
Halfbreed by Maria Campbell
04/04/21 • 42 min
Poet and scholar Gregory Scofield joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig to talk about Halfbreed by Maria Campbell. Originally published in 1973 and widely considered a classic of Indigenous literature, Campbell's memoir about her life as a Métis woman in Canada was restored and re-released in 2019.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/610927/halfbreed-by-maria-campbell/9780771024092
More on Gregory:
Gregory Scofield is Michif of Cree, Scottish and European-Immigrant descent who’s ancestry can be traced to the Métis community of Kinosota, Manitoba. He has taught Creative Writing and First Nations and Métis Literature at Laurentian University, Brandon University, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and the Alberta University of the Arts. He currently holds the position of Associate professor in the Department of Writing at the University of Victoria. Scofield won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1994 for his debut collection, The Gathering: Stones for the Medicine Wheel, and has since published seven further volumes of poetry including, Witness, I am. He has served as writer-in residence at the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and most recently the Writers’ Trust of Canada Latner Poetry Prize (2016) that is awarded to a mid-career poet in recognition of a remarkable body of work. Further to writing and teaching, Scofield is also a skilled bead-worker, and he creates in the medium of traditional Métis arts. He continues to assemble a collection of mid to late 19th century Cree-Métis artifacts, which are used as learning and teaching pieces. Scofield’s first memoir Thunder Through My Veins (Doubleday Canada/Anchor Books) was re-published Fall 2019.
Poet and scholar Gregory Scofield joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig to talk about Halfbreed by Maria Campbell. Originally published in 1973 and widely considered a classic of Indigenous literature, Campbell's memoir about her life as a Métis woman in Canada was restored and re-released in 2019.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/610927/halfbreed-by-maria-campbell/9780771024092
More on Gregory:
Gregory Scofield is Michif of Cree, Scottish and European-Immigrant descent who’s ancestry can be traced to the Métis community of Kinosota, Manitoba. He has taught Creative Writing and First Nations and Métis Literature at Laurentian University, Brandon University, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and the Alberta University of the Arts. He currently holds the position of Associate professor in the Department of Writing at the University of Victoria. Scofield won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1994 for his debut collection, The Gathering: Stones for the Medicine Wheel, and has since published seven further volumes of poetry including, Witness, I am. He has served as writer-in residence at the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and most recently the Writers’ Trust of Canada Latner Poetry Prize (2016) that is awarded to a mid-career poet in recognition of a remarkable body of work. Further to writing and teaching, Scofield is also a skilled bead-worker, and he creates in the medium of traditional Métis arts. He continues to assemble a collection of mid to late 19th century Cree-Métis artifacts, which are used as learning and teaching pieces. Scofield’s first memoir Thunder Through My Veins (Doubleday Canada/Anchor Books) was re-published Fall 2019.
Previous Episode

Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
Welcome to Storykeepers: Let's Talk Indigenous Books! Hosts Jennifer David and Waubgeshig Rice are thrilled to welcome you to our monthly book club podcast. In our inaugural episode, we talk about what literature means to us, why we wanted to launch this podcast, and of course, why Indigenous literatures matter to everyone.
To kick off our podcast, we discuss Why Indigenous Literatures Matter by Daniel Heath Justice. Read more about this important book and order it here:
https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/W/Why-Indigenous-Literatures-Matter
Next Episode

Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson
Award-winning author Cherie Dimaline joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig to discuss Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson. Published in 2021, the novel is the third and final instalment in Robinson's highly acclaimed Trickster series.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/557407/return-of-the-trickster-by-eden-robinson/9780735273467
More on Cherie:
Cherie Dimaline's 2017 book, The Marrow Thieves, won the Governor General’s Award and the prestigious Kirkus Prize for Young Readers, was a finalist for the White Pine Award, and was the fan favourite for CBC’s 2018 Canada Reads. It was named a Book of the Year on numerous lists including the National Public Radio, the School Library Journal, the New York Public Library, the Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire and the CBC, has been translated into several languages, and continues to be a national bestseller over 3 years later. Her newest novel Empire of Wild (Random House Canada, William Morrow US, Weiden and Nicolson UK) became an instant Canadian bestseller and was named Indigo's #1 Best Book of 2019. It was featured in The New York Times, the New Yorker, GOOP, the Chicago Review of Books and others. Cherie spent many years working in and for Indigenous communities and now lives in her home territory where she is an enrolled and active member of the Georgian Bay Metis Community. She is currently writing for television, working on a new novel and the anticipated follow-up to The Marrow Thieves, as well as adapting Empire of Wild for the stage and screen.
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