Rita Joe is one of Mi'kmaq's most respected poets. She has not only received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, but is also referred to as the "poet laureate" of the Mi'kmaq people. Rita Joe is not afraid to tell people how people in her culture really are, and not how they are portrayed.

"Indians have in the past been portrayed the bad guys, I write the postivie image of my people, the Mi'kmaq" ~Rita Joe