![]() ![]() A quotation from "Old Stories", from "Lnu and Indians We Were Called", p. Rita had several health scares that put her in the hospital, and Frank began to drink, which lead to physical abuse against Rita. They had very little money and suffered many hardships. Soon Rita and the children moved from Halifax to Eskasoni while Frank continued to work in Halifax, and eventually Sydney. After meeting with her on a few occasions, Frank asked Rita to marry him, and after some consideration, Rita said yes.īy the mid-1950s, the family had moved back to Nova Scotia. After dinner, Rita noticed she had lost her keys. She met Frank in a restaurant in Boston while dining with her then-fiancé. However, this marriage would never occur, as Rita soon met Frank Joe, another Mi'kmaq man from Cape Breton. Eventually she met a Mi'kmaq man from Pictou Landing and they became engaged. After the baby was born, she moved to Boston where she had two more children in ill-fated relationships. She had a child while living in Halifax, which her sister adopted. 62) A quotation from "Battered Women", from "Lnu and Indians We Were Called", p. "If you're calling my friend a squaw, we're all squaws, because we're all Native." (Joe, p. Rita swung at the man with her purse, hitting him with the large brass buckle on the outside. She asked him who he was shouting at and as he indicated one of her friends. In her autobiography, Rita recalls a time when she and two of her friends were walking down Barrington Street and a man shouted "Squaw!" as they walked by. ![]() In Halifax, Rita learned many lessons about the world, but she also taught them right back. Rita jumped at the chance for employment, and was off to Halifax the following day. The nuns had given her two options: she could go to British Columbia to potentially become a nun herself, or they could get her a job at the Halifax Infirmary. 48).Īt age sixteen, Rita left the school. Some of us carry that on our shoulders still our anger is still there" (Joe, p. "We were not allowed to express our Native language, culture and spirituality, and these things are very important to us. Many students were subject to mental and physical abuse, and they were forbidden from participating in their own Mi'kmaq culture: ![]() Children can't help themselves when they cough." (Joe, p. We were even told when to yawn and cough. You can't help having a chip on your shoulder if you are told, military style, when to go to the bathroom, when to eat, when to do this and that, when to pray. "It is true that bad things happened while I was there. While some of the nuns who ran the school were kind and taught the students valuable skills, many were very unkind: Rita's experience at the school left her with mixed emotions. She wrote to the local Indian agent herself and asked him to take her to the Shubenacadie Residential School. By age twelve, Rita decided she could not stay where she was. On occasion, Indian agents would come to the house looking for Rita to take her away to a residential school, but her foster parents told her to hide from them. ![]() Poem #11 from "The Poems of Rita Joe", 1978 Alcoholism played a prominent factor in the home where she lived, and she spent much of her time there living in fear of what might happen to her. After her father's death, Rita was sent to live in Oxford Junction, despite her father's dying wishes. However, tragedy soon struck in 1942 when Rita's father became sick with pneumonia and died. At age nine she was reunited with her father, two of her brothers, and her sister. She experienced many hardships during this time. For the next five years she lived with a series of family members, friends, and in foster homes. Annie passed away when Rita was only five, leaving her father to raise Rita and her siblings. Rita was born in Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia in 1932 to Joseph and Annie Bernard. Who was Rita Joe? Quotation from poem #19 from "The Poems of Rita Joe", 1978 This year on Monday, Februwe will commemorate the life and the cultural legacy of Mi'kmaq poet Rita Joe. Each year a new honouree is highlighted for their contributions to Nova Scotian history and culture. Written and compiled by Halifax Public Libraries' Local & Family History Team What is Heritage Day?Ĭelebrated on the third Monday in February, Nova Scotia Heritage Day is a provincial holiday that seeks to celebrate its significant people, places, and events. Nova Scotia Heritage Day 2023 Honouree Rita Joe, Nova Scotia Heritage Day ![]()
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