EDITORIAL – Have we lost a hero in Buffy Sainte-Marie?

CANADA HAS ALWAYS been intensely proud of Buffy Sainte-Marie. We’ve known her for more than half a century as a Canadian indigenous woman who is both a talented musician and a staunch advocate for individual and collective rights.

Now 82, she has been honoured with numerous awards, some of them created specifically for achievements by indigenous people. She has fought for the rights of various non-indigenous groups as well, and against war.

In the entertainment world, her name is on hugely popular songs such as Universal Soldier and the Academy Award winning Up Where We Belong.

But her achievements have suddenly become overshadowed by revelations that suggest she isn’t who she has always said she is — indigenous. Also in doubt is whether she was a victim of the Sixties Scoop. A CBC investigation reveals she wasn’t even born in Canada, but rather to parents of Italian heritage in the U.S.

While she has claimed she doesn’t know who her birth parents were, only that they were from the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan, CBC discovered her birth certificate refuting that, and interviewed members of her family who also contradict her claims.

This has come as a shock both to her indigenous and non-indigenous admirers.

Nothing can detract from her achievements in entertainment and social activism. But what is disappointing is Sainte-Marie’s response. She continues to insist that the records of her birth were destroyed, that she doesn’t know who her birth parents were, and that her truth is the correct truth.

“I know who I am,” she said.

Yet, while reaction is mixed, the evidence collected by the CBC’s Fifth Estate appears irrefutable. Maybe Sainte-Marie is hoping that the voices of supporters who favor her anecdotal, shifting version of events and condemn the CBC report as colonialist and racist will reaffirm her place in history.

But her legacy would be better served if she were to acknowledge the doubts the CBC has raised and re-examine the narrative she has presented about her life.

Cultural misappropriation is a serious issue that does severe damage to the cause of indigenous rights, and indigenous spokespersons have long condemned it. The cases of former judge Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, novelist Jospeh Boyden and actor Sacheen Littlefeather are examples of how such controversies can erode progress.

People are inclined to forgive those who acknowledge their own faulty judgment. Whether she created an inaccurate identity for herself, or truly believes it, she has an opportunity to embrace and find joy in the truth, and to become a spokesperson against what has become known as the “pretendian” craze.

By sticking to a version of events that is discredited by this new evidence, Sainte-Marie perpetuates instead of confronts the problem. We need not lose her as a hero, but it’s up to her.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.