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This essay surveys the critical reception of Maria Campbell's Halfbreed and uses it to trace some major trends in the study of Aboriginal literature in Canada. While most critics have focused on Campbell's identity, that identity has been variously defined as "Native," as Métis, and as hybrid. Other critics have focused on how identity is politically mobilized within the text, either as a form of resistance or by creating a sense of shared Aboriginal identity. A theoretical movement known as "postpositivist realism" may offer a way to understand these multiple identities within Halfbreed.
L'article présente un aperçu de la réception critique du roman Halfbreed de Maria Campbell et y a recours pour définir certaines tendances majeures de l'étude la littérature autochtone au Canada. Bien que la plupart des critiques se concentrent sur l'identité de l'écrivaine, celle-ci est définie de plusieurs façons : identité autochtone, métisse ou hybride. D'autres critiques se concentrent sur la manière dont l'identité est politiquement mobilisée dans le texte, sous la forme d'une résistance ou de la création d'un sentiment d'identité autochtone partagée. Un mouvement théorique connu sous le nom de « réalisme post-positiviste » peut offrir un moyen de comprendre les multiples identités exprimées dans le roman.
Half illuminated and half in shadow, Maria Campbell's proud and determined face adorns the black and white cover of McClelland and Stewart's first edition of her autobiography, Halfbreed, published in May 1 973. In the same month, Maclean's magazine published excerpts from Halfbreed in an issue that also featured the work of two other Aboriginal writers, Duke Redbird and George Manuel. The magazine's cover image is at first glance strikingly similar to that of Halfbreed: underneath the magazine's title is an Aboriginal man's face, half illuminated and half shrouded in darkness. However, instead of determined, the man's expression is sad and a single tear runs down his cheek. Below his face are the words, "Death of a Great Spirit: Canada's Indians speak out." The image and headline both suggest that Aboriginal people are tragically doomed, an idea that is not reflected and indeed is challenged by the Aboriginal words inside. The pieces by Campbell, Redbird and Manuel speak of Aboriginal people's "deep-seated faith in their Indigenous cultural values both philosophically and as...