Ruth was an extraordinary scholar, researcher, interviewer of primary sources, chronicler, social activist and much more. I knew her especially for the invaluable work she did in preserving the cultural heritage of the Mi'kmaw. As she wrote about her moving book "Stories from the Six Worlds" (Nimbus): "Mi’kmaw stories have many levels: entertainment, instruction, warnings. They might subtly encode maps of the land’s important resources, or of the wheeling skies at night. Telling stories, Elders wove humour and stark tragedy, terror and beauty, to teach their listeners how to survive. More importantly, they underlined, over and over again, how their listeners, as humans, must conduct themselves. Their tales resound with the universal themes included in any worldview—Order and Chaos, Courage and Fear, Change, Revenge and Mercy, Death, Rebirth, and Power" Ruths contributions, rooted in her rare combination of courage and caring, were unique and will continue to educate and inspire for generations to come.