Following a report and documentary released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation which questioned Buffy Sainte-Marie‘s claim to Indigenous heritage, Sainte-Marie herself took to social media to publicly share her thoughts.
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The CBC article was published on October 27 and claimed that they received a tip last year that Sainte-Marie is not of Cree ancestry as she has claimed her entire life. This launched an investigation into her birth records, of which there are few. According to the report, Sainte-Marie’s own family members are speaking out against her claims to Indigenous heritage, such as her cousin Bruce Santamaria, her niece Heidi St. Marie, and even Stoneham, Massachusetts’ town clerk Maria Sagarino.
“I can say absolutely with 100 per cent certainty that this is the original birth certificate,” said Sagarino, who allegedly found Sainte-Marie’s birth certificate. “Beverly Jean Santamaria was born in Stoneham, Mass., at New England Sanatorium and Hospital on Feb. 20, 1941.” Her parents, Albert and Winifred Santamaria, are listed on the certificate, but Sainte-Marie has always steadfastly stated that she was born in Canada and adopted by the Santamarias as a child.
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In a statement made on X, Sainte-Marie shared her truth with fans and addressed the documentary and article, which she said made her relive traumatic events from her childhood. “I am proud of my Indigenous-American identity, and the deep ties I have to Canada and my Piapot family,” she wrote in the statement. “What I know about my Indigenous ancestry I learned from my growing up mother, who was part Mi’kmaq, and my own research later in life. My mother told me many things, including that I was adopted and that I was Native, but there was no documentation as was common for Indigenous children born in the 1940s.”
She continued, “As a young adult, I was adopted by Emile Piapot (son of Chief Piapot, Treaty 4 Adhesion signatory), and Clara Starblanket (daughter of Chief Starblanket, Treaty 4 signatory), in accordance with Cree law and customs … For a long time, I tried to discover information about my background. Through that research what became clear, and what I’ve always been honest about, is that I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know. Which is why, to be questioned in this way today is painful, both for me, and for my two families I love so dearly.
My indigenous identity is rooted in a deep connection to community which has had a profound role in shaping my life and my work. For my entire life, I have championed Indigenous and Native American causes when nobody else would, or had the platform to do so. I am proud to have been able to speak up for Indigenous issues.”
Sainte-Marie concluded, “I know who I love, I know who loves me. And I know who claims me. I may not know where I was born, but I know who I am.”
In support of Sainte-Marie, her Piapot family spoke out. “Buffy is our family,” members said in a statement to the Globe and Mail of Canada. “We chose her and she chose us.” According to the Piapot First Nation community, her involvement “holds far more weight than any paper documentation or colonial recordkeeping ever could.”
Sainte-Marie also addressed the allegations in a video on Instagram. “I don’t know where I’m from, who my birth parents are, or how I ended up a misfit in a typical, white, Christian New England town,” she stated, before concluding, “So what can I say now? I know who I am. I know who I love and who loves me, and I know who claims me. And, to those who question my truth, I say with love: I know who I am.”
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
