In a stunning turn of events, officials stripped Buffy Sainte-Marie, an acclaimed Canadian singer, of the Order of Canada after accusing her of falsifying her Indigenous identity.
An investigation concluded that Sainte-Marie, originally awarded for her advocacy of Indigenous issues, falsely claimed Cree heritage, Daily Mail reported.
The Order of Canada, established in 1967, represents the nation's highest honor for individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the community. Sainte-Marie, 83, received this honor in 1997 due to her significant impact on advocating for Indigenous rights and her artistic accomplishments.
However, critics severely scrutinized her celebrated status after alleging that her Indigenous claims were inauthentic. Investigators formally addressed these concerns last year and found inconsistencies in her heritage claims, dramatically altering her esteemed position within Canadian cultural history.
The investigation into Sainte-Marie's background revealed that she was born Beverly Jean Santamaria in Massachusetts, rather than as a Cree woman from Saskatchewan as she had claimed. This pivotal revelation stemmed from her birth certificate, a document that contradicted decades of her narrative.
The Canada Gazette, on January 3, 2025, published the official revocation of her Order of Canada, as decreed by Governor General Mary Simon. This action formalized the end of her recognition by a nation she had influenced deeply through her music and activism.
Despite these dramatic developments, Sainte-Marie has vehemently denied the accusations, attributing them to familial disputes and deception. She insists that her brother and other estranged family members orchestrated the information used against her.
Sainte-Marie has shared that she was adopted by a white family during the Sixties Scoop, a notorious period when many Indigenous children were taken from their families by the Canadian government. According to her, her adoptive mother, who was part of Mi'kmaq, informed her of her Indigenous roots and upbringing.
Throughout her life, Sainte-Marie believed in the heritage told to her by her adoptive mother and further strengthened by her research into her background. "What I know about my Indigenous ancestry I learned from my growing up mother, who was of Mi'kmaq heritage, and my research later in life," she explained.
As she navigated through her identity, the singer made efforts to trace her biological origins, despite hitting several dead ends: "For decades, I tried to find my birth parents and information about my background," she recalled. Ultimately, she accepted that the full truth regarding her lineage might forever elude her.
"This has been incredibly re-traumatizing for me and unfair to all involved," Sainte-Marie said, articulating the personal toll these allegations have taken. She described the pain of learning that her own family harbored fear and misconceptions about her based on falsehoods.
"I have never lied about my identity. The more I've known, the more I've pieced together a sense of self from what information has been available to me," she stated, defending her integrity and her understanding of her roots.
As of now, Buffy Sainte-Marie personally grapples with the controversy, which affects not only her prestigious honors but also her sense of identity and belonging in the Indigenous community she long believed was hers. It remains to be seen whether these developments will spark a broader discussion on heritage and identity in public life.
