Maxine was born in the Canadian province of Manitoba of Santee Oglala Sioux parents. She spent her early childhood on her mother's reserve but at the age of six she left to attend an Indian residential school. Maxine's early career as a legal secretary was soon overshadowed by her preoccupation with painting and drawing. She took a course in advanced design where a teacher noticed Maxine's tendency toward linear expression and encouraged her in the use of shape and line to suggest movement. She learned those lessons well as evidenced by much of her work today. Since those early days Maxine has mastered the skills of painting and drawing plus the processes of serigraphy, etching and stone lithography.