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House Hansard - 159

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 159 - Feb/13/23
Mr. Jaime Battiste (Sydney—Victoria, Lib.)
  • Feb/13/23 2:06:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Heritage Day in Nova Scotia, where next week we will honour the beautiful words and life of the late Mi’kmaq Poet Laureate Rita Joe. Rita Joe’s work narrated the challenges of indigeneity through her lived experience told through magnificent and heartfelt poetry. A survivor of the Indian residential school, Rita Joe began writing in the mid-1970s and is well known for her poem I Lost My Talk, where she asked readers, “Let me find my talk / So I can teach you about me.” She wrote seven books, including Poems of Rita Joe and The Mi'kmaq Anthology. I was honoured and inspired to live close by Rita Joe, a treasured elder from the Eskasoni, who showed that it was possible for a Mi’kmaq speaker to soar to great heights. In 1989, Rita Joe was inducted into the Order of Canada, and next week her resilience will be celebrated as part of Heritage Day. Wela’liek Rita. Mekitelmulnek lapju.
175 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
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