Maria Campbell is a Metis woman whose heart-rending autobiography demonstrates the "joys and sorrows, the oppressing poverty, the frustrations and the dreams"" (Campbell, 2) that she experienced in her life. Maria and her family were poverty stricken and considered "half-breeds". Being poor and a minority led to having problems with health, housing, and low income issues. On Maria's side, native people were also living in poor conditions. This connection between the half breeds and the natives was a result of long standing problems over land titles with the Canadian Government. .

             In the 19th century, the Canadian government prohibited legal Metis land ownership, leaving them to become squatters. This is where the term Road Allowance People originates. The fight over land was the starting point for many of the hardships the Metis people would endure, and this evolved into not only the physical displacement of Maria, but also in socio-cultural and socio-economic areas of life. Gender relations top the list of challenges Maria faced as a woman, and especially as a Metis woman in the 1970's and 1980's. In this essay, I will focus on how the struggles she faced in the society she lived in were a result of the class, race, and gender roles and relationships between Metis and Native people, as well as between Metis and white people. These experiences will have impinge on Maria's development from a little innocent girl to a wise and strong woman.

             In the nineteenth century, there were significant struggles between Metis people and white people. Metis culture was not recognized or respected by the Canadian Government. Metis and Natives were expected to integrate into white society if they wanted a chance to belong. The Metis were not permitted to own any land legally. They were considered squatters on the land. For Maria, it hurt to see her people suffering this way. They were called "Road Allowance People"".