Folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie's awards rescinded after she confirms she's not Canadian

USA Today

11-03-2025

Folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie's awards rescinded after she confirms she's not Canadian A 2023 CBC investigation tracked down the Massachusetts birth certificate for the 84-year-old singer, who previously marketed herself as a "Cree singer-songwriter."
Oscar-winning singer Buffy Sainte-Marie has had two more awards rescinded amid revelations about her heritage and nationality.
Canada's prestigious Juno Awards, which recognize musical achievements, and the Polaris Music Prize on Friday announced their respective decisions to revoke the recognitions they've bestowed upon the singer over the decades, citing the 84-year-old's recent confirmation that she is an American citizen, rather than Canadian.
This statement to the Canadian Press, which was issued March 4 in response to the termination of her appointment to the Order of Canada earlier this year, said she had "made it completely clear" she was not Canadian when she was awarded the honor in 1997.
USA TODAY has reached out to Sainte-Marie's representatives for comment.
Buffy Sainte-Marie removed from Canadian Music Hall of Fame after 'confirmation that she is not Canadian'
In the aftermath of the statement, the Polaris Music Prize said in a March 7 blog post, "Buffy Sainte-Marie released an updated statement confirming she is an American citizen and holds a U.S. passport. ... Based on Sainte-Marie's statement, Buffy does not meet Polaris Music Prize's rules and regulations.
"Given Buffy's statement regarding her citizenship, Polaris Music Prize will be rescinding all awards including her 2015 Polaris Music Prize and 2020 Heritage Prize."
Polaris "requires all nominees to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, with proof of status provided through government-issued documentation, including passports, birth certificates, permanent resident cards, and/or Secure Certificates of Indian Status," the post explained.
It added, "We understand that not all Indigenous people have access to government-issued paperwork, and we acknowledge that this does not diminish their identity or connection to their communities and should not impact their ability to be nominated for the Polaris Music Prize."
That same day, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said in a news release: "Following a thorough review, consultations with the CARAS Indigenous Music Advisory Committee, and in light of recent information, including Ms. Sainte-Marie's confirmation that she is not Canadian, CARAS will revoke Buffy Sainte-Marie's JUNO Awards and Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction in accordance with its eligibility requirements."
The statement added, "Buffy Sainte-Marie has been a strong supporter and advocate for Canadian music, and we acknowledge the past contributions she has made to our organization. However, CARAS' mandate is to educate, develop, celebrate, and honour Canadian artists."
Buffy Sainte-Marie previously highlighted alleged Cree ancestry
In her statement last month to the Canadian Press, Sainte-Marie said that when she was a young adult she was adopted by a Cree family in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. She also said she has "lived with uncertainty" about her heritage.
In the past Sainte-Marie was described on her website — which touted her "Indigenous leadership" — as a "Cree singer-songwriter." Her website's bio in 2023 also claimed "she became the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar" at the time with her 1983 Academy Awards recognition for best original song ("Up Where We Belong" from "An Officer and a Gentleman.")
These statements have since been removed from her website.
2023 investigation found Sainte-Marie was born to white parents in Massachusetts; singer says she was adopted
In October 2023, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation published an investigation that uncovered her birth certificate, which showed a birthplace of Stoneham, Massachusetts. According to the CBC, she was born Beverly Jean Santamaria on Feb. 20, 191, to a white couple, Albert and Winifred Santamaria, whom she's claimed were her adoptive parents.
"For many years, Sainte-Marie claimed she was born on the Piapot First Nation" located within Saskatchewan, the report said. But Sainte-Marie's lawyer, Josephine de Whytell, told the outlet in a statement at the time, "At no point has Buffy Sainte-Marie personally misrepresented her ancestry or any details about her personal history to the public."
In the 2018 novel "Buffy Sainte-Marie: An Authorized Biography," for which Joni Mitchell wrote the forward, Sainte-Marie explained her understanding of her Native heritage to author Andrea Warner.
"I was told that I was adopted. I was told that I was just born 'on the wrong side of the blanket.' In other words, one of my parents was my parent and one wasn't. I was told that we were part-Indian, but nobody knew anything about it," the book quotes her as saying, according to the CBC.
Emile and Clara Piapot of the Piapot First Nation adopted Sainte-Marie into their family in the early '60s, several family members confirmed in the CBC's report, saying, this "holds far more weight than any paper documentation or colonial recordkeeping ever could."
Buffy Sainte-Marie: 'I am proud of my Indigenous-American identity'
The day before the CBC investigation was published, Sainte-Marie took to social media to share both a video and a lengthy statement about the "deeply hurtful allegations" that were set to come out.
"I am proud of my Indigenous-American identity, and the deep ties I have to Canada and my Piapot family. What I know about my Indigenous ancestry I learned from my growing up mother, who was part Mi'kmaq, and my own research later in life," she wrote on Oct. 26, 2023. "My mother told me many things, including that I was adopted and that I was Native."
Sainte-Marie wrote that she has struggled to pinpoint her ancestry and said her "Indigenous identity is rooted in a deep connection to a community which has had a profound role in shaping my life and my work."
"For a long time, I tried to discover information about my background. Through that research what became clear, and what I've always been honest about, is that I don't know where I'm from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know," she wrote. "Which is why, to be questioned in this way today is painful, both for me, and for my two families I love so dearly."