Maria Campbell

Maria Campbell (1940) is a writer, playwright, and activist working for her people, the Métis, and especially Métis women. She is author of the book Mestissa (Club Editor and Editorial Tránsito, 2020) which, originally published in English as Halfbreed (1973), is considered to have been crucial in the revival of indigenous literature in Canada. She has written stories for Métis children, plays, and filmscripts, among them that for Red Dress (1978), a short film by Michael Scott which is based on her biography. Her play Flight was the first Aboriginal production to be performed in modern Canada. Campbell has always worked by linking different forms of modern art with Aboriginal and interethnic traditions. She has mentored many Aboriginal artists during her career and has worked with young people in community theatre, as well as translating Cree oral stories into English and carrying out research in Métis history and oral traditions at the universities of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. A member of the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Justice Commission and of the Grandmothers for Justice Society, she is also an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been awarded five Honorary Doctorate degrees.