Report Raises Doubts Over Singer-Songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie's Indigenous Ancestry Claims

New investigation by the CBC including a verified birth certificate and interviews with family members suggests that iconic Indigenous singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, known as the first Indigenous Oscar winner, was actually born to a white family in Massachusetts, not a Cree reserve in Canada as she has claimed.

A CBC investigation found a birth certificate showing that singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie was born to a white family in Massachusetts, challenging her claims of having Indigenous ancestry.
Sainte-Marie, known for being the first Indigenous Oscar winner, has maintained that she was born on a Cree reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada. She was then adopted by a white family in the 1940s, a period known for mass adoptions of indigenous children by white families in policies like the 'Sixties Scoop'.
Among the cited documents, the birth certificate from Stoneham, Massachusetts states that she was born as Beverly Jean Santamaria to parents of European ancestry. It was authenticated by Stoneham's town clerk, Maria Sagarino.
Sainte-Marie's relatives, including her niece and cousin, have supported the findings, suggesting that her narrative of being of Indigenous descent might be a fabrication. These claims were supposed to have been suppressed due to fear of financial retaliation.
Despite the allegations, Sainte-Marie continues to assert her Indigenous identity. She emphasizes her deep connection to the Piapot First Nation family and community who unofficially adopted her as a young adult, and her lifelong efforts as a champion for Indigenous and Native American causes.

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