Doubts raised over Sainte-Marie’s past roil First Nations

Doubts raised over Buffy Sainte-Marie’s First Nations bona fides are roiling the community she claims to be part of.

A CBC story saying the singer’s ancestry may not be Indigenous has renewed debate about who gets to speak for whom.

Eleanore Sunchild, an Indigenous lawyer and professor, says that Sainte-Marie hasn’t used her claims of identity to gain advantages, unlike other so-called “pretendians.”

Tracy Robinson, a member of an Indigenous group that has spoken out in similar cases, says Sainte-Marie has a long history of involvement with the Cree Piapot community in Saskatchewan, which is defending her.

Indigenous writer Drew Hayden Taylor says the singer-songwriter is deeply loved by many First Nations people, and her music and life have become part of Indigenous culture.

Others say if Sainte-Marie is lying about her past, it would insult and betray people who did suffer wrongs.

Sainte-Marie said Thursday ahead of the CBC report that she doesn’t know who her birth parents are and she considers herself “a proud member of the Native community with deep roots in Canada.”