- Rita Joe
Rita Joe, PC , CM , LL.D (
March 15 ,1932 –March 20 ,2007 ) was aMi'kmaq -Canadian poet and song writer, called the Poet Laureate of the Mi'kmaq people.Born Rita Bernard in
Whycocomagh ,Cape Breton Island ,Nova Scotia , she was the daughter of Josie and Annie Bernard. In 1942, she was orphaned.In 1978, her first book, "The Poems of Rita Joe" was published. Over her lifetime she had six more books published.
In 1992, she was called to the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada , one of the few non-politicians ever appointed.She married Frank Joe in 1954. They had eight children and adopted 2 boys. During her later years, Joe suffered from
Parkinson's disease .Works
* "Poems of Rita Joe" (1978)
* "Song of Eskasoni" (1988)
* "Lnu And Indians We're Called" (1991, ISBN 0-9215-5622-5)
* "Kelusultiek" (1995)
* "Song of Rita Joe: Autobiography of a Mi'kmaq Poet" (1996, ISBN 0-8032-7594-3)
* "The Mi'kmaq Anthology" (1997)
* "We are the dreamers: recent and early poetry" (1999, ISBN 1-8994-1546-2)Honours
* In 1989 she was made a Member of the
Order of Canada .
* In 1992 she was made a Member of theQueen's Privy Council for Canada .
* In 1993 she was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Laws fromDalhousie University .
* In 1997 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University College of Cape Breton (nowCape Breton University ).
* In 1997 she received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award.
* In 1998 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters fromMount Saint Vincent University .Quotes
* "Indians have in the past been portrayed 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."References
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*External links
* [http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A156 Native American Authors Project Bio]
* [http://tribalfires.com/ritajoe/ Tribal Fires Bio]
* [http://www.ammsa.com/achieve/AA97-R.Joe.html Aboriginal Multi-Media Society Bio]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010352 Rita Joe's] entry in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1 The Canadian Encyclopedia]
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