Columns and Letters

Letter: A wounded leader who lived Truth and Reconciliation every day

September 28, 2022

Dear Editor,
    Magit Poulette lived Truth and Reconciliation before we ever heard of the term. I don’t remember when I first met her. I was still in my 20s and she must have been in her 30s. She was a young mom with a good sense of humour and a very busy family life. Somehow, she quietly and gently came into our lives.
    When Anne and I first came home from India, we made a choice to live close to We’ko’qmaq and the L’Nu. When we were beginning L’Arche, I used to make kitchen cabinets and some people even hired me. When I was working in the homes of Ben and Marie Sylliboy and Grace Paul some people said you should welcome Eddie Johnson and get him out of the institution and back home…and so we did.
    When Eddie came to live with us in Corinthian House, Magit started visiting. She would drop in several times a week and bring her kids or her friends with her. Eddie and all the folks were so happy to see her. I didn’t realize that she was keeping an eye on us and making sure that Eddie was well cared for. But over time, she also made sure we were all welcomed and cared for. Magit lived truth and reconciliation every day. She helped me find a community and a place of belonging with the Mi’kmaq. For many in L’Arche she was the first Mi’kmaq person they ever knew.
    Her brother, Grand Chief Ben, often talked to me about the need for a home in We’ko’qmaq for people with disabilities. Ben was very worried about many of his community members who needed care. He was the grand chief and a dear friend, and he gave me his full support. When I wrote the letters, he was happy to sign them. He was happy to let me speak on his behalf as we really trusted one another. Speaking on behalf of the grand chief carried a lot of weight and, of course, Magit wasn’t afraid to speak truth to anyone. She would call the chiefs or MP Cuzner or Premier Rodney and tell them that they had to do something and often told them what they needed to do.
    She always had my back and could get me in any room. I remember she arranged for a meeting with the 13 chiefs in Membertou. We walked in the room without a plan and Magit turned to me and said, “Tom, you tell them.” Once I started, she would jump in and correct me and make her sales pitch. By the time we left, Magit won them over and had their full support.
    Once we got Mawita’mk going, Magit was both the conscience and the heart of the organization. She reminded all of us of what we needed to do. She shared her home and her family with us. When her daughter, Rosie, became the leader, Magit advised her every day. Together they brought the organization to a level where it is the best of its type in Canada.
    Magit’s door was always open, and she poured out her love to so many of us. We were always welcome. I started receiving these strange messages on my new phone and didn’t know what to do with them. Gradually, she helped me figure it out and through her I learned how to text. Now she could keep a much better eye on me. Morning or night, 365 days a year she would find me, and I am glad she did.
    Magit was placed in the Residential School at the age of four and she survived the horrors over the next four years. She rose up over all that trauma, kept her language, kept her Catholic faith, discovered a new Mi’kmaq spirituality, and became a leader to many. She was the wounded healer who lived Truth and Reconciliation every day. We will be forever grateful for her life.   
Tom Gunn
Halifax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 


Oran Dan - The Inverness Oran - www.invernessoran.ca

The Inverness Oran
15767 Central Avenue. P.O. Box 100
Inverness, Nova Scotia. B0E 1N0
Tel.: 1 (902) 258-2253. Fax: 1 (902) 258-2632
Email: [email protected]