The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has eliminated singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie from an exhibit due to questions on her First Nations id.
The musician and activist was amongst greater than a dozen folks featured in an exhibit on the Winnipeg museum titled “human rights defenders” till December.
A museum official says the transfer was made following a CBC report that stated Sainte-Marie has a beginning certificates from Massachusetts and that members of the family within the U.S. indicated she doesn’t have Indigenous heritage.
Matthew Cutler, the museum’s vice-president of exhibitions says that after the report there have been intensive consultations with Indigenous communities and advisers.
Sainte-Marie has stated the report contained errors and omissions and that she has by no means lied about her id.
Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada appointment was terminated final month, and officers with the Juno Awards are reviewing the 5 music awards she has gained over time.
Cutler says the choice on the museum took time.
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“We all know that Indigenous id is delicate and that Indigenous folks themselves and the nations that folk declare are those to make the choice about who’s a member and who’s not,” Cutler stated Thursday.
“There have been of us who, over the course of the yr that we had conversations, initially had been fierce defenders of Buffy. And as extra data got here out … views shifted.”
A refresh of the exhibit was set for December anyway, Cutler stated.
Sainte-Marie was additionally to be featured in a travelling exhibit about how music is usually a drive for change however was taken out earlier than the exhibit opened, he added
Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous tradition was a central a part of her id as she rose to fame within the Nineteen Sixties. However there have been conflicting tales about her adoption and heritage all through her profession.
Now 84, Sainte-Marie has retired from stay performances.
Makes an attempt to achieve Sainte-Marie by means of Paquin Leisure, the administration firm listed on her web site, weren’t answered.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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