A Creative Letter Inspired by Reading Maria Campbell’s Notable Memoir “Half-Breed” (1973)

Abstract

This creative letter (as set out below) was inspired due to reading Maria Campbell’s notable memoir “Half-Breed” which was published in 1973. I had the pleasure of taking a third-year Indigenous Feminist Literature class in September 2017 and our first reading assignment was to read “Half-Breed” and critically engage in the discourse in class discussions. I was assigned to read numerous Indigenous memoirs and to read a lot of Indigenous feminist poetry. With this explosion of literature, I was given the task to create a scrapbook presenting “Half-Breed” through creative writing, art work, poetry, and connecting it with a feminist and cultural lens. I thought it would be wonderful to create a response letter to Maria Campbell, explaining my thoughts and ideas surrounding her memoir. I wanted to create a letter that was open-minded, packed with critical thinking, and to challenge stereotypical notions of Indigenous literature – I wanted to break down those barriers and do my best to understand and appreciate this memoir because I fell in love with it after reading it. I kept returning back to vivid passages that had a lot of warmth, strength, and pride in families and communities. Youth is supposed to be an age of innocence, naivety, and adventure. Yet, for Maria Campbell, her time of youth and adolescence was very difficult and harsh – yet there were trinkets of wisdom and hope. Especially with the relationship and bond with her grandmother Cheechum – a powerful person and family anchor that held the family together in difficult times. Maria Campbell revolutionized the importance and preciousness of family in this memoir for me. Grandmothers are important teachers for children especially from an emotional stance for Maria Campbell. I believe building a strong emotional bond and community bond is what builds a person’s character, strength, and kindness. Maria Campbell illustrated these treasured qualities that cannot be taught in the academic classroom – but through her strong ties with her grandmother and community. Maria Campbell’s grandmother Cheechum bequeathed her strength and resilience to deter her struggles in a spiritual and emotional sense. This memoir was definitely awe-inspiring and the reason for why I wanted to create an artistic medium of writing a letter commentary to Maria Campbell.