Robert M. Leavitt began working with the Passamaquoddy language in the 1970s and first met David A. Francis when he was curriculum developer for the Passamaquoddy bilingual education program at Indian Township. He a professor at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he was director of the Mi’kmaq-Maliseet Institute for fourteen years. He has written extensively about Passamaquoddy-Maliseet language, culture, and history, often in collaboration with David A. Francis.