Established in 2015
A scholarship fund to support Mi’kmaw students pursuing education
Rita Joe (née Rita Bernard), was born and spent her childhood on We’koqma’q First Nation on Cape Breton Island. She lived with foster families after her mother’s death when she was just 5 years old.
Orphaned when she was 10, Rita left the island to attend the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School when she was 12. She later returned to Cape Breton to live on the Eskasoni First Nation Reserve, where she and her husband raised 10 children, including 2 adopted sons.
Rita recalled being told constantly at the residential school, “You’re no good.” She began writing to challenge such negative messages, which she encountered again as an adult, in the books her own children were reading. In the prologue to her memoir, Rita states, “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.” Her first collection of poetry, The Poems of Rita Joe, was published in 1978.
Over the years, Rita Joe has received many accolades and honours. She was a member of both the Order of Canada and the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award and was awarded a number of honorary doctorates. Rita Joe is often referred to as the “poet laureate” of the Mi’kmaw people.
This fund was established by Rita’s family to generate scholarships, bursaries and awards for Mi’kmaw students in memory of Rita Joe, a brilliant and much beloved Mi’kmaw woman from Waycobah, who was passionate about writing poetry and children’s books particularly as they related to Mi’kmaw language and culture in Nova Scotia and Canada.
Scholarship
The scholarship is to provide recognition for exemplary achievements in the life of the individual or a youth group. who consistently contribute to community well being. The recognition may be honours or monetary as determined by the Adjudication Committee.
The broad scope of the scholarship elevates the seven sacred teachings of the Mi’kmaw culture, language, traditional values, academic achievements, community involvement and personal wellness/wellbeing. The end result for the person receiving these scholarships is to recognize and appreciate that this is a gift of personal value to be remembered in years ahead.
Typically one award will be granted on an annual basis. However, awards may be made on a more or less frequent basis as the fundholder recommends and as income levels and CFNS permit.