began sharing her stories and poems with the world. In 1978, her first book, The Poems of Rita Joe, was published. Throughout her life, she published six more books. One of these was her autobiography, Song of Rita Joe. In this book, she wrote about her experiences at the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School.

Rita Joe was known for speaking honestly about residential schools. She also wrote about what it was like to live in a "White World" as a Native American person. She became a strong voice for her people. She helped promote Native American art and culture in both the United States and Canada.

Awards and Recognition

Rita Joe received many important awards for her work and her contributions.

• In 1989, she became a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
• In 1992, she was invited to join the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. She was one of the few people who were not politicians to receive this honor.
• In 1997, she received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. This award celebrates the achievements of Indigenous people in Canada.
• She also received several honorary degrees from universities. These included Dalhousie University and Cape Breton University.

In her later years, Rita Joe suffered from Parkinson's disease. She passed away on March 20, 2007.

Rita Joe's Lasting Impact

Rita Joe's work continues to inspire many people.

I Lost My Talk Performance

In January 2016, a special performance called I Lost My Talk was shown at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. This show was based on Rita Joe's poem of the same name. The performance helped shine a light on the history of residential schools in Canada.

Rita Joe Memorial Literacy Day

Every year, Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia, holds a special day to honor Rita Joe. This day is called the Rita Joe Memorial Literacy Day. It started in 2012. The goal is to inspire students to read, write, and create their own stories. It also helps keep the Mi'kmaq language alive. The day includes writing contests for students and visits from professional writers and artists.

The Rita Joe National Song Project

Rita Joe's poem "I Lost My Talk" also inspired the Rita Joe National Song Project. This project was started by Canada's National Arts Centre. Rita Joe had challenged Indigenous youth to "find their voices, share their stories, and celebrate their talents." This project asked young people from five First Nations communities in Canada to write, record, and make a music video for a song based on Joe's poem. These videos were shown in January 2016, along with a performance by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Rita Joe's Published Works

• Poems of Rita Joe (1978)
• Song of Eskasoni (1988)
• Lnu And Indians We're Called (1991)
• Kelusultiek (1995)
• Song of Rita Joe: Autobiography of a Mi'kmaq Poet (1996)
• The Mi'kmaq Anthology (1997)
• We are the dreamers: recent and early poetry (1999)

Inspiring Words from Rita Joe

Rita Joe shared many powerful thoughts through her words:

• "Indians have in the past been portrayed as the bad guys, I write the positive image of my people, the Mi'kmaq."
• "When I started the first time writing, I was trying to inspire all minorities with my work. To make others happy with my work is what I wanted to do."
• "My greatest wish is that there will be more writing from my people, and that our children will read it. I have said again and again that our history would be different if it had been expressed by us."
• "The positive outlook that I have worked on for so long now turns me off the negative. I look for the good."

See also

• Nova Scotia Heritage Day