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Oscar-winning songwriter and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of her prestigious Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. The Toronto Star reported the termination of her appointment late Friday.

She is being accused of being a "Pretendian," a term used to describe individuals falsely claiming Indigenous heritage.

Ken MacKillop, Secretary General of the Order of Canada, issued the official notice that

 "Notice is hereby given that the appointment of Buffy Sainte-Marie to the Order of Canada was terminated by Ordinance signed by the Governor General [Mary Simon] on January 3, 2025."

Investigation of Buffy Sainte-Marie

While no official reason for the termination was provided, speculation centers around an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s "Fifth Estate." The report, published on October 27, 2023, and viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube, alleges that Sainte-Marie fabricated her Indigenous identity.

The documentary presented a birth certificate showing her place of birth as Boston, Massachusetts, listing her race as "white" and her birth name as Beverly Jean Santamaria.

A representative from the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General declined to comment on specific details but emphasized that termination decisions are made based on evidence and fairness.

Since the Order’s inception in 1967, more than 7,600 people have been honored, but only eight terminations have occurred.

https://usaherald.com/buku-abi-a-survivors-journey/

Music and Activism

Sainte-Marie, who turns 84 on February 20, has been a prominent musician and activist for six decades. She has released 16 studio albums, often addressing themes of war and Indigenous rights. Her most recent album, Medicine Songs (2017), features both new and re-recorded tracks.

Over the years, her biography has stated that she was born on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan.

Her 2018 authorized biography suggested she was likely born Cree, and her website once claimed she was "believed to have been born in 1941 on the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan and taken from her biological parents when she was an infant."

Her story was tied to the "Sixties Scoop," a dark chapter in Canadian history where Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families and placed with non-Indigenous adoptive parents.

Sainte-Marie has long stated that she does not know where she was born and has never had her birth certificate. However, she was formally adopted into the Piapot First Nation in her early 20s.

Pretendian Allegations 

The Fifth Estate investigation, a Canadian equivalent of 60 Minutes, claims to have uncovered evidence that Sainte-Marie is of Italian-American descent. And it is alleged she pressured family members to conceal this information when she launched her music career in the 1960s. Several of her relatives were interviewed as part of the investigation.

The report has deeply divided public opinion. While some dismiss the allegations, others argue that, regardless of the truth, Sainte-Marie has done significant good through her activism. 

On October 26, 2023, Sainte-Marie issued a statement titled My Truth as I Know It in response to the Fifth Estate report. She described the allegations as "deeply hurtful" and reiterated, "I have always struggled to answer questions about who I am."

She maintains that she is "proud of my Indigenous-American identity and the deep ties I have to Canada and my Piapot family."

She further explained, "What I know about my Indigenous ancestry I learned from my mother" and concluded, "I may not know where I was born, but I know who I am."

Music Industry Recognition 

Despite the controversy, major music organizations in Canada have not revoked Sainte-Marie’s numerous awards.

She has won seven Juno Awards, including Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording (1997), Aboriginal Recording of the Year (2009), Aboriginal Album of the Year (2016), and Indigenous Music Album of the Year (2018).

In 1995, she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and received the Juno Humanitarian Award in 2017. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS) has not responded to inquiries about whether her awards will be reconsidered.

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Sainte-Marie in 2019, and her song Universal Soldier was recognized in 2005.

Her official biography on the organization’s website still states, "Born into a Cree family on the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan in 1941, Beverly Sainte-Marie was raised by relatives in the Eastern USA."

Cultural Impact and Legacy

In 2015, Sainte-Marie won the Polaris Music Prize for Power in the Blood, an album that was highly praised by Canadian music critics. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in her honor in 2021.

The following year, the Toronto International Film Festival premiered Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On, a documentary directed by Madison Thomas.

The film won a 2023 International Emmy Award and two Canadian Screen Awards.

The Ongoing Debate

On November 3, 2023, the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation issued a statement of support for Sainte-Marie.

"The SSHF Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, and Staff unanimously stand by Buffy Sainte-Marie as an ally and advocate for the Sixties Scoop Survivor constituents of the Foundation, whether or not she is herself an actual Sixties Scoop Survivor."

The controversy surrounding Buffy Sainte-Marie raises complex questions about identity, heritage, and cultural representation. While she remains a well-loved figure in Canadian music, her legacy is now entangled in a debate over authenticity and the integrity of self-claimed Indigenous identities.