The Order of Canada designation for Buffy Saint-Marie has been officially revoked, as announced in a notice published on February 8 in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official publication. The statement reveals that “Notice is hereby given that the appointment of Buffy Sainte-Marie to the Order of Canada was terminated by Ordinance signed by the Governor General on January 3, 2025.”
Buffy Saint-Marie, an iconic figure who gained fame in the 1960s as a singer-songwriter and a pioneer in electronic music, was originally appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997 and elevated to Companion in 2017. This action follows scrutiny raised by a 2023 documentary series and report that questioned Saint-Marie’s Indigenous heritage, citing a birth certificate that identified her parents as a white couple from Massachusetts. Saint-Marie had previously asserted that she was born on the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada.
In light of these events, Saint-Marie has expressed her feelings through several video and print statements. In November 2023, she stated, “I have always struggled to answer questions about who I am. For decades, I tried to find my birth parents and information about my background. Through that research, what became clear, and what I’ve always been honest about: I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents are, and I will never know. Which is why, to be questioned in this way is painful, both for me and for my two families I love so dearly.”
