Buffy Sainte-Marie, a beloved musician, faces controversy as she reveals she doesn't know her birth parents and questions arise about her Indigenous heritage. While some defend her, others argue that if she is lying, it silences those who have suffered wrongs. The debate highlights the issue of 'pretendians' taking opportunities and resources away from Indigenous people.
"It's like telling people Santa Claus doesn't exist," said Tracy Robinson, member of the Indigenous Women's Collective.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.”
Far from benefiting, Sainte-Marie has taken risks because of what she believed to be her identity, Sunchild said.As well, Sainte-Marie has long and intimate ties with what she calls her home community of Piapot First Nation, northeast of Regina. But being adopted into a family isn't the same as being appointed to speak on behalf of anyone, said Indigenous writer and journalist Drew Hayden Taylor.
"She's spent so many years in the hearts of North American Indigenous people, I don't think this will affect her at all."
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