Maria Campbell

Maria Campbell
Born April 26, 1940
Athlone, Edmonton
Nationality Canadian
Ethnicity Métis
Education Honorary doctorates, Athabasca University (2000), York University (1992), University of Regina (1985)
Occupation Author, playwright, filmmaker, English professor
Employer University of Saskatchewan
Known for Halfbreed, a 1973 memoir taught in Canadian schools
Awards Order of Canada, and others

Maria Campbell (born 6 of 26 Apr 1940 near Athlone, Edmonton) is a Métis author, playwright, broadcaster, filmmaker, and Elder. Campbell is a fluent speaker of four languages: Cree, Michif, Saulteaux, and English. Park Valley is located 80 miles northwest of Prince Albert.

Her first book was the memoir Halfbreed (1973), which continues to be taught in schools across Canada, and which continues to inspire generations of indigenous women and men. Four of her published works have been published in eight countries and translated into four other languages (German, Chinese, French, Italian).

Campbell's first professionally produced play, Flight, was the first all Aboriginal theatre production in modern Canada. Weaving modern dance, storytelling and drama together with traditional Aboriginal art practises, this early work set a stylistic tone that her most recent productions continue to explore. Two of her plays have toured extensively within Canada and abroad to Scotland, Denmark and Italy. From 1985 to 1997 Ms. Campbell owned and operated a production company, Gabriel Productions. She has written and/or directed films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), including My Partners My People, which aired on CTV for 3 years. She is coordinator and member of Sage Ensemble, a community theatre group for Aboriginal elders, and is actively associated with the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company in Saskatoon.

In addition to her work in the arts, Maria is a volunteer, activist and advocate for Aboriginal rights and the rights of women. She was a founder of the first Women’s Halfway House and the first Women and Children’s Emergency Crisis Centre in Edmonton. She has worked with Aboriginal youths in community theatre; set up food and housing co-ops; facilitated women’s circles; advocated for the hiring and recognition of Native people in the arts, and mentored many indigenous artists working in all forms of the arts. Maria sits as an Elder on the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Justice Commission, and is a member of the Grandmothers for Justice Society. Academically, she has focused on teaching Métis history and Methods in Oral Tradition Research. She has worked as a researcher, meeting with elders to gather and record oral historical evidence of many aspects of aboriginal traditional knowledge, including medical and dietary as well as spiritual, social, and general cultural practices.

Selected works

Books

Film and Video

Radio

Writing about Maria Campbell

Honours

Awards

Honorary Doctorate Degrees

Academic career

Writer-In-Residence

References

External links