Music icon Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry are being called into question by family members and a Fifth Estate investigation that includes genealogical documentation, historical research and personal accounts. The Fifth Estate examines the harms of “pretendians” — those faking Indigenous heritage.

I loved Buffy Sainte-Marie. Now, like many Indigenous people, I feel betrayed by her

...I don’t remember what songs she sang or who accompanied her, but I do remember that my family was spellbound. The tears in Mother’s eyes prompted tears in my eyes, which prompted tears from my younger sisters, brother and a couple of cousins.

A Cree girl had made the big time. She was beautiful and the intense tremolo in her voice — almost a trill — made her sound so tribal...

...

The questions raised last week about Buffy Sainte-Marie and her Indigenous ancestry have been personally crushing to me. Indigenous heroes are heroes in part because they, and their art, have been largely shaped by the individual and collective trauma many of their Indigenous fans know all too well.

more...https://www.thestar.com/opinion/i-loved-buffy-sainte-marie-now-like-many-indigenous-people-i-feel-betrayed-by-her/article_db162a35-f1fd-53f4-b094-e031f5d40b29.html
Darrel J. McLeod is an award-winning Cree author. His most recent book is "A Season in Chezgh'un: A Novel."

Acting Piapot chief, other Sask. Indigenous people react to CBC investigation into Buffy Sainte-Marie

The acting chief of Piapot First Nation says his community will not turn its back on Buffy Sainte-Marie after an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate revealed information that contradicts the songwriter's claims to Indigenous ancestry.

"I can relate and understand to a lot of our people who feel betrayed and in a sense lied to by her claiming Indigenous ancestry, when in fact she may not be Indigenous," said Ira Lavallee.

"When it comes to Buffy specifically we can't pick and choose which part of our culture we decide to adhere to.… We do have one of our families in our community that did adopt her. Regardless of her ancestry, that adoption in our culture to us is legitimate."

For many years, Sainte-Marie claimed she was born on the Piapot First Nation near Regina, but that has been called into question by evidence obtained by CBC News, including Sainte-Marie's Stoneham, Mass., birth certificate and members of her family saying they believe her story is built on an elaborate fabrication.

more...https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/buffy-sainte-marie-reaction-piapot-1.7011149