b'FAMILY & COMMUNITYCree-Mtis author and activist Maria Campbell hopes COVID-19 will help rebalance societal priorities By Sarah B. HoodP R OT E C T I N G F U T U R EGENERATIONSC OVID-19 did notmemoir Halfbreed, which chronicles herAll the different facets of her work, says take Maria Campbellextraordinary survival through poverty,Campbell, are tools to be able to protect entirely by surprise.violence and substance use, is viewed aswhat belongs to my children for as long There are proph- a seminal work of Indigenous literature.ahead as I can protect them. I have a diffi-ecies that tell us that a great change isHer other writing includes books forcult time thinking of myself as a writer, as coming, she says. Our prophecies tellchildren and works for theatre, filman activist. Im an old woman.us that the land is going to change again;and television. She currently serves it has to protect itself. Weve alwaysas a cultural advisor in the FacultyCampbell purposefully avoids the known that. of Humanities and Social Sciences atword Elder. (I dont like to use that Albertas Athabasca University andword because I think of Mormon Elders.) Campbell is an 81-year-old multifacetedadvisor to the dean at the College ofInstead, she prefers the Plains Cree word Cree-Mtis author and activist. Her 1973Law at the University of Saskatchewan.notokwe (or notokwewak in the plural). 22Fall/Winter 2020'