The shíshálh First Nation is mourning the loss of one of its most beloved and respected leaders and advocates in education, culture and language.
Donna Louisa Joe (TlaYaxwmat) passed away peacefully Tuesday, July 2, surrounded by family and friends at St. Mary's Hospital in Sechelt.
The whole community is feeling this loss, which was evident by the outpouring of love and support shown during a memorial service July 6 at the Sechelt Indian Band Hall.
Joe, born in 1948, was a loving mother, adoring grandmother, shíshálh community member, educator and curriculum developer who left a rich legacy of cultural repatriation and language revitalization.
A graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas and a survivor of the residential school system, Joe raised a family and in 1980 moved to Vancouver with her three children, Raquel, Dawn and Roger, to attend the University of British Columbia where she acquired a bachelor's degree in education with a focus in language arts and reading and a minor in both Canadian history and First Nations studies.
She then completed the professional development program, acquiring her teaching certification, and elected to do a fifth year to do a post-degree in special education.
Her GPA was high and Raquel once mentioned that anything less than an A was not acceptable. She remembers her mom being a dedicated student who was always studying.
Joe would return to Sechelt where she successfully taught elementary and high school. It is estimated that she taught 2,000-plus children and her educational feats did not end there. She would be the first shíshálh person to acquire a masters degree. Her MA was in education, her true passion, with a focus on curriculum development.
She utilized her expertise to build an integrated resource package for she shashishalhem (the Sechelt language program), which allowed shíshálh students to use their obtained language credit for post-secondary entry.
After the completion of this project, she carried on developing language curriculum while she performed the duty as the head teacher for the Sechelt language program. She did this all while fighting cancer for 22 years.
Her contributions are epic. Her younger co-workers consider her their hero.
Her real shoe size might have barely been size five, but metaphorically, others could only aspire to fill her shoes, as her life's work is nothing short of amazing.
Joe was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was a quiet, get-the-job-done, hard-working individual -a person of action. Her work ethic was impeccable. Public school started at 9 a.m., but she was at school at 7 a.m. prepping for her classes.
Her former student, Karri Dixon, GIS research and technician for the Rights and Title Department, shared that much of the work Joe has done has made it "much easier for all of us who work with the Band" in history, research and language. "She took the bull by its horns and just did it," Dixon said.
Joe has been a trailblazer. Her love lives on not just in our cherished memories, but also with the beautiful family she has raised.
Chief Garry Feschuk summed it up so concisely and appropriately at Saturday's memorial service: "True love lasts forever!"
Joe is survived by her husband Vern Joe, children Raquel (Tim) Joe, Dawn (Rick) August and Roger (Jodi) Joe, grandchildren Blake, Malcolm, Kelly, Summer, Everet, Autumn and Cyprian, and many nieces and nephews.
