Over her lifetime she published six other books, including the autobiographical Song of Rita Joe,[3] in which the poet outlined some of her experiences at the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School.
[4] Rita Joe has been known for speaking the truth about residential schools, and how it is to live in a "White World" as a Native American.
[6][7] Each year, Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia, holds a literacy day in Rita Joe's honour, with the "hope that students would be inspired to read, write, and create their own stories"[8] and revitalize the Mi'kmaq language.
The project called on youth from five First Nations' communities in Canada to write, record, and create a music video for a song based on Joe's poem.
The videos were debuted along with the premiere of the National Arts Centre Orchestra's "Spirit Prevails," also based on Joe's poem, in January, 2016, in Ottawa.
[10][11][12][13] Reviewing the NACO's multimedia performance, Natasha Gautier stated, "The writing is eminently accessible but never simplistic or condescending.