Status
Description
A new, fully restored edition of the essential Canadian classic. An unflinchingly honest memoir of her experience as a Métis woman in Canada, Maria Campbell's Halfbreed depicts the realities that she endured and, above all, overcame. Maria was born in Northern Saskatchewan, her father the grandson of a Scottish businessman and Métis woman--a niece of Gabriel Dumont whose family fought alongside Riel and Dumont in the 1885 Rebellion; her mother the daughter of a Cree woman and French-American man. This extraordinary account, originally published in 1973, bravely explores the poverty, oppression, alcoholism, addiction, and tragedy Maria endured throughout her childhood and into her early adult life, underscored by living in the margins of a country pervaded by hatred, discrimination, and mistrust. Laced with spare moments of love and joy, this is a memoir of family ties and finding an identity in a heritage that is neither wholly Indigenous or Anglo; of strength and resilience; of indominatable spirit. This edition of Halfbreed includes a new introduction written by Indigenous (Métis) scholar Dr. Kim Anderson detailing the extraordinary work that Maria has been doing since its original publication 46 years ago, and an afterword by the author looking at what has changed, and also what has not, for Indigenous people in Canada today. Restored are the recently discovered missing pages from the original text of this groundbreaking and significant work.… (more)
Physical description
User reviews
I found this terribly difficult to read. I suspect it has permanently changed my understanding of native and metis issues. I wouldn't say I was surprised by the events,
Second, I also enjoy this book. Perhaps not as
Knowing about her accomplishments makes this memoir an interesting read--today's reader knows what the author herself did not yet know when
Campbell illustrates her struggles and readily admits to her failures, and you can see what she has learned, and how she matures. He frustration, shame, fear, and anger are palpable.
She also begins work that will lead to her later successes. She describes the supports for Native women that she thinks should exist. She herself later succeeded in establishing such supports.
I found the writing a little awkward, but this book is not about the writing. It's about a community that was (and still is) poorly treated and struggling, and about how one woman fought her way out of her early struggles to begin the career she had dreamed of. Though she mentions possibly writing another volume, I am not sure she has (yet?). Because it is time!
I maybe made a mistake in listening to the audio. Maria herself read it, but she has a very monotone voice. I thought that I was still able to focus in the first half or so of the book, but I did miss things as the book continued, and I suspect I missed more earlier in the book than I originally thought.