Buffy Sainte-Marie is a name that most English-speaking Canadians know.
The artist, who recently retired for health reasons, enjoyed a successful 60-year career rooted in his Indigenous identity.
However, a CBC report recently questioned her indigenous heritage and shared statements from family members who argue that she is more likely to be of European descent.
AFP
“It is a great loss,” said Jacques T. Watso, adviser to the Abenaki Council of Odanak. “She has done so much for the First Nations that it sends a shock wave through the communities.”
This report claims, among other things, that Buffy Sainte-Marie is from a non-Indigenous family in the United States and claims to have been born in an Indigenous community in the heart of Saskatchewan.
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From the beginning, Sainte-Marie proudly asserted her identity as a Canadian-born Cree woman. Over the course of her career, she celebrated her success as an Indigenous icon and quickly became a role model for her community.
AFP
“She took over the platform on behalf of First Nations, she took the microphone away from First Nations members,” the Abenaki adviser claims. “In 2018, she won a Juno Prize, but at the expense of Indigenous artists.”
Buffy Sainte-Marie isn’t the only one claiming to be Indigenous, but this phenomenon is having a huge impact on communities across Canada.
“They’re taking up space and kind of telling First Nations that we’re not living our cultures appropriately, so they’re going to do it for us,” explains MT Watso. “They come and take the most beautiful thing from our communities, commercialize it and leave us with all the trauma.”
AFP
The full interview can be found above.