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3mo ago

Buffy Sainte-Marie Stripped of Order of Canada Over Disputed Indigenous Heritage

The folk singer and activist's claims of Cree ancestry have been challenged by documents suggesting she was born to white parents in Massachusetts.

Buffy Sainte-Marie performs onstage during Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 2016. The Oscar-winning folk singer-songwriter and activist has been stripped of her Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor, following an investigation that cast doubt on her longstanding claims of Indigenous ancestry. 
Buffy Sainte-Marie poses backstage at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Sept. 2022 in Toronto. The Oscar-winning folk singer-songwriter and activist has been stripped of her Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor, following an investigation that cast doubt on her longstanding claims of Indigenous ancestry. 
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<> at Golden Gate Park on October 2, 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Overview

  • Buffy Sainte-Marie, an Oscar-winning folk singer and activist, has had her Order of Canada honor rescinded following questions about her Indigenous identity.
  • A 2023 CBC investigation presented evidence, including a birth certificate, indicating Sainte-Marie was born as Beverly Jean Santamaria to white parents in Massachusetts.
  • Sainte-Marie has long asserted she was born Cree on the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan and adopted by a white family, a claim now under scrutiny.
  • While some supporters highlight her decades of advocacy for Indigenous causes, others criticize her as a 'pretendian' for allegedly misrepresenting her heritage.
  • The Canadian government has not provided a detailed explanation for revoking the honor, and Sainte-Marie continues to dispute the investigation's findings.