Title: Buffy Sainte-Marie Denies Allegations of Misleading Public About Indigenous Ancestry
Publication Date: October 27, 2023
Folk singer and social justice advocate Buffy Sainte-Marie has responded to allegations that she misled the public regarding her Indigenous ancestry. The claims were made in a Canadian documentary that questioned the “shifting narrative” surrounding her Cree roots.
The investigative wing of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Fifth Estate, recently published a report alleging inconsistencies and inaccuracies in Sainte-Marie’s life story. This comes in the wake of several high-profile cases raising concerns about the appropriation of Indigenous identity.
According to Sainte-Marie’s website, she identifies as a “Cree singer-songwriter” who was believed to have been born on the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan in 1941. She stated that she was taken from her biological parents as an infant and raised by a white family in the United States, later mentioning that her birth records were destroyed in a hospital fire.
However, the CBC report, which cited interviews with Sainte-Marie’s family and a birth certificate, suggests that she was actually born in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and has no Indigenous ancestry. Heidi St. Marie, the daughter of Sainte-Marie’s older brother, Alan, stated that her aunt is “clearly not Indigenous or Native American.”
In response to the impending report, Sainte-Marie released a statement on Thursday, expressing her hurt over the allegations. She admitted to always struggling to answer questions about her identity and emphasized that she will never know where she is from or who her birth parents were.
The controversy surrounding Sainte-Marie’s roots has elicited mixed reactions from the Indigenous community. Members of the Piapot family, who claim her as one of their own, called the allegations hurtful, ignorant, colonial, and racist. They asserted their inherent right to determine who is a member of their family and community, regardless of documentary evidence.
Buffy Sainte-Marie, an Oscar-winning musician and social justice advocate, recently retired from live performances due to health issues. She has been a key figure in Indigenous rights movements. However, the investigation into her ancestry follows a series of cases involving individuals falsely adopting Indigenous identities, leading to concerns about the misuse of services and funding allocated for Indigenous peoples.
Before the CBC report was published, Indigenous voices raised questions about the broadcaster’s decision to investigate Sainte-Marie’s ancestry. Some felt divided, while others supported her wholeheartedly, but both groups expressed upset and anger towards the story.
Prominent figures like Robert Jago and Pam Palmater questioned the need to scrutinize Sainte-Marie’s case and emphasized the importance of sensitivity and understanding in handling such matters.
As the debate continues, many are left pondering the impact of targeting an individual like Buffy Sainte-Marie, given her age and the experiences she has faced as an Indigenous woman. The repercussions of this controversy may have lasting effects on discussions surrounding Indigenous identity and the appropriation thereof.
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