BREAKING NEWS – Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada – One of Canada’s most prominent Indigenous icons might not be Indigenous after all, according to media reports.
Buffy Sainte-Marie, who was considered the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar, has always claimed to be a Cree Indian born in Canada who was then adopted by an American couple and raised near Boston. The singer-songwriter is known for her appearance on Sesame Street, was commemorated on Canadian postage stamps and performed for Queen Elizabeth II.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) News conducted an investigation into Sainte-Marie. The 82-year-old icon has said she was born on the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan and adopted as an infant by a White family in Massachusetts, but a birth certificate says she was born Beverly Jean Santamaria to parents of Italian and English ancestry in the U.S.
Buffy Sainte-Marie finally publicly commented on the research by the CBC. “The senator in Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren made a similar allegation and she almost became president, so I was hoping by telling the same lie, it would help in selling out my concerts held on reservations.”