LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Kwe. My condolences to Eileen, John Joe’s four children, his four grandchildren, and his relatives, Julie, and many friends. John Joe was very proud of all of you and very grateful for the many ways you stood beside him, Eileen, and shared the same goals. When his health began to fail, you faithfully attended to him in so many ways.

The first reading, from Sirach sounds as it had been written for John Joe. When one looks over his life, it appears as if he was chosen from the beginning to fulfill the roles and responsibilities he took on. Like the reading, he gave counsel and did prophetic actions. Take for example, his research on the Peace and Friendship Treaties with the British Crown.

As a leader he was a source of wisdom for his people through his knowledge of their traditional beliefs. Certainly, the two books John Joe published – Mi’kmaq and the Crown, a Handbook of Primary Sources for Secondary School Teachers and Students, is a wonderful work that should be part of the curriculum of PEI and Atlantic region schools, along with his second book, Epekwitk, Stories and Histories of the Mi’kmaw Nation. These two books are a treasure of Mi’kmaq culture and history. Like the book of Sirach, they are wise in their words of instruction and should not be forgotten by future generations.

Keptin John Joe Sark was a man of deep faith, who the author of Sirach would call a godly man, and he will be re ...

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