Indigenous ancestry row tarnishes singer's legacy
The Guardian Weekly|November 10, 2023
Allegations in a documentary that the popular American folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie misrepresented her Indigenous roots have rattled First Nations communities in Canada, where she claims to have been born, highlighting the complex legacy of an artist whose decades-long career is defi ned by advocating for Indigenous rights.
Leyland Cecco
Indigenous ancestry row tarnishes singer's legacy
 

Sainte-Marie describes herself as a “Cree singer-songwriter” and has long traced her identity to the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan, where she claims she was born in 1941. Sainte-Marie says she was taken from her biological mother as an infant and raised by a white family in the US.

But last month, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a documentary calling into question that narrative and her claims to have Indigenous roots.

Its report left communities in disbelief, and threatens to tarnish SainteMarie’s reputation as a cultural icon who fought tirelessly for social justice movements during a career in which she won an Oscar, numerous industry accolades and four honorary doctorates from Canadian universities.

Delia Opekokew, Sainte-Marie’s former lawyer, who is Cree, has disputed the claims and recently signed an affi davit that concludes Sainte-Marie was probably born in Saskatchewan and soon after was given up for adoption to an American family .

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 10, 2023 من The Guardian Weekly.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 10, 2023 من The Guardian Weekly.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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