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I Lost My Talk You Took Away Summary

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It’s an accepted fact that there have been countless injustices against the FNMI peoples of Canada, which has resulted in a substantial loss of culture and identity within many communities, which is often considered a particularly heartbreaking moment in Canada’s history. The cultural erasure inflicted upon FNMI communities by colonial forces represents an unforgiving time in our past that demands immediate recognition and redress for reconciliation between Canada and the FNMI peoples. This deliberate attempt to annihilate Indigenous languages, traditions, and culture inflicted lasting and devastating effects on FNMI communities which are still present to this day. It is essential for Canadians to acknowledge this painful history and work toward …show more content…

Rita Joe’s poem employs various literary elements to highlight the cultural genocide experienced by Indigenous people, particularly through the forced attendance at residential schools. A major loss was their language. The speaker bluntly states, “I lost my talk / The talk you took away” (Joe 1-2), implying that FNMI children were stripped of their native languages from a young age which ultimately ended in cultural erasure and preventing many Indigenous individuals from ever having the chance to feel what it truly means to be Indigenous. There is no ambiguity about who is responsible as even the Canadian government themselves have acknowledged it, as they had enforced assimilation within Indigenous children to a more western European culture throughout the time it has existed and took many years before any change was considered. Additionally, Rita Joe used a strong example of allusion when referring to “Shubenacadie school” (Joe 4), a residential school located in Nova Scotia which was a major institution in regard to the amount of Indigenous children taken

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Rita Joe was a highly esteemed Mi'kmaq poet and a prominent figure in Canadian literature. She was born on March 15, 1932, in Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, and passed away on March 20, 2007, in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Recognized as the poet laureate of the Mi'kmaq people, Joe's poetry speaks of Indigenous identity and the lasting impact of residential schools in Canada. Her works shed light on the struggles, resilience, and rich cultural heritage of Indigenous communities. Joe’s significant contributions were honoured with several awards and honours, including the Order of Canada and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.

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“Indian School Road” by Chris Benjamin sheds light on the horrific experiences of Indigenous children and families at residential schools. It is a non-fiction book that explores the impact of the residential school system in Canada on Indigenous Communities. The author focuses specifically on the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia, where Indigenous children were taken and forced to attend the school from 1930-1967. The Canadian government established these schools intending to indoctrinate Indigenous children into Christian ways, with churches as the main locations and priests and nuns as educators. The book uncovers the history of the Shubenacadie Residential School, exposing the responsible individuals, the government's passive

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By doing this, colonial Canadians assumed that aboriginal cultural and spiritual beliefs were invalid in relation to European beliefs (244). The problem with ridding the First Nations Peoples of their languages, as Williston points out is to “deprive them of the sense of place that has defined them for thousands of years” (245). The private schooling system was an attack on First Nations identities, and their identity is rooted in “a respect for nature and its processes” (245).

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The experiences and struggles of Indigenous peoples in Canada have been a recurring theme in many literary works. Rita Joe's "I Lost My Talk" and Basil H. Johnston's "The Prophecy" are two such works that explore the impact of forced assimilation on Indigenous culture and language. Both works demonstrate how the loss of language and culture can have a lasting impact on Indigenous peoples and their identities. While both works share similar themes, they differ greatly in terms of structure and literary devices. In "I Lost My Talk," Joe uses free verse and repetition to convey the confusion and chaos experienced by Indigenous children, while in "The Prophecy," Johnston uses structured prose and dialogue to make his story more engaging and understandable for readers.

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