![]() She says the report has caused “pain and suffering” among her relatives. “How much ugliness this has brought upon my aunt and our family is shameful,” Ntawnis Piapot, whose grandparents adopted Sainte-Marie under Cree traditions, wrote on Facebook. The allegations broadcast by the CBC, including a birth certificate for Sainte-Marie issued by the state of Massachusetts, as well as posts on social media by Sainte-Marie’s son, have unleashed a torrent of vitriol. She added: “I may not know where I was born, but I know who I am.” She said her “growing-up mother” had told her 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.”. In a written statement in response, Sainte-Marie said she had “always struggled to answer questions about who I am” and had in the past instructed her lawyer to discover information about her background. I feel awful for Buffy and all those in the community that support her.” ![]() They lacked that sense of respect for our way of keeping our history,” she said. And for the purposes of Indigenous history, it’s often more important. I spoke to the elders and oral history is just as important as written records. “The CBC did not speak to me as the witness to the oral history. She criticized what she called the CBC’s “voyeuristic journalism” that she said had failed to include the importance of oral history and Cree traditions. She says Starblanket’s account is corroborated by others she has spoken with. ![]() She also spoke with Noel Starblanket, the former national chief of the National Indian Brotherhood, which later became Assembly of First Nations. To underpin her research, Opekokew, the first Indigenous woman admitted to the bar in Ontario and Saskatchewan, conducted multiple interviews in Cree and in English more than two decades ago, including with Emile and Clara Piapot, the couple who adopted Sainte-Marie as an adult into their family under Cree traditional law. It showed respect for the dignity of Indigenous people. But when I first heard Buffy sing my heart just erupted with joy. “As an Indigenous woman in the 1960s, I tried to walk proudly, but we faced so much racism and sexism. Its report left communities in disbelief, and threaten to tarnish Sainte-Marie’s reputation as a cultural icon who fought tirelessly for social justice movements during a career in which she won an Oscar, numerous industry accolades and four honorary doctorates from Canadian universities.ĭelia Opekokew, Sainte-Marie’s former lawyer, who is Cree, has disputed the claims and recently signed an affidavit that concludes Sainte-Marie was probably born in Saskatchewan in a private home and soon after was given up for adoption to an American family visiting the area. But last week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a documentary calling into question that narrative and her claims to have Indigenous roots.
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