Rebecca Thomas happens to be good enough at poetry and persuasion to get people to listen, but her ultimate goal is to make Canada a better place for her Indigenous community, since so many people tend to forget they were here first.
Rebecca Thomas is a Mi’kmaw with family roots in Lennox Island First Nation. She is the daughter of a residential school survivor and unrelenting advocate for her community. She is a published poet and was the Halifax Poet Laureate from 2016 to 2018. She has won numerous awards and accolades.
She has performed with a Tribe Called Red and has spoken and lectured at conferences and coffee houses from coast to coast. She has written for CBC, the Washington Post, and Bon Appétit Magazine but has yet to make a chapbook (another name for a short book of poetry).
Rebecca writes kids books about growing up the child of a residential school survivor. Her first book I'm Finding My Talk was shortlisted for the First Nations Community Reads Award. Her children’s book Swift Fox All Along was a finalist for a Governor General literary award, and Marilyn Bailie Picture Book Award and was also shortlisted for the First Nations Community Reads Award. Her collection of poetry called I Place You Into the Fire was a CBC’s Top 20 book of 2020.
She collaborated with composer Laura Sgroi to bring together a three-poem story and full orchestral score which had its debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in the spring of 2019.
Rebecca pays her bills by helping students who are overwhelmed with life and studies as a Student Services Advisor at the Nova Scotia Community College. Rebecca is an avid runner, hiker, and overall outdoorsy person. She spends time learning the land through gathering and fishing. She also feels uncomfortable writing bios about herself. She's done some other things here and there but has reached her tolerance for hearing her accomplishments listed off.