Processing the News About Buffy Sainte-Marie
Dear Squawkers,
The biggest culture story in Canada over the last few days, and it’s also made headlines around the world, is Buffy Sainte-Marie. CBC’s Fifth Estate conducted an “extensive investigation” into background and her Indigenous identity is now being challenged. You can watch the episode with a free subscription here.
Buffy released a statement on Thursday denying that she deliberately lied about her background and rejecting the accusation that she intentionally created an Indigenous identity for personal gain.
Members of Indigenous communities are devastated by these allegations. They are already coping with so much generational harm, both historic and ongoing, and now they are dealing with the headline that one of the most beloved Indigenous icons may have been misrepresenting herself all along. This has been a painful few days for Indigenous people and I defer here to Pam Palmater’s post urging people to keep this in mind and be gentle with their words and comments.
I will not be covering this story at LaineyGossip.com. It is not my place to analyse this story. I have, however, been hearing and reading the perspectives from Indigenous journalists and leaders. The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay spoke with Niigaan Sinclair, Tanya Talaga, and Drew Hayden Taylor about Buffy this weekend and you can listen to that conversation here - scroll down, there’s a link to just that part of the show.
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