I highly recommend I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe with art by Pauline Young.



This is Rita Joe's personal poem about her experience of losing her native language after being sent to a residential school in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. This moving poem creates an important opportunity to teach younger generations the importance of family, culture, and mutual respect. Parents and teachers can use this book to help children understand and discuss parts of history that, while ugly and inhumane, remain imperative to learn about.

Rita Joe's poem serves as a soft introduction into, quite likely, the darkest period of Canadian history. That makes it a wonderful book for children. But the reality was far worse.

Beginning in the 1880s, government officials forcibly removed thousands of children from their families. The goal of these schools was to repress and remove any semblance of their culture. The reeducation typically forbade the children from speaking their mother tongue or engage in anything related to their Aboriginal heritage. The rules were strict, and punishment for even minor infractions was severe, even brutal at times. With little to no accountability to the outside world, children experienced physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse. While gradual reforms attempted to make the school system more humane, the fact that these institutions continued operating en masse throughout the 20th century solidifies the belief of many that these schools were a type of "cultural genocide." The last one finally closed in 1996.

Despite formal apologies from the Canadian government and some churches involved, the effects of this nightmare of history are far-reaching. Healing for many of the victims has been slow and painful, if it happens at all. A secondary result, and no less painful, proved to be an inability to assimilate into either culture. Many students left the schools with only a cursory education and often experienced just as much discrimination from white society as before. Some who returned to their families often felt lost, finding it a challenge to reconnect with their culture. Alcohol and drug abuse became (and still are) frequent crutches to try to escape the emotional and social pain, and suicide is all too common.

This book powerfully addresses the loss of one's identity and the consequences that can result, while also providing a basis for hope. She makes clear that each individual has a responsibility toward fellow humans. And that it should be cared for with deep respect.

Regardless if you have children or not, you should read this poem. Afterward, visit https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/ to read a more in-depth history. I also recommend the documentary, "We Were Children," though it it not for the faint of heart.

AWBB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. E - Appropriate for readers of all ages.

I received a free copy for review, however all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I finally read both I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe and I'm Finding My Talk by Rebecca Thomas, both illustrated by Pauline Young. These works of accessible poetry in picture book form were intended to be read as companions to one another, so that's how I read them. They make for a gentle introduction to the topics of losing culture and language in the Residential School System in Canada (in I Lost My Talk) and trying to find culture and language that your family has lost before you were even born (in I'm Finding My Talk). The poetry is beautiful and the art is stunning. I could see them both making excellent education resources either in schools or at home.

I would definitely recommend both, especially together!

A take on what happened to the author, a nice visual rather than the text with random pictures. Tells the story of losing ones language at that time in history for many.

This is a touching picture book about a young Native American girl who feels she is losing her talk, as she conforms to the school’s requirements. She looks out over the water and dreams of finding her talk. Elders help her find her voice.

I will absolutely include both I Lost My Talk and Finding my Voice as mentor text within my classroom. Beautifully written and illustrated. The notes in the back about the school and author bring a deeper meaning and respect for the challenges Native Americans have endured. #NetGalley #Hottingerhighlights #ILostMyTalk #family #culture

I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe is a children's book about a very serious topic. I only recently learned about Canada's residential schools from another children's book. While I still have mixed feelings about the correct age to introduce such difficult topics to children, I can appreciate the book for what it is. As the title suggests, there is not a lot of writing in this book. I admit, this went a little over my head at first, but once I caught on, it definitely made sense. The illustrations go very well with the topic and convey the feelings of the situations very strongly. I'm glad they included a quick description of the history of the residential schools in the back of the book as well.

A beautiful book that is a wonderful way to start dialogue around residential schools. It is a perfect way to update your library to bring about talk and change.

#ILostMyTalk #NetGalley
Children as young as 5 were snatched from the street and sent to 1 of the more than 150 Residential Schools in Canada. From 1870 to as late as 1996 the Canadian government attempted to solve "the Indian problem" by taking children from their families, taking their name and forbiding them to speak the language they were born into. If they did speak in their mother tongue they were physically and emotionally punished. I Lost My Talk is a beautifully illustrated and thought provoking picture book that brings the poetry of Rita Joe to life for young children. It is a reminder of the wrong done to the Mi'kmaw people in an attempt to eradicate their culture.
I lost my talk,
The talk you took away..............
You snatched it away.

But it is also a testament to the Mi'kmaw people who fought back and hung on to their culture.

Your way is more powerful
So gently I offer my hand
Let me find my talk
So I can teach you about me


There is a brief history of Residential schools in Canada at the end.

I highly recommend this book for all libraries and classrooms in Canada. It is an excellent way to bring attention to the ugly mistakes of the past and begin discussions about how to make repairs.

Apparently this picture book is taken from a famous poem by Rita Joe about what happened to her when she was put into residential school in Canada, where they stripped her of her language.

Children were forbidden to speak their native language, while the schools tried to turn them into little self-hating Canadians. Very sad time in history.

This simple poem, set at a picture book, is stunning in its simple colors, and pictures, and strong words

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/i-lost-my-talk.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5612" />

A good book to add to the collection of books on the experience of the residential school system.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.