Identity Crisis and Solution for Canadian Native Women in Halfbreed

Abstract

Maria Campbell’s autobiography Halfbreed is a self-exploration of herself in the process of her survival pursuit. Her thirty three years of bitter experience with racism and poverty are the major content of her autobiography. Moreover, she has also recorded in the work the sense of alienation in her own land which mainly has made her to feel the traumatic painful experience. Hence, Identity crisis is seen as the major issue that steeps as a block for not only to herself but also to her community women fully towards overcoming their social barriers like poverty, sexism, and racism. Moreover, her self-exploration sets up an ideal to her community women to become stronger and self-reliant. Hence, the paper argues that how Campbell has created her own identity while experiencing problems and issues on her growing up with shameful identity and how she has become the solution to all the halfbreeds like her. The paper further studies that how Campbell has dealt with shame and humiliations which are the threat in achieving empowerment. The paper also analyzes the solution that Campbell has developed by herself despite her negative experiences, what she has learned from the negatives and how she has constructed her own identity which strengthens herself and her community as well.