N.S. Heritage Day to honour residential school survivor, Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe

MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION, N.S. -

Rita Joe was a residential school survivor and a poet laureate of Mi'kmaq nation whose legacy still lives large to this day.

"She was our true leader, our teacher," said Jeff Ward, the general manager of the Membertou Heritage Park in Sydney, N.S., and the son of a residential school survivor.

Ward said it means a lot that this year, Nova Scotia's February holiday will honour someone who lived through a residential school.

"They're acknowledging that it did happen," Ward said. “They're acknowledging the education that needs to be shared. Rita Joe was part of the residential school. She was educated there but at the same time, she wrote about what happened."

Rita Joe's most famous poem, called "I Lost My Talk," told of a language taken away.

Years later, a new generation made it its own with the song and music video called "Gentle Warrior."

When Rita Joe passed away in March 2007, one of her daughters shared one of her simple secrets to writing.

"I asked her one time, I said 'Mom, how do you do it?'” Frances Sylliboy told CTV Atlantic at the time. “And she said, 'There's these words floating in the air and I catch them.'"

Much like Rita Joe, Jarvis Googoo is well-known for promoting the Mi'kmaq language, which last summer was officially proclaimed Nova Scotia's first language.

"She was born in my community of We'koqma'q First Nation," Googoo said. "It would mean so much if folks just took a little extra time to learn about who Rita Joe was, and I'll even say this, learn a little bit about the Mi'kmaq language that day too."

A community celebration of Rita Joe's life and works will be held Feb. 16 at Allison Bernard Memorial High School on Eskasoni First Nation, N.S.

On Nova Scotia's Heritage Day itself, there will be a full day of events at Sydney's Centre 200, all honouring the poet who rose from poverty to become a voice of her people.