After a scandal surfaced in 2023 allegedly revealing that Buffy Sainte-Marie fabricated her Indigenous identity, the musician and activist has been stripped of her Order of Canada appointment.
News of the termination was reported on Friday, with Canadian government officials confirming that she was stripped of the award on January 3rd. No official reason for the move has been given, however, with officials telling The Toronto Star that they do “not comment on the specifics of termination cases.”
Sainte-Marie has been an icon around the world since the 1960s for her music, Indigenous fashion, and outspoken support for indigenous lives and affairs. But a bombshell report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2023 seemingly revealed that, contrary to official biographical information — which claimed she was born on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in Saskatchewan — she was actually born to white parents in Massachusetts, and may have falsely invented her indigenous heritage.
This revelation was seemingly corroborated by marriage licenses, census records, a life insurance policy, and interviews, but Sainte-Marie pushed back against the allegations. In a statement released ahead of CBC’s report in 2023, she said “I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know,” and that she remains “proud of my Indigenous-American identity.”
Considering her stature — and her legitimate advocacy for Indigenous rights at various points — the debate has been contentious. Some indigenous artists and activists have expressed disappointment in her, with some even calling for her awards to be stripped. Others, like her adoptive Piapot family, have stood by her, while major music institutions such as the Juno Awards and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame have so far refrained from revoking her major honors.
Nonetheless, the loss of her Order of Canada appointment comes as an exceptionally rare action. Since the award was created in 1967, more than 7,600 individuals have received it; only eight have had it revoked.
Following the release of CBC’s report, Sainte-Marie removed explicit claims of being Cree from her website. Shortly before the report was made public, she announced her retirement from live performances.