Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie (born Beverly Jean Santamaria) is a singer-songwriter, activist, and visual artist who rose to prominence during the 1960s folk music boom.

From 1976 to 1981, she was a regular cast member on the children’s television show Sesame Street, famously using the platform to teach young viewers about Indigenous culture. She also founded the Nihewan Foundation to fund educational programs for Native American students.

For six decades, Sainte-Marie publicly claimed she was born on the Piapot Cree First Nation Reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada, and was taken from her biological mother as an infant to be raised by a white family in Massachusetts.

In October 2023, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) investigative program The Fifth Estate published an extensive report debunking her backstory.

The investigation unearthed her original, official US birth certificate proving she was biologically born in Stoneham, Massachusetts, to parents of Italian and English descent.

Her own immediate family members confirmed that she had no Indigenous heritage and had fabricated the adoption narrative in her twenties

Following the confirmation that she was not a Canadian citizen or of Indigenous descent, a massive fallout occurred. Indigenous groups condemned her life story as a “great deception”.

Consequently, her highest civilian honours were systematically stripped.

Her membership in the Order of Canada was terminated, and her multiple Juno Awards, Polaris Music Prizes, and her induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame were rescinded due to her failure to meet strict citizenship and heritage requirements.

Sainte-Marie retired from touring and live performances in late 2023, citing physical health limitations.