Star Canadian singer stripped of prestigious honor after ongoing Indigenous ancestry dispute

Indigenous Canadian prima Buffy Sainte-Marie mislaid 1 of the astir prestigious honors for a civilian aft an probe recovered she might not person been Indigenous aft all.

In 2023, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) News conducted an probe into Sainte-Marie based connected nationalist records and interviews, including with estranged household members of the singer-songwriter. The 82-year-old icon has said she was calved successful the Piapot First Nation successful Saskatchewan and adopted arsenic an babe by a White household successful Massachusetts, but her commencement certificate says she was calved arsenic Beverly Jean Santamaria to parents of Italian and English ancestry successful the U.S.

The quality enactment obtained respective documents that seemed to corroborate the allegation, including Sainte-Marie’s commencement certificate which says she was calved arsenic a White pistillate successful Stoneham, Massachusetts to Albert and Winifred Santamaria successful 1941.

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Sainte-Marie has pushed backmost against the CBC News' probe claiming she was calved to White parents. (Getty Images)

Though Sainte-Marie repeatedly criticized the probe arsenic an onslaught against her, the Canadian government’s authoritative publication, the Canada Gazette, announced that her assignment to the Order of Canada had been rescinded.

"Notice is hereby fixed that the assignment of Buffy Sainte-Marie to the Order of Canada was terminated by Ordinance signed by the Governor General connected January 3, 2025," the Gazette published connected Saturday.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Sainte-Marie for a remark but has yet to person a response.

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The Order of Canada is considered the highest grant a civilian tin gain successful the country. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Sainte-Marie was appointed to the Order of Canada successful 1997. She was besides considered the archetypal Indigenous Oscar winner aft winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing the opus "Up Where We Belong" from the 1982 movie "An Officer and a Gentleman."

Shortly aft the probe successful 2023, Sainte-Marie released a lengthy statement calling the probe "full of mistakes and omissions" based connected a communicative "fabricated by [her] abuser and repeated by 2 members of [her] estranged family."

She besides argued that it was "common" for commencement certificates to beryllium "created" by occidental governments for Indigenous children aft they were adopted.

Sainte-Marie was appointed to the Order of Canada successful 1997.  (Getty Images)

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"If you are a pure-blood documented something, I’m gladsome for you. It’s awesome and beauteous to perceive you talk your lineage, past and genealogy. But adjacent if your documentation says you’re racially pure, you mightiness miss the point. Being an 'Indian' has small to bash with sperm tracking and assemblage grounds keeping: It has to bash with community, culture, knowledge, teachings, who claims you, who you love, who loves you, and who’s your family," Sainte-Marie wrote.

Fox News' Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.