Maria Campbell facts for kids

Maria Campbell OC SOM (born April 26, 1939, near Park Valley, Saskatchewan) is a Métis author, playwright, broadcaster, filmmaker, and Elder. She is an important voice in Canadian literature and a strong advocate for Indigenous rights.

Maria Campbell speaks four languages fluently: Cree, Michif, Western Ojibwa, and English. Her books have been published in eight countries and translated into four languages, including German and French. She is widely known for her memoir, Halfbreed, which shares her experiences as a Métis woman and the challenges she faced.

Maria Campbell's Early Life

Maria Campbell is the oldest of eight children. When her mother passed away, Maria had to leave school to help care for her younger siblings. At age fifteen, she moved to Vancouver. Later, in her twenties, she returned to Saskatchewan and became an important organizer in her community.

Maria remembers growing up in her community, where she and her siblings learned to hunt, trap, dance, and play the fiddle. They also learned about the uses of roots, herbs, and barks. Her family was a mix of Scottish, French, Cree, English, and Irish heritage. Maria recalls facing unfair treatment at school in Spring River, where white and Métis children were often separated, and Métis children were sometimes bullied.

After her mother passed away and her father faced difficult times, Maria had to take on many responsibilities. At fifteen, she married, hoping to keep her siblings together and provide for them. However, her marriage faced difficulties, and her siblings were taken away. Maria moved to Vancouver, where she faced extreme hardship and had to make difficult choices to survive. She also struggled with personal challenges during this time.

Maria was away from her community for seventeen years. When she returned to Saskatchewan, she found that things had changed, with more hardship than she remembered from her childhood. Maria eventually overcame her personal challenges and was reunited with her children. She became very involved in activism, which helped her reconnect with her community. Maria's experiences, though difficult, are shared by many other Métis women, showing their strength and resilience.

Halfbreed: A Powerful Memoir (1973)

Maria Campbell's first book, Halfbreed (1973), is a memoir that explores her life as a Métis woman in Canada. It discusses what it means to be Métis, feeling connected to both Indigenous and European cultures. The book is an autobiography, covering her early life in rural Saskatchewan and her experiences facing hardship in Vancouver. It also talks about the challenges she faced as a single mother and her involvement in the Indigenous rights movement.

Halfbreed highlights the ongoing challenges faced by many Indigenous women in cities. The book also points out issues within political systems, criticizing how they can be unfair towards women and Indigenous people. It sheds light on systemic racism and the effects of historical injustices.

The book focuses on a shared Métis identity, emphasizing community belonging and common Métis experiences. Maria Campbell was born and raised in a Métis community. She used the term "halfbreed" in her title because of discussions at the time about the exact meaning of "Métis." Halfbreed is considered a very important book for Indigenous literature in Canada. It has led to many discussions about Métis identity and the experiences of Indigenous people today. The book tells about Maria's difficult journey to find herself, including facing poverty and other challenges. Halfbreed is still taught in schools across Canada and continues to inspire many Indigenous people.

The original manuscript of Halfbreed was much longer, but editors asked Maria to shorten it. They wanted her to focus more on her early life and less on the difficult parts. After it was published, some people criticized the book, saying it lacked authenticity.

In May 2018, researchers found two missing pages from the original Halfbreed manuscript. These pages, discovered at McMaster University, revealed a difficult experience from Maria's youth that publishers had prevented her from including. A new, complete edition of Halfbreed was published in November 2019, including these previously missing pages. This updated book also has a new introduction by Métis scholar Kim Anderson and an afterword by Maria Campbell herself.

Maria Campbell's Halfbreed includes humorous stories and expressions. Humor is important in Métis storytelling and helps balance the difficult experiences Maria describes. It shows how humor can be a way of surviving and coping with hardship.

Other Creative Works

Maria Campbell has also written three children's books: People of the Buffalo (1975), Little Badger and the Fire Spirit (1977), and Riel's People (1978). These books aim to teach Métis children about their spirituality and heritage. She has also translated stories from The Road Allowance People into Cree and Michif. Maria chose to translate her work into what she calls "Village English," which she felt better represented her experiences and community than standard English.

Her short story, "Blankets of Shame," is featured in the book #NotYourPrincess (Annick Press, 2017), which is a collection of writing and art by Native American women. Maria Campbell has also been featured on the CBC Radio talk show Our Native Land.

Plays and Films

Maria Campbell's first play, Flight, was the first theatre production in modern Canada to feature an all-Aboriginal cast. This play combined modern dance, storytelling, and drama with traditional Aboriginal art. Flight won the Dora Mavor Moore Award in Toronto in 1986 and the Best Canadian Production at the Quinzanne International Festival in Quebec City.

Two of her plays have toured widely in Canada and internationally to Scotland, Denmark, and Italy. From 1985 to 1997, Maria Campbell owned a production company called Gabriel Productions. She has written and directed films for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), including My Partners My People, which aired on CTV for three years. She is also involved with Sage Ensemble, a community theatre group for Aboriginal elders, and works with the Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre in Saskatoon.

Activism and Education

Besides her work in the arts, Maria Campbell is a dedicated volunteer, activist, and advocate for Aboriginal rights and women's rights. She helped start the first women's halfway house and the first emergency crisis center for women and children in Edmonton. She has worked with Aboriginal youth in community theatre, helped set up food and housing co-ops, and supported women's groups. She has also advocated for Indigenous people in the arts and mentored many Indigenous artists.

Maria Campbell serves as an Elder on the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Justice Commission and is a member of the Grandmothers for Justice Society. In her academic work, she has taught Métis history and methods for oral tradition research. She has also worked as a researcher, meeting with elders to record traditional knowledge, including medical, dietary, spiritual, social, and general cultural practices. She has received honorary degrees from the University of Regina, York University, and Athabasca University.

Maria Campbell has become a leader in many Métis social movements and is very active in the political community. Her involvement in activism and politics has helped her reconnect with her childhood community in Saskatchewan.

Selected Works

Books and Plays

• Keetsahnak / Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters (co-editor) (2018)
• Stories of the Road Allowance People (1995)
• The Book of Jessica (co-writer) (1989)
• Achimoona (editor) (1985)
• Little Badger and the Fire Spirit (1977)
• Riel's People (1976)
• People of the Buffalo (1975)
• Halfbreed (1973)

Film and Video

• Wapos Bay (Cree voice for Kohkum in "The Hardest Lesson") (2009)
• Journey to Healing (Writer/Director) (1995)
• La Beau Sha Sho (Writer/Director) (1994)
• Joseph's Justice (Writer/Director) (1994)
• A Centre for Buffalo Narrows (Writer/Director) (1987)
• My Partners My People (Co-Producer) (1987)
• Cumberland House (Writer/Director) (1986)
• Road to Batoche (Writer/Director) (1985)
• Sharing and Education (Writer/Director) (1985)
• Red Dress (Writer) (1977)
• Edmonton's Unwanted Women (Writer/Director) (1968)

Radio

• Kiskamimsoo (Writer/Interviewer) (1973–1974)
• Tea with Maria (Writer/Interviewer) (1973–1975)
• Batoche 85 (Writer/Interviewer) (1985)

Honours and Awards

Awards

• Lieutenant Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Saskatchewan Arts Awards (2021)
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship (2012)
• Officer of the Order of Canada (2008)
• Distinguished Canadian Award (2006)
• Saskatchewan Order of Merit (2006)
• Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize (2004)
• Saskatchewan Theatre Hall of Fame (2000)
• Chief Crowfoot Award, University of Calgary (1996)
• National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1995)
• Golden Wheel Award, Rotary Club, Saskatchewan (1994)
• Saskatchewan Achievement Award, Government of Saskatchewan (1994)
• Gabriel Dumont Medal of Merit, Gabriel Dumont Institute (1992)
• Chalmers Award for Best New Play (1986)
• Dora Mavor Award (1986)
• Order of the Sash, Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (1985)
• National Hero, Native Council of Canada (1979)
• Vanier Award, Vanier Institute (1979)
• Honorary Chief, Black Lake First Nations (1978)

Honorary Doctorate Degrees

• University of Regina (1985)
• York University (1992)
• Athabasca University (2000)
• Ryerson University (2018)
• University of Winnipeg (2018)

Academic Career

• Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan (current; in English, Drama, and Native Studies departments)
• Stanley Knowles Distinguished Visiting Professorship, Brandon University (2000–01)
• Sessional Instructor, Saskatchewan Federated Indian College (since 1998)
• Aboriginal Scholar, University of Saskatchewan (1995)
• Lecturer, University of Saskatchewan (1991–1997)

Writer-In-Residence

• University of Winnipeg (2008–09)
• University of Saskatchewan (1998–99)
• Whitehorse Public Library (1994–95)
• Prince Albert Public Library (1985–86)
• Persephone Theatre (1983–84)
• Regina Public Library (1980–81)
• University of Alberta (1979–80)